Title: Erratum in the Spirit 10? – Such life is misery
Authors Note: Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything here at and I must say truthfully that I have not concentrated on writing for myself in many a month. But the other day I was listening to the recording of a tarot reading I had done and somehow it brought me back, made me remember what made me happy. And so here is another chapter, I had fun writing it… I hope someone enjoys it as much as I did.
Quote: "Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief." – C.S. Lewis
…Memories…
Second day
Location: South-East West City
Time: Dawn Sunday
Trunks trailed behind Raoul. Head dropped; he kept playing the murders repeatedly through his mind. Behind them sirens screeched yet reached their ears dulled, bouncing through the alleyways. He'd never killed before. Now the blood of a drunk, a grandmother, an auburn haired child who could never be of legal age as well as countless others stained his shirt. He couldn't look away from the drying stain as he concentrated on the sound of Raoul's footsteps.
"I enjoyed it" Trunks said to no one in particular, "Why?"
"Everything needs sustenance. That stain on your shirt is sustenance"
"This isn't normal"
Trunks wiped at the blood, red smudges appearing on his hands. He smelt it and sucked his hand clean. The taste was still euphoric. It filled his every corner now and he finally felt satisfied. He felt comfortable for the first time since it happened.
Had it only been 24 hours. It seemed to last for days.
"I can't kill again" Trunks said
"What, in Lord's name, are you talking about?" Raoul looked back, eyebrow raised.
"I can still hear them screaming, Raoul. I heard them call for help but I didn't save them. Killing them was weak, they were weak. A Saiya-jin never…"
Without notice a blow to the young vampire's stomach sent him crashing back into a gathering of trash. Trunks looked up and saw Raoul glaring down at him. His new teacher was rubbing his right fist.
"Lets get one thing straight" Raoul said, "I don't trust Saiya-jins. Meddling aliens is all they are"
"Earth wouldn't be here if…"
"Shut it! It is Master's order to train you and that's just what I'll do. But that doesn't mean I have to trust you" He knelt to whisper, "One wrong move and…" Raoul bared his fangs and the blood on his breath brushed at Trunks' bangs.
Raoul paused over Trunks for several moments, studying his face fiercely before walking off.
"How was your night, young one?" A seductively familiar voice suddenly sounded in Trunks' ears.
He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around for the Lord. A rat ran across the alley but he couldn't find Lord Bahri.
"Where are you?" Trunks said
"Waiting for you"
"Right in front of you" Raoul said, his eyes revealing a question of Trunks sanity, "Come on, the sun's coming"
Trunks shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up with Raoul. His, supposed new teacher would take him to the Lord. Everything would be fine once he was with him again.
The sun was touching the horizon when they reached the doorway minutes later. Raoul took a gold chain from his neck. Two keys were on the chain. One of these Raoul used to lock the door behind them.
Just as the lock clicked shut someone starting pounding on the heavy, iron door. Raoul leant back against the door and crossed his arms,
"Who is it?"
"Let me in!" A desperate voice screamed
"Now why should I do that? You know the rules"
"Please, the sun…"
"Doors locked. Too late"
Raoul's voice was almost comical and a grin appeared as the man on the other side of the door cried out. The scream made Trunks recoil, it began to bubble as it faded and a clattering of bones sounded.
"Come follow me" Raoul said and dropped the keys back around his neck.
Walking down the dark stairway, Trunks started to recognize his surroundings. The dark smudges on the wall, the pipes and a certain T-shaped connection he recognized from the night before. It was where Raoul had protected him.
Trunks stopped and looked up at Raoul's face, he still felt shaken from his teacher's threat. A chill caused him to shiver when Raoul smirked down at the smaller vampire.
"Master's waiting for you, little bat"
"Bat?"
"Untrustworthy and blind"
A hand took hold of his arm, near the shoulder and led him down the corridor, stopping in front of Bahri's double doors.
"Open" Bahri called without notice, as if the Undead Master simply knew they were standing there.
The doors opened inward seemingly on their own. Raoul led Trunks in. Two boys held the doors open; they looked to be only 5 years old. The once Saiya-jin raised an eyebrow at one of the children who revealed a pair of fangs while he sucked at his lower lip.
"Do you like them?" Bahri asked, "They can be quite useful. You wouldn't know how sentimental humans can be"
They closed the doors jaggedly behind him and Trunks didn't say a word. The navy blue ties around their necks hung loosely, their whites shirts crumpled. A slice in the pants of the boy on the left, who was biting his lip revealed a dried scab across his knee. Noticing Trunks' eyes on him, he cringed, hissed and backed away. Trunks spun around to the Lord. Bahri sat on the stone throne, the leather clad red head that had distracted Goten the evening before clung to his leg.
"As you can see, my child, they can be quite useful" Barhi said. He waved the red head away, she crawled back along the floor, "They're so innocent and unobstructed. The little minds hold no preconceptions, no reason to believe beyond a doubt that we vampires are simply…"
The lord's fluttering coat was all the notice Trunks had before his Master disappeared,
"…fairy tale monsters" Bahri whispered from behind him.
"Why is he afraid of me?" Trunks asked still watching the empty throne.
"Basic instincts. They are particularly strong in ones so young. They sense you're different, the Saiya-jin light in you"
Bahri brushed the hair back from Trunks neck and smelt his skin. Trunks shivered but couldn't pull away.
"You smell of Saiya-jins!"
Bahri drew back in a short hiss,
"The young ones were right. That Saiya-jin light is still free within you"
The Lord's voice radiated with disgust and he moved to stand before Raoul. The Lord stood several inches shorter then his trusted child and despite this apparent advantage Raoul cringed in fear.
"The boy still has heart, he feels guilty. It's all over him" Bahri said.
Raoul bowed his head, looking at Trunks from the corner of his eye. Everything seemed to stand still, tension stung the air and the faint sounds of dripping water echoed through the hall. Two figures faced each other, virtually father and son, head bowed the son drew back from the berating he was about to receive.
"How will the prophecy be fulfilled if I have such daft Sons?" Bahri asked, "I trusted you with my youngest, the chosen one and humanity still whispers within his heart."
"We just need more time. He's not like everyone else, he was Saiya-jin. It was a mistake trying to change him, Master." A silent gasp in astonishment of the vampire's matter of fact tone, the definite defiance against his Master, shuddered about the room. Raoul hesitated before continuing carefully, "Perhaps Master, the Saiya-jin light is simply fighting your control"
Raoul didn't go as far as to suggest that his Master wasn't strong enough to change the Saiya-jin light but winced and trailed his eyes back to Bahri. A chill ripple coursed through the room, Trunks saw one of the boys hunch down to the floor, hugging his knees. A growl emanated from within the Lord's chest, the sound vibrating telepathically through Trunks mind and from the look on the other vampire's faces, it struck in theirs as well.
"You dare speak doubts over my abilities. Second guessing my judgment" Lord Bahri's voice was held restrained yet radiated fear through all his children's minds, "Let this be an example, and be it known that no one questions me!"
A sudden soft cry came from Raoul's lips causing Trunks to twist his torso, facing his new teacher. Strands of Raoul's braided hair came loose, dancing through the air. His dark coat started whipping about his legs as the floor shuddered. The boys screamed and crawled to the shadows as the Lord hands rose before him. Trunks couldn't help but jump away and cover his face as bright red lights appeared about Raoul's body.
"Master…" Raoul's plea came on deaf ears as Bahri crossed his outstretched arms.
Raoul's face held silent and shuddered under the strain of control. Yet in minutes his scream came strong and sudden, piercing through the stone walls of the hidden lair. Trunks watched behind his shielding arms as the lights were concentrated into crosses of the Church, scattered across his teacher's body. Skin upon his cheek bubbled and smoked, bone appearing under melted flesh.
The Lord finally stopped once Raoul's body dropped to his knees, hands pushed against the floor before him, holding himself up.
"I do this merely out of love, my child," Bahri said as he lowered down to Raoul, "The prophecy predicts our demise at the hands of Saiya-jins and we will defeat these aliens. We will turn them against themselves"
At this the Lord brushed his lengthy nails across Raoul's forehead and turned to Trunks, who now stood several steps away, watching his teacher in worry.
"It should be expected though, shouldn't it my child?" Bahri asked in a tone that refused an answer, "Saiya-jins have never been turned before. You must be relieved to be rid of that horrid light."
"I…," Trunks stopped, remembering Raoul "Please don't take it out on my teacher, Master. He has berated me for my guilt. He's tried to teach me. I will try harder, Master"
The shadow hidden Vampire Lord didn't move, his face unseen. Trunks crossed his fingers behind his back, if he pretended maybe he could return to his original form. Though on the most part, his mind held a strong loyalty to Lord Bahri that he didn't understand, he still felt his Saiya-jin half battling for control. His ambitions confused his battling mind, for a Saiya-jin lusted for power and his new form lived in power. Yet a Saiya-jin's main drive is to uphold his own pride, his families honor.
"Merely you will try?" Bahri said, "You accept my child as your teacher, yet do not accept me as your father"
The Z fighters were his family weren't they? Vegita, the Saiya-jin Prince was his father. He felt a cold hand caress his cheek, soft and loving; Bahri's glowing eyes pierced his own.
"Did they come to your aid, my son? You were in pain. Vegita, Bulma, even the kind-hearted Goku, they all wish that your future self was here instead of you. They don't believe or trust in you, haven't even come looking for you" Bahri said, the sound of harsh truth hit Trunks, "Our family is forever, I protect all my worthy children. Unlike Vegita, who didn't try and protect you from me"
Muscles tightened in Trunk's fists, his face contorting in anger. Bahri was correct. His father had not listened to him, told him he was weak, that he wasn't training enough. Said that losing to Goten was evidence that he didn't take pride in his heritage.
He would show his father that he was honor, show them all, that he was stronger then that imbecile from the future.
"What is it you want me to do…Father?" Trunks produced, his mind finally overcome by the undead strength, his Saiya-jin light twisting and contorting into hard smoke.
Location: Lookout
Time: 6am Sunday
There had always been deaths and murders on Earth. A guardian could sense each of them if he so wished. Even consult the spirit in the brief moment it held to earth so he could find out how it died. Dende had managed to block most of them out but one important life sign had faded. No matter where he searched from earth to King Yama there was no sign of Trunks' soul.
Dende sat with his legs twisted beneath him several strides from the lookouts edge and sheer drop. A single tear fell to the marble floor, a result of meditation, of discovering the growing dark in West City. It had never been so strong. The creatures had successfully hidden themselves from previous guardian's searches.
Piccolo had never told him about these creatures and he didn't sense an alien ship. Perhaps they are aliens and he missed them.
Dende sighed and let his hands drop from his knees,
"What have I missed?"
"You are troubled, Dende" Piccolo's gruff voice said from behind him.
"Oh dear! Please don't do that"
The petite guardian held his chest as his surprise faded. He pushed himself to his feet so he could better see the clouds below.
"Can't you feel them, Piccolo?" Dende asked
"Feel who?" Piccolo questioned, looking down at the smaller alien.
"The absences, life forms almost like black holes. I'd always ignored them, didn't even take the time to realize they're there. I found them when I was looking for Trunks."
Piccolo looked surprised at the knowledge in the last remark.
"Didn't you know Trunks' missing? Goten came to me yesterday, said Bulma was distraught, if that's possible. Can you imagine? A Bulma tearing at her hair just like Chi-chi. Maybe they've been friends too long, they're rubbing off on each other." Dende said distractedly.
He started to walk back to the buildings atop the lookout, mumbling to himself. Extremely troubled.
"Dende. What happened?" Piccolo asked sternly.
"Oh sorry, Trunks disappeared early yesterday it seems. I've been meditating, trying to find his power signal. Even going to snake way, there's no sign of him. But do you know what I found instead? Massacres. A number of them across West City, and all surrounded by absences"
"Hnn…" Piccolo glanced thoughtfully at the passing clouds.
"They're little black holes," Dende repeated, "pulling in the power from all around them. It's like they don't have a power source of their own. Do you know of these creatures? Are they aliens? No, I'm sure you'd tell me if you knew. Clever creatures though, they have the potential to be, Grand Kai forgive, stronger then Goku. And their eyes, such eyes."
Piccolo stopped and grabbed the guardian's shoulder, spinning him about to face him. He said nothing but looked down at Dende with stern eyes.
"I couldn't stay up here, Piccolo. How's a Guardian supposed to standby and watch when his charges are dying?" Dende said, then recalled in clarity his lone trip to earth the night before, his voice trying to remain calm…
Dende's quickening pace back and forth was worrying Po-po, the small man held a brown robe in his arms trying in vain to get his friend to halt his steps. Pacing for several hours can wear a guy out, and an alien is no exception but the sweat on Dende's forehead was not that of exhaustion but of agony.
"No!" Dende gasped as his outstretched mind felt another spirit depart in agony to Snake way. He stopped still, his eyes staring off into the stars yet not seeing their glitter.
"Where's Piccolo?" Dende asked in desperation.
"He will not return from Namek until the sun is rising, Dende" Po-po said, holding kindness in his voice despite having repeated this same answer throughout the night, ever since Goten had delivered the bad news.
Interfering with human death could warp the delicate balance of Earth's nature and so the green Guardian had come to terms with restraining his healing abilities. He didn't want to throw everything out of whack now did he?
"My coat Po-po," Dende ordered, "It's about time I stepped in"
Po-po's look of worry didn't fade as Dende employed his newly learnt technique to instantly transport himself to the scene of an arising massacre. From the street below a scream was cut short before it could reach its height, Dende peered down to the street from atop a 3-storey brick building. The flickering lights of a pub across the street illuminated several bodies hunched on the street corner, the street lights shattered a time before.
"Trunks?" Dende whispered when he spied through the door a lilac-silver head hunched over the bar. He looked back to the street corner.
Dende's eyes widened as he realized that one figure hunched over the others, behind its dark coat hiding his true figure. A gasp must have accompanied wide eyes for the hunched body twisted its head and looked directly up to Dende. The Guardian was stunned and frozen by the eyes, his senses detecting no power in the form.
Before Dende could react in anyway the figure dashed across the street and scaled the building wall in several thrusts as if he were a primate. Yet Dende could not move, frozen to his eyes. Engulfing the smaller figure with its coat, a man's voice resonated directly behind him. He could feel a cool form pressed against him, one arm on his chest the other firm on his neck. He was frozen and in the dark.
"Who have we here?" The man said. He ran nails across the young Guardian's neck, keeping a firm hold, "Master has told me of you, Earth's Guardian"
Stunned at the man knowing his identity, Dende slowly took hold of himself, he jerked helplessly in tough arms.
"I wonder what you taste like little one," Hands tilted his head to the side, the man's breath washed over his neck, revealing bloodstained fangs, "Master cannot afford your meddling"
As fangs touched his skin, Dende was shaken from his daze and shoved his elbows back into the man's groin with no effect. Panicking he concentrated on transporting only himself despite the vampires hold on him, the next moment he collapsed on the lookout's stone tiles.
Location: Beneath West City
Time: 6am Sunday
The vampire didn't even wince as his student washed his open face wound with cheap alcohol, broken skin falling and clearing in hopes that the day would see the flesh rebuild itself as Trunks' had. Now alone in a small room not too far from the Lord's hall, Trunks sat on the edge of a molding mattress looking down on Raoul. The steel frame squeaked every time one of them shifted.
Neither one of them had spoken a word since Trunks had helped Raoul walk from the hall. The elder one had been touched deeply by the image burnt onto his skin, his cheek blackened. From his time spent here, Trunks found that Raoul was feared most under that of Lord Bahri, with vampires looking away in his presence, others challenging his abilities to attack the once Saiya-jin. And yet here he lay, silent, hurt by a simple cross.
"Why does the cross burn?" Trunks asked softly, trying to catch his teacher's eyes.
Raoul didn't reply, his face was turned away, studying the brick wall carefully. The alcohol washed out drying blood and pieces of dirt which had found their way into the wounds on his legs and lower torso. The wounds no longer revealed bones, but gaunt muscle, shifting unseen.
"The undead are condemned by God" Raoul finally replied once Trunks had set aside the emptying bottle of liquor.
"But then…" Trunks voice was stopped by a palm placed against his mouth.
"Quiet now, Little Bat. Master has plans for us tomorrow, today was merely to catch attention." Raoul said and closed his eyes, his arms crossed on his chest.
The light haired vampire slipped down onto the floor, leaning against the wall and bed head. No sound came from atop the rusting bed, but Trunks felt blood moving in both of their bodies, working to restore them for another night.
"Teacher?" Trunks whispered.
"Hnn?" Raoul grunted in question.
"You were right. I was blind"
"I know"
Trunks smiled as he fell into unconsciousness. Raoul's last words echoed through and haunted his dreamless sleep.
"I still don't trust you"