Chapter Twelve: Severed Bonds
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know
A/N: Okay, you guys should be pleased. I was sitting in my programming exam thinking up the plot for this chapter! (I suck at programming) On the other hand, it's taken me two months to get this chapter out. Most of that blame goes to my computer, which decided to break down on me just as I got oodles of free time. So from me and my computer, SORRY!
KNOCK!! KNOCK!! BANG!! BANG!! THUMP!!
"I SAID I WAS COMING YOU $%&$£!!" CJ huffed as she ran to the door. "Always when you're in the bloody shower!" She flung open the door in anger and saw that it was Goten standing at the door. She immediately blushed bright red. She was only wearing a towel and she was dripping wet. Goten, so immersed in what he was saying didn't notice.
"Look CJ, I know you're mad at me and I guess you have every right to but you've got to understand what a big deal this is to me. I mean, if I had known before I could've avoided a lot of pain and may be we could've been together. I mean, I know I'm talking a lot of crap but you mean so much to me CJ. You know how I feel about you, I don't have to say it. I went and talked to Paresu, I finally got the truth out of her and as much as it hurt to hear at least now I know. CJ, aren't you gonna say…s-s-ssaaay…?" Goten's speech trailed off as he finally realised that CJ was in front of him. "Oh my…"
"Gomen!" CJ said, slamming the door shut. "I'll be out in ten minutes!"
"Oh my…" Goten said, his face going bright red. "This is what I get for not calling ahead first…I should not call ahead more often!" He said, snickering evilly.
"I heard that Son!"
"Whoops." Goten waited patiently until the door opened again. CJ was wearing some very baggy pants, a very baggy shirt and a hat over her wet hair. Goten laughed inwardly. She really was embarrassed about him seeing her like that. "Why did you answer the door in a towel anyway?" Goten asked with a smirk on his face. The smirk turned into a smile when he saw her blush.
"Shut up! You were knocking on the door like you were dying!" CJ scolded.
"Well I was dying to see you so I'm not sure if we're talking in the same sense."
"You make no sense period."
"Hey, you've got nothing to be embarrassed about. Absolutely nothing…"
"Shut up or I'll hit you!" CJ said.
"Not if I kiss you first."
"What?! How does that even make…" Before she could finished her sentence, Goten had pulled her in close and was kissing her deeply. She couldn't help but put her arms around him and lose herself in him. They stopped. "You know, you can't expect that to work every time you've done something wrong Spikes."
"I like that nickname." Goten smiled. CJ raised an eyebrow.
"Are you set to weirdo mode today or something?" Goten just kept on smiling. "You're freaking me out! Stop it!" She said, whacking him upside the head.
"OW!!" Goten yelled.
"That actually hurt?" CJ asked surprised. "You usually have a head as hard as nails…or some other ridiculous cliché that escapes me right now."
"A lot of things have happened you know."
"Yeah, I know. You saw her huh?"
"Yeah."
"Did you make her cry?"
"Probably. I yelled at her a lot."
"Good."
"You're an evil person." Goten chuckled. CJ smirked.
"Maybe, but that's one of the things you like about me."
"Madame Mara, is there something the matter?" Dimethic asked. Mara was looking off into the distance. "Mara?"
"They're gone."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Just like that…they're gone."
"Do you miss them?" Dimethic asked. There was a brief silence.
"Not at all. I just know them well enough…someone probably survived. Gohan probably did."
"Even if he did, it's of no concern to us. Earth has been destroyed and he will have nowhere to go. He'll die a cold and lonely death."
"Just like I will." She whispered.
"What?"
"Nothing." Mara said, getting up from her chair. "Just musing."
"I see." Dimethic said, raising an eyebrow as she walked before him.
"When are we going to get to the main ship?"
"In about 5 shouls."
"I'm still getting used to the language, you're going to have to translate that for me."
"5 Earth hours Madame."
"Good." Mara said. Dimethic stopped walking with her and let her go. "Then I can finally discuss my plans with Medilan." Thelia appeared.
"You do not fully trust her, do you?" Thelia asked.
"No." Dimethic replied. "No matter how much power I give to her 'bad side', a part of her still loves that demi-Saiyan. It could end up driving her to madness."
"It won't anymore. He's as good as dead. No more distractions for her."
"Same for you eh?" Dimethic asked. Thelia gave him a deadly look.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I saw the way you were looking at him when you were fighting. You love him, you always have."
"Don't be so ridiculous. I would never act in such a predictable manner." Thelia said.
"I am a telepath Thelia dear, please don't insult me." Dimethic smirked. With an angry look on her face, Thelia disappeared. "I sure can clear a room."
"There's this legend on our planet, that describes an important event. My father and several others think that that event is here." Zophen started.
"The vagueness continues." Vegeta said sounding very annoyed.
"The legend says that in a time when Tocopherat is at its most corrupt, heroes descended from exiles will help to restore the peace and return the rightful rule to the planet." Zophen said.
"I think he may be talking about us." David said, in mock awe. "Duuuuuuuude…"
"May I?" Nicholas asked.
"Be my guest." Andrea said. Nicholas nudged David in the ribs. Unfortunately, he was so enthused about doing so he ended up knocking David on the floor.
"I always wondered why you guys enjoyed doing that to me so much, now I know." Nicholas grinned.
"Can we please get on with the story?" Goku said.
"Gomen…" Nicholas bowed his head down.
"The legend goes on to say that the one with the brightest spirit, the purest soul and with unbridled power will have to overcome many obstacles before returning to what that person was once before." Zophen said.
"That sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings." Trunks said.
"Yeah, like a prophecy for Aragorn." Krillin added.
"And cue the fangirl sighs…" Nicholas sighed.
"Ahh…Aragon-sama…" Numerous women and girls in the room sighed.
"Then the legend says some stuff about a great battle taking place, but the battle will be very out of the ordinary. It won't be fought using weapons or combat. It also says that a hero will not be a native of Tocopherat and will have something to do with ruling the planet from then on." Zophen finished.
"That's very obviously talking about Gohan." #18 said.
"Yeah." Yamcha nodded in agreement.
"How in the heck did Gandalf mistake you for Gohan?" Natalie said to Nicholas, almost laughing.
"Is that meant to be a dig?" Nicholas asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No, just an honest question." Natalie said, narrowing her eyes as well. Eventually Nicholas backed down.
"Curse your alluring eyes o' stunning wife of mine!" Nicholas cursed. Everyone in the room sweat-dropped.
"It may not necessarily be Gohan." Tien said. "The legend could be talking about anyone sitting in this room, seeing as no combat or weapons are gonna be used in this fight. The battle could be won because of an invention that Bulma makes or maybe even a bad joke by Krillin."
"Very funny." Krillin replied, scowling.
"Or even an evil glare by Papa." Bra pointed out.
"Well my evil glares have been known to put people in the hospital." Vegeta added.
"But who would want to leave Earth and go be ruler of another planet?" Goku asked. He then looked over to Vegeta who was chuckling evilly, probably at the thought of those he had put in the hospital. "Never mind, I think I just answered my own question."
"Shut up Kakarrot." Vegeta scowled. "Hey Onna, have you got that machine running yet?"
"NO! STOP RUSHING ME!!" Bulma snapped. Everyone blinked in surprise.
"Break out the PMS medicine…" Yamcha chuckled.
"What was that?!" Bulma yelled.
"You heard me!" Yamcha yelled back. Everyone looked surprised.
"Anyhoo…" Trunks said, breaking the silence. "This legend thingy is a little too vague."
"That's right. Even if it is talking about Gohan, what does it mean when it says 'returning to what that person was before'?" Goku asked.
"It could mean Gohan returning to the power he was once at." Piccolo said. "We all know he was at his strongest when he fought Cell."
"Yeah, but that mystic power he got from Old Kai made him stronger than any of us. That includes me and Vegeta combined." Goku said. Vegeta scowled even more.
"That doesn't really account for much now, seeing as you both have the strength of children." Yamcha said. Vegeta's eyebrow began to twitch violently.
"How long have you been waiting to make him do that?" Krillin whispered.
"Too long Krillin, too long." Yamcha replied.
"Does anyone else feel like they're out of the loop here?" Remy asked. All the kids and Zophen raised their hands. "Good, I didn't want to be the only one."
"Okay, the transmission coordinates have been put in and now we're scanning the signals…" Bulma stopped before she got anymore technical. "Um, we're gonna hook up to their system."
"Good. The sooner we talk to that old man, the sooner we find out if this crap is true." Vegeta said.
"What's the matter with your Dad?" Daniel asked Bra.
"He's just a bit cranky not being the centre of all this attention." Bra replied. Daniel sweat-dropped.
"It worked!!" Bulma exclaimed. Sure enough on the monitor was the face of the elder Zophen was referring to.
"Gandalf! What's up?" David asked. The elder looked confused.
"What a gip, he's still the same!" Nicholas said sadly and folded his arms. "He's not even a little bit shiny!" The elder looked even more confused.
"CAN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE SAYING?!?!" Bulma yelled.
"Onna, he's from a different planet. He is not deaf." Vegeta said.
"But we are now." Piccolo sighed, rubbing his ears.
"I do not know if Zophen has informed you yet but my name is not Gandalf." The elder said. Everyone face-faulted.
"You speak Japanese?!" Bulma asked.
"No, I am however wearing a universal translator. It appears to you that I am speaking your primitive Earth language."
"Arrogant isn't he?" Vegeta said.
"Well you'd know all about that." #18 replied.
"It also seems that I mistakenly identified the tall one as the legendary hero." The elder said.
"Dude, that's not fair. Getting my hopes up like that."
"Are you fishing for an apology?"
"…Maybe."
"Not getting one. I do not apologise."
"What a lil f…"
"Um, Elder sir? Can you please tell us what in the blue hell is going on?" Andrea asked, conveniently interrupting Nicholas.
"Is it me, or have we just been listening to explanations and stories for the past few days?" Krillin asked. Various people nodded in agreement. "I never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to miss the fighting!"
"Zophen. Have you explained to them what is going on?" The elder asked. Zophen nodded. "Then, my dear, I do not see the need to explain any further."
"Oy…" Andrea said.
"Okay, so from the cryptic stuff that your boy keeps giving us I've worked out that we're being attacked because Medilan is included in the corruption that legend thingy is talking about. Also because we're probably descendents from those exile guys. I'd also guess that the reason Videl was taken was because she has the least protection against mental manipulation and he knew Gohan's judgement would be screwy if his wife was evil so he wouldn't be a threat. Did I leave anything out?" Natalie asked.
"See, this is one of the many reasons I married you." Nicholas beamed proudly.
"I just put everything that's already been said into coherent sentences." Natalie said, scrunching up her face. Nicholas continued to beam until she pinched his arm.
"OW! What the heck was that for?"
"You were making me feel embarrassed."
"Kawaaaaaaii!" Nicholas grinned.
"You must be very secure with your masculinity to do that." Trunks commented.
"Oh, he's done worse." David said. The elder cleared his throat in annoyance.
"Well you missed out one very important fact." The elder said.
"Which is?" Natalie asked.
"The bond that holds you six together has been severed." The elder replied. Natalie got a sad look on her face, as did David. Everyone else looked confused.
"Severed?!" Maria squealed in fright.
"Okay, okay, every kid under the age of 13 please exit and go watch TV. I'm pretty sure that the Teen Titans are on." Bulma said. The kids proceeded to the TV room. (1)
"What's he talking about?" Andrea asked, referring to the elder.
"He's talking about when you guys fought Medilan's father…and never told me about it." Natalie replied.
"Crap, I was hoping that wouldn't come up again." Nicholas said wistfully.
"Ever since then, we haven't really been able to communicate as well as we used to. You can't talk to Nick in front of me without feeling guilty, me and Dave haven't really been able to see eye to eye…even before that, and this just made things worse." Natalie said. "10 years of awkwardness tends to do something y'know."
"It's understandable that as humans grow older, they become more mature and change, especially when offspring are thrown into the equation. But you have all changed dramatically in ways that you should not have…except the one that keeps insisting that my name is Gandalf." The elder said.
"I'm sorry my man, but it's an uncanny resemblance." Nicholas said.
"How do you mean?"
"You're both old!"
"He does have a point." Andrea said, trying to get back on the subject. Everyone looked at her. "Not about the Gandalf thing! We really aren't the same people we were when we got our powers. The only one who's remotely close would be Nicholas."
"Is that your subtle way of telling me I haven't grown up Andie?" Nicholas asked. Andrea laughed nervously and continued.
"Killing Medilan's father obviously changed Gohan, in ways we'll probably never be able to understand. Videl has been changing slowly over time. She never knew her mother and finding out that her mother was part alien, she's been wondering what her life would be like if she lived there." Andrea said.
"Plus the royalty angle didn't hurt matters." Nicholas said snidely. David elbowed him.
"David has become more cynical as he's become older, seeing what happened with Nat and her mother all those years ago. Natalie has become a lot more paranoid since we hid that secret from her, and this has made her lose touch with her very approachable nature, which isn't a good thing considering the nature of her powers." Andrea said.
"It isn't a good thing for any of us." David said. "Our powers are fuelled by emotion only, not chi manipulation."
"And with Gohan's onna now on their side, you've given them a great advantage." Vegeta said. "So, what the hell can we do to fix it?"
"Someone come quick!" Cory ran into the room. "The machine's around Papa are beeping really loud."
"Shimatta!" Natalie said, as she ran into the infirmary. Everyone else soon followed suit.
"Gohan!" Chi-Chi yelled.
"Okay, 75% of the people in here need to go. There's not enough room." Natalie said. She checked Gohan's eyes and then started compressions. "Okay, his heart rate is dropping. Get me the paddles!" Bulma handed them to Natalie. "Okay…clear!" BZZZT! "No improvement…CLEAR!" BZZZT!
"Come on son, you can pull through this." Chi-Chi said. She felt Goku reach for her hand.
"It'll be alright Chi-Chi." Goku said reassuringly.
"Okay good, we've got his heart back to normal. Breathing normal." Natalie said, looking over all the machines. "His brainwaves look wrong."
"You're not a neurologist, are you sure you can make a call like that?" Bulma asked.
"Trust me, a med student could tell that there's something not wrong here." Natalie said. "He's giving up, he's not fighting to stay conscious."
"You're a psychic, you've got to help him!" Chi-Chi demanded.
"I could make things a lot worse than they are." Natalie said.
"How much worse could they get?!"
"Okay, I'll do it. I just hope I can get through to him." Natalie said, closing her eyes.
"Aaaagg!" Mara said, as she crouched over in pain.
"My Lady, is everything okay?" Dimethic asked her.
"I'm fine. I…I just feel a little dizzy." Mara replied. Dizzy nothing…it felt like something was being ripped out of me! Nothing physical…something…something…important…I can't place it!
To Be Continued…
I know, it's a b of a cliffhanger but as I'm writing this the European Football Tournament is about to enter the second stage…I'm sorry. Footie geek me, you know what the English are like. Anyhoo, I've gotten most of the next chapter written out. It just needs a few adjustments…this time I'm serious!!
(1) Teen Titans is the Cartoon Network/WB animated series, which starts Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy. AND IT HAS THE CATCHIEST THEME TUNE SINCE THE 80S MAN!! (Ahem!)
