Pan's New Boyfriend

by IndigoSnake16

A sequel to Bra's New Boyfriend. Peace has returned to Earth, though it did not come without sacrifice. Pan, now struggling with the loss of a very close friend, realizes that it is quite difficult to find true happiness. Even as she and the Briefs attempt to find the dragon balls, Pan knows that there is a real possibility that she must learn to live without him.

7. A Day Off

Auden laid sprawled in his bed unwilling to climb out of it for the day. He was tired and nothing that he had planned that day held any interest. He wasn't particularly upset or sad about anything, but the idea of sleeping in sounded extremely tempting. It likely had something to do with the fact that he'd gotten home in the early hours of the morning.

Precisely at 8 in the morning, he heard a knock on the door. He knew it was Aster coming to remind him to take his medication. While he hated raising his voice, it was better than actually getting up to open the door or better yet, Aster strolling in as she usually did.

"Dad? Are you awake yet?"

"I already took them. Don't worry," he called to her wearily.

"Are you sure?" she asked loudly.

"I'm pretty sure," he said back amused.

"Okay, you better not be lying!"

He didn't bother dignifying this with an answer, but he hadn't taken his pills yet. He was about to do it anyway. There was always some stale bottle of water nearby on the dresser and his pills were tucked away in the drawer. With a groan, he rolled over to his side and quickly got the whole thing over with. From there, he didn't want to do anything else other than relax. He allowed his eyes to close as he took in the minute sounds around him.

It would probably be a good idea to let one of his supervisors know that he wouldn't be in today. He waited another half hour to do so which was still before he usually came in. He would give himself two days to recover from what had occurred yesterday.

A little while later, he heard the tiny footsteps of Aster approaching the door. He had no idea what her plans generally were in the middle of the week, but he assumed she didn't spend much time in the apartment. Today was different, he supposed.

"Dad?" came her questioning voice again through the door—this time her tone was softer.

He heard the door to his room creak open. "Yes, honey," he answered wearily.

"You're skipping work today?" she asked concerned. "Are you okay?" She slipped into the room and made her way in until she was standing before him.

"I'm fine."

"You say that a lot even when you're not," she accused him softly.

Her voice sounded so sad, but he was no good at cheering people up. "I don't like it when people worry over me."

"It's just me, Dad. I'm the only one who worries about you." She was quiet for a few moments before continuing. "Why do you just…give up sometimes? Why do I keep having to remind you about things you already know to do?"

"It's always a struggle, Aster, you know that. I don't always make the right choices."

"You hate taking your pills, don't you?"

"It's so tedious," he answered wearily.

"Is that all it is? Just tedious? This is your life we're talking about."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. I'll try not to do that again. I should be more vigilant."

"Promise me you won't do that again."

"I can't promise that."

"Dad!" Her voice raised a little, but she took a deep breath trying to remain civil. "Please give me something, then. Something more than just 'try'."

"That's all I can give you," he answered heavily. His eyes were still closed.

She stood there in silence likely just watching him, debating with herself what she should say next. "Should I stay with you today? I don't think you should be alone."

He sighed at this. He didn't exactly want her hovering over him all day. "I promise you, Aster, for today, I'll be on my best behavior—but I would like to spend some time to myself."

"You really promise?"

"Yes."

"Really, really promise?"

"How old are you again? Geez."

Aster tsked. "I'm just making sure. I'll give you some space today, but I'll be checking up on you, okay? Please answer your phone."

"I'll do my best."

She didn't leave immediately, but he didn't care either way. Not going into work today was relieving enough.

"Dad, is that therapist really working for you?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"But what about yesterday? I know it's important to stay on track, but why does it always go to shit whenever you miss one?"

"I wasn't so great yesterday. I screwed up. But I know what I did wrong. And…she knows now."

"Bulma? What does she know?"

"Something I should have told her about ages ago. Nothing for you to worry about though."

"Doesn't your therapist say to talk about things to people? Well, you can tell me anything."

"She says something to that extent, but that's not the same as putting everyone's personal information out there and especially not to nosy, little girls."

"Dad! I'm just trying to be helpful."

"I understand. It would be nice to self-reflect today, if a certain someone wasn't distracting me from that all day."

"Okay, I got your message loud and clear," she said with a sigh.

"Thank you."

"Any plans today?"

"Not really. I might try to make dinner tonight, but no promises."

"Well, make enough for three. I'm gonna' bring Jensen over."

"Jensen? And you weren't even going to ask your poor Dad if that was okay?"

"Is it okay?"

If his eyes were open, he would have rolled them, but he was far too relaxed to really get up in arms. In general, he rarely became upset over Aster and he never felt a need to. "Of course," he answered wearily. It was probably for the best as he'd never once met Jensen before. They were both glossing over this fact and Auden did not feel like pointing it out.

"Alright, well, I'll keep in touch," she said as she made a quick retreat out of the room.

A small grin came to his face. She was trying to escape before she was grilled with more questions. So be it. For as long as he'd known her, he was never made aware of anyone she was dating. In fact, he was fairly certain that she had a nonexistent love life. He'd say the same about himself or at the very least, it was difficult dating anyone with Aster always there to discourage him every step of the way. She seemed to still think he was somehow dating Pan. It wasn't even the 'dating' part she had an issue with, but the idea that he would even have a relationship with anyone outside of her. Aster was distrusting of people in general. She'd always seen the world that way from the moment he'd adopted her and he'd not changed her opinion. If anything, he was beginning to see where she was coming from.

For some reason, she hadn't closed the door on her way out—he could clearly hear when the front door closed indicating her departure for the day. Aside from making dinner, he truly had no plans and that was all for the better. He turned to lay on his back.

He wasn't sure if he'd actually helped Bulma in her endeavor yesterday, but he could remember vividly the code he'd written. It should work in its present form barring any unforeseen circumstances. He was satisfied with what he'd produced and there was nothing more he could think to change or optimize. It would be nice to receive some sort of confirmation, but he dreaded the thought of actively calling her. Maybe later.

He thought of some lingering chores that still needed to be done around the house, new places that had opened up in town that he was curious about, and how nice the weather was these days and how much he enjoyed this time of year. Rarely, did he have to deal with allergies and he felt sorry for those who did. He felt even more sorry for those who worked at jobs demanding that employees still come in while sick or else be fired. Of course, this was never put into written words, but he was well aware of jobs that fired employees simply because they missed too many days of work sick or not. It was disgusting to ponder over. Humans were nothing more than a commodity to be worked as hard as possible to make the most profit for their respective companies. Such things as salaries or wages were considered liabilities for any business—the less liability, the more profit. Before being given a job at CC, these dynamics were more obvious. The wealthiest people in the world did not work as hard as those who worked over 40 hours a week on multiple jobs, yet people equate wealth with hard work. It is somehow normal to think that a person could actually be worth billions of dollars, that a billionaire is in fact not leeching money off the backs of the thousands of other workers under them and are somehow considered 'self-made'. The idea that one could profit off of someone else's work was the very definition of leeching and underpaying—there would be no profit otherwise if that wasn't the case and the entire system, at least as it was now, would fall apart. Abuse was built into the foundations of the economic system they were under. But these were societal problems he was in no position to change. He couldn't even take care of his own problems.

Maybe that was a bit harsh, but he did still depend on medication—a lot of it—to maintain mental stability. There had to be a better way. Well, perhaps there didn't have to be a better way, but it was nice to envision that that method existed somewhere. It all depended on him, at the end of the day, and that was the main issue. It was based on how he responded to medication. It was based on how engaged he was in the therapy and how much he trusted the therapist. It was based on his own self-confidence of which he had very little. He was fairly certain that this was the case. Of course, having a job, keeping it, and getting the impression that his employees appreciated him was helpful. His therapist had long since pointed that out and reminded him of it. That was a demonstrable strength he could take credit for among other things. He wondered why he wasn't so impressed with this. Anyone could be a decent supervisor. Sure, he'd known and experienced supervisors who weren't that way, but that didn't mean that such a job was difficult. And he wasn't entirely sure if he was still employed purely based off his performance. He was aware that his 'friendship' with Bulma must have some effect. To be honest, that friendship was completely based on the fact that she'd helped him and nothing more. He knew he'd feel much worse about himself if he made no attempt at repaying her and cut ties with her. But at what point could he say that he'd actually repaid her? It was completely subjective.

He wondered about Chi-Chi for the first time since meeting her. She was someone he kept in the back of his mind waiting for a quiet moment like this to ponder over all the qualities about her that he'd managed to notice. It was difficult to put into words why, but he was already obsessed with her. Could it be her mystique? Could it be her comical resistance to modern technology? Could it be her frankness or the undeniable sense of wisdom he'd felt from her? There was something about her…His mind went over the entire exchange he'd had with her. He'd felt so comfortable around her like he'd already known her. That certainly wasn't the norm when meeting people. He would often have to police his own nerves and say prepared phrases to get through the awkwardness.

What was she doing now? What back-breaking chore was she engaging in today? Was she somewhere totally neglected and alone, quietly maintaining the house? Did she ever truly look forward to doing something when she woke up in the morning? He wondered if he should call her. He wanted to, but he wasn't sure who would pick up the phone. The idea that Gohan might answer troubled him more than anything else. He'd been agreeable thus far, but now he was calling his house to speak to his mom who likely never received calls from anyone. He did say that he believed him when Auden said that he had no designs on his daughter. Still, the very fact that anyone was thinking along those lines made it much worse now, if he was interested in reaching out to Pan's grandmother. He wished things had happened differently, but the way Chi-Chi spent so much time hidden away from the world—the way they met was probably the only way he would have met her. The world was chaotic, cruel and benevolent all in the same breath. It seemed the randomness inherent in life was now swinging in his favor for once. What would he have done had he never met her like that? He'd probably still be vying for Pan's attention despite the fact that she'd become less attentive to his texts as of late.

He continued to lie in full indecision of whether to call or not. Maybe he should call later? But then if he called too late, that also wouldn't send a good message. Did she go to bed before or after everyone? Did she wake up before everybody? Maybe, maybe not. Those who lived there had jobs as well and who knew how early they needed to be awake for those things.

His ringing phone snapped him out of his thoughts. The caller ID read "Chi-Chi's house". It was as if someone had been privy to his thoughts all this time and had simply made the decision for him. He answered quickly before his anxiety got the better of him.

"Hello?" he asked as pleasantly as possible.

"Auden? This is Chi-Chi."

"Oh," he said with surprise.

"Yep, it's me. I know it's spur of the moment and kinda early, but do you want to go to the movies?"

Was this a date already? Chi-Chi was being so straightforward. He found that he liked that. "You're right, it is early. Is it really that urgent?"

"Well, for me it is. It's the best time to go. Sometimes you even get the whole theater to yourself! But there's this movie that just came out and I've been asking people to take me, but everyone's just too busy and I'm just annoying to everybody so you're my last resort."

"Your last resort?" he teased.

Chi-Chi laughed at this. It was a beautiful laugh and it was doing things to his heart. He didn't really mind being her last resort or middle resort or first resort… "I know, it sounds kinda' bad, but are you interested?"

"You know I don't live down the street, right?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right. You live near Pan, right? Out in West Capital. I guess…this was a bad idea then. I mean, I don't want to force you to drive for that long—"

"It's fine. I just so happen to have the day off. I wouldn't mind going to the movies. I haven't been in a long time. To be honest, mornings are great for movies."

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. So, how long is it going to take you?"

"A few hours. Luckily, it'll still be early since the sun has barely come out."

"Well, don't let me keep you. Get here as fast as you can. I'll be waiting for you."

"Yes, ma'am." He wondered if she could hear the amusement in his tone.

They hung up after that. He hadn't felt like crawling out of bed today, but now he was rushing to get himself together so he could be out on the road already. He had to calm down midway through his usual morning ritual to collect himself. He made a small breakfast. Then he made sure he took enough medication with him. Soon he was edging out into the main street with his car. By the time he was on the interstate, he was a speeding a little over the limit—something he'd never done before. The giddiness was getting to him. This time, the drive over felt like it lasted an eternity and he was relieved when he finally made it into the city.

The driveway only had two cars this time as he pulled up. He sat a few moments in his car to calm his racing heart before making his way leisurely to the front door. He knocked and waited for an answer. He wondered if he should have called to let her know that he had arrived, but there was always the off chance that—

"Oh, hey—didn't know you were dropping by," Gohan said opening the door.

"H-Hi," Auden said clearly embarrassed.

"You're good with computers, right?"

"Well—

"My desktop has been on the fritz for weeks now and this morning it won't even bootup all the way. Do you mind taking a look at it—if it's not too much trouble?"

"Sure, of course," Auden replied though, in reality, he really didn't feel like doing that. He hoped it wouldn't take too long, but there were a dozen and one reasons why a computer would stop booting up properly and not all of them had easy solutions.

He followed Gohan through the house down into the den he'd seen the stairs to last time. The den had been turned into a lab. It was far more pristine than Bulma's place—the air seemed sterile as well, reminding Auden immediately of a hospital. The floors were white and tiled and what looked like medical equipment were behind cases and storage units. In the back was a hefty-sized computer; an old model. It seemed more like a terminal than a desktop, but he'd yet to see it in action.

"Have you told CC about it?" Auden finally asked once they arrived.

"I sent in a work order last week. I guess they're just dragging their feet on that. Don't you work in that department?"

"Not for these sorts of issues. We deal more with data management."

"Ah, I see. Well, it's a good thing you randomly decided to show up. What I'm working on is really important."

They all say that… "I'm sure it is," he said as he took out his phone. "So let's turn it on and see what happens."

Gohan did so and they watched as the computer slowly went through its routine processes.

"Is it usually this sluggish?" Auden asked.

"Always. I turn it on first whenever I come down here—it takes almost half an hour for it to finish."

"Why not get a newer model?" Auden asked.

"Because…well, I would hate to just throw away a good, working computer and this was the first one I ever got all those years ago. We have history," he finished with a good-natured laugh.

"A computer becomes both useless and vulnerable after five years. Even if I got this working, you'd probably run into another problem fairly quickly."

Gohan turned to him with a frown, "Exactly what CC has told me over and over again. I don't know how people can just throw things away just because it's old—how is it useless if it still turns on? I'm guessing a guy like you wouldn't understand."

Auden sighed at this. "You're right, I don't. But you're not the first person I've met who's grown overly attached to inanimate objects." He was already looking at his phone again accessing the computer's OS which was also old, but clearly not as old as the computer itself. The OS probably couldn't be updated past this point due to structural limitations.

"It's not like…" Gohan paused probably thinking better on his response. "Yeah, I know, I'm being silly, but I really would hate having to get rid of it. Mom and I saved up a lot of money just to get this and it was a big deal at the time." He looked distant as his mind was likely reminiscing.

"Maybe you're looking at this in the wrong way. When someone is at the end of their life and there's no way around it, would it not be more considerate to simply allow them a fitting end or continue to artificially prolong their suffering? Devices like these aren't simply thrown away—its parts are recycled and put to better use."

"Now that is a difficult question especially since there's always a chance that someone could make a recovery."

"I don't think it's right to assume something like that considering that something alive must always die. We can say that there is always a chance that someone doesn't make a recovery."

"That's true…"

"Alright, turn it off and try to turn it on again."

"Oh, you fixed it, already?" Gohan asked with some excitement.

"I don't know. We'll have to see if there's some other underlying issue."

The computer sprang to life this time and quickly transitioned to the welcome screen again in record time.

"Wow, it hasn't moved like this since I first got it. What did you do?" he asked impressed.

"There was a virus that had taken hold of your computer, but it doesn't seem too serious. The information on the device is still safe."

"I had no idea—and I've been being extra safe with this thing. I know it's pretty vulnerable, but I still have anti-malware on it and CC has the best on the market."

"Even if CC didn't, I'm sure they'd still claim they did," Auden said sardonically. "I'm going to install something a little better." He pressed send on his cellphone to instantly download the new software.

"Better than what I already have?" Gohan asked incredulously. "I bet it costs an arm and a leg and you're giving it to me for free?"

"Don't worry, it's something I made myself, but I really didn't change the interface or the logo."

Auden said this as the familiar CC logo popped up on the screen and commenced to installing.

"That sounds pretty exclusive—glad I asked for your help."

"Before you ask—I did send updates to their software, but the director in that department wasn't particularly fond of my meddling. Anyways, you now have the most powerful anti-virus program on your computer. Perhaps the amount of issues your computer has will decrease. Just make sure to keep it updated."

"Wait, you're going to be personally updating the software?"

"It's not so incredible. I'm just going to copy and paste code from CC's official version as well as add my own manipulation."

"I feel like I should be paying you or something."

"Don't worry about it. It's just something I like to do on my free time."

Auden watched as Gohan clicked through a few menus and started up some programs. "You've taken decades off this computer's life. It's officially a miracle. Now it makes more sense when Bulma called me earlier about what you did with the planetary radar. She could barely contain her excitement."

"News gets around fast. I had no idea."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much at her beck and call. Welcome to the club," he said laughing.

"So, you're working on the same thing Bulma is? Trying to find the dragon balls?"

"Not quite. She has that completely covered and it's not like I could have helped her much on that anyway. I'm working on something else entirely. A federal agency commissioned CC once again on a case that's been bubbling under the surface for some time now—they kinda' had to since they'd hit a brick wall in their investigation. There've been strings of food contamination cases all across the world. They've taken samples, studied it, but they still have no idea where these products are being compromised and the number of incidents keep increasing now more steadily."

Auden's eyebrows furrowed at this. "All this is happening, and no one's informed the general public?"

"It would cause pandemonium, no doubt. We just don't have enough information yet nor do we even know how it's effecting people and to what extent. They've already recalled brands with the worst of it, but compromised products have appeared all across the spectrum and not just in consumables."

"Well, what do you know?"

"About the contaminants? Well, I've been studying these substances in the lab and I've had some breakthroughs. It seems to be able to take hold of DNA material and permanently change its structure. As far as I can tell, it can potentially lead to some subtle and not so subtle side-effects. Headaches, insomnia, increased aggression, increased appetite, increased risk of heart attack, increased strength, and in some cases infertility."

"Why does this sound like synthetic testosterone like steroids?" Auden asked as he listened intently.

"It does, but that's apparently not what this substance is. In my opinion, it seems like a mix between a virus and a stimulant. I've never seen anything like it before. But again, you have to have consumed this in a high amount and there hasn't been a case where that's happened."

"But it permanently changes one's DNA?"

"Yes. By the time I was assigned this case, most people had already been affected in some way unbeknownst to them. It stinks, I know. But there's not much we can do about it."

"And should I be worried? What's the risk levels in West Capital?"

"Oh that place got hit the worst, sorry. They've been working on stopping this for a while so they probably have a handle on it by now, but we still don't know the origins of all of this. We really need to figure this out."

"Maybe I should start growing my own food," Auden said shaking his head slowly.

Gohan looked at him sympathetically. "See what I mean? This could really start a panic and we'd be no closer to figuring out what's happening. You seem fine though. The worst is already over so they say."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you alright? Have you checked if it's done anything to you?" Auden asked.

"I did actually, but I should have known that this wouldn't have an effect on me."

Auden looked at him confused.

"Nevermind that. Just thought I might inform you about my current assignment."

"It sounds absolutely terrifying. Why exactly are you telling me all this privileged information?"

"Well, you already know about the dragon balls," he said with a shrug, "And I'm sure Bulma has you on her speed dial now the way you helped her last time. Hopefully I don't need to tell you this, but this should stay between us. I'm hoping it all goes away just as quietly as it came."

"How are you so calm about this?"

"I'm doing all I can to address the issue," Gohan said, "Which is more than what I usually do these days. For all intents and purposes, this all sounds bad, but nothing has really happened. Effected individuals have experienced no changes in their wellbeing. CC was told about this based off a routine check of food products and there was an anomaly that they couldn't make heads or tails of. I studied it as much as I could to finally tease out some negative side-effects. Aside from the DNA, nothing else will come of it since you need the contaminants in extremely high doses to have noticeable side-effects."

"That's somewhat relieving…"

"Yeah, I'm crossing my fingers that this isn't anything too serious."

Auden watched as Gohan had sat down at the computer—he'd already began typing in earnest. From the little he could make out on the screen, it appeared to be the beginning of a report summary of some kind.

"Well," Auden said after a moment. "If that's all you need from me, I think I'll take my leave."

"Okay," Gohan replied clearly preoccupied, "Oh and thanks again."

Auden slipped out of the lab before Gohan decided to ask him why he was even there in the first place.

"Auden? There you are. I saw your car outside, but didn't see you anywhere," Chi-Chi's voice said from behind him.

He turned to her with some surprise though relieved that he didn't have to go searching for her. He might have eventually ran into Videl.

"I was helping your son with a little problem."

"You mean with that junk computer he keeps down there?"

Auden grinned at this. "It's a piece of junk that might now survive a couple more years."

"Wait, you fixed it?"

"More or less."

"Good. I was getting tired of him complaining about it at every dinner! CC was really dragging their feet on that."

"I have a feeling there was a reason behind that, but it doesn't matter now."

"You're here for five minutes and I'm already glad I called."

Chi-Chi looked a little different today. She was wearing two hairpieces on the sides to push back her hair and dark red lipstick that added a bit of sheen to her lips.

"You look beautiful," Auden said.

She laughed at this. "Oh please, you don't have to try and butter me up. You're doing me a favor. I hate going to the movies alone."

"Well then, let's go while the day is still young."

He stepped aside to allow her to take the lead—she seemed all too happy to oblige. As she walked past him, he followed.

"Here I was thinking I'd have to wait until much later or watch it on TV somewhere. Thanks for actually coming."

"It was no problem."

"Well, still, you drove for hours for little ol' me. Don't think I haven't noticed."

They made their way out of the house and eagerly climbed into the car.

"So which movie theater? There's a few of them nearby."

"I want the one with recliners—Century Cinema."

"Century Cinema it is," Auden said as he tapped it into the GPS.

"Oh, you don't need that," Chi-Chi said referring to the GPS, "I'll tell you where to go."

"Alright," he said as he paused his quick tapping motions on the touchscreen dashboard. "If we get lost, it's all on you," he teased.

She snorted. "Don't worry, I know where I'm going."

"Says the lady who admits that she doesn't go out much."

"I only go to the movies or to the grocery store if anywhere."

"Nowhere else?"

"Well…maybe a couple other places."

She didn't divulge him on just what that was, and he didn't push her to answer. Instead, he focused on driving as he carefully pulled out of the driveway. He waited patiently for her instructions as he slowly made his way to the intersection. He wasn't really comfortable driving in an area he wasn't familiar with no GPS to help. From his experience, relying on someone else was nerve-racking since people often waited until the last minute to tell you to turn left or right. Yet here he was. He didn't usually drive this slow, but today he would to assuage his growing anxiety.

Auden sighed when they made it all the way to the intersection and she hadn't said anything. Her eyes seemed glued to the window on her side. "Left or right," he asked as politely as he could muster.

"Oh, sorry—make this right," she said as if he was disturbing her thoughts.

"Please, Chi-Chi, we might end up driving into a ditch if you keep this up."

"Yeah, yeah," Chi-Chi replied slightly annoyed. "Now I see why you like your GPS—you don't like getting lost."

"I think most people don't like getting lost."

Chi-Chi chuckled at this. "Well, we're not in a rush, right?"

"Apparently not. But you did say you wanted to get there sometime this morning."

"Geez, it's not that bad. It takes maybe an hour or two to drive through this whole city."

"Without traffic, maybe."

"I try to avoid traffic."

"I find traffic to be mostly unavoidable."

"Well, go early or very late."

"I don't always have the luxury. Like now."

"I guess it is getting towards the afternoon."

As soon as they made it out of the neighborhood, they were faced with traffic that was just beginning to slow down to a snail pace. Auden glanced over at Chi-Chi who was back to observing the outside world through the side window.

"You really don't get out much, do you? Not even to the movies, not even for groceries."

"I end up walking sometimes, but my family likes to just get things for me so I don't have to bother going somewhere. I mostly just feel like a burden on everyone so it doesn't seem right to make them take me places just because I'm bored."

"Walking? So far, things seem quite spread out and I don't see a lot of sidewalks."

"I noticed pretty quickly that this city isn't very friendly to pedestrians. Guess that's city life for you."

"Correction, Satan City isn't friendly to pedestrians. West Capital is. The infrastructure here isn't nearly has well-thought out or innovative."

"Of course, you know the tiny difference between this or that city. It's all noisy and crowded."

"Well, they both have a lot of traffic—this isn't as bad as back home though."

Chi-Chi giggled a little at this. "Back home," she repeated almost to herself. "When I hear that phrase, I think of something a lot more quiet and intimate."

"I can only imagine. You haven't told me where to go in a while, by the way."

"You're going the right way."

"Really?" he said half-believing.

"Yep, didn't even have to say anything. Seems your instincts of just going to the main street and going straight down was right. Who knew?"

"Well, you're forcing me to guess. All this mystery is completely unnecessary."

"So long as we don't drive into a ditch, we'll be fine."

Auden hadn't heard of Century Cinema before. It was likely a small chain if it was one at all. Knowing Chi-Chi, it was probably something small and personable. He didn't expect it to be at the nearby town center that was coming up. Maybe it was somewhere further along in a shopping center. They had to sit through quite a few stop lights along the way.

"Is the turn coming up soon?" Auden asked once they were past the town center.

"Yes, actually. On the next turn coming up."

"Left or right?" he asked this time not disguising his impatience.

"What do you think?" she asked with some mischief in her tone.

"Left," he said noticing that the right seemed to be leading into a residential area.

"Hm, it's like you know this place already."

"For a GPS, you're not very forthcoming," he said turning on his left signal.

Chi-Chi chuckled again. "See? You can just use your instincts especially if you've lived your whole life in cities; it shouldn't be that difficult to figure out where things are even if you haven't been there before."

"Maybe, but I would prefer less guessing."

"You should trust yourself more."

Auden glanced over at her again, but she hadn't even been looking his way. She seemed enthralled with the moving world around her. He had to look around for the sign since it was obvious to him that she'd likely answer his question of "where" with another one of her own. It was stress-inducing, but they were nearly there and this little ordeal was almost over. He had to make a few turns as the shopping center was vast and had different sections, but eventually he found the huge parking lot of the theater with only a few cars occupying it.

"We're here," he said after deciding on an arbitrary parking space not even bothering to ask where she preferred him to park.

"Huh? Oh, yes, we made it." She seemed in her own little world and he'd taken her out of it at least for the time being. "I really like that you don't turn on music or anything just on a side note. Every time I go out with the family, they always have some wacky music selection on and we can barely hear each other talk."

"It just helps me concentrate," he said back, "But I don't mind music."

"Even still," she said opening her door.

He climbed out of the car as well, glad to have made it in one piece. Once she closed her door, he locked them with his key before joining her on the long trek to the entrance.

"I forgot to ask you—what movie did you want to see?"

"You'll see," she said with a smile.

"Another unnecessary mystery? We're about to buy tickets anyway."

"I already bought tickets."

"Oh," he said in subtle surprise.

"Gohan got them for me so I don't have to fumble around with cards and money."

"Well, did you want anything to eat? Popcorn, candy?"

Chi-Chi shook her head no. "I just want to watch a movie. We can eat afterwards, if you want."

"I'd like that," he said without hesitation.

True to her word, it was a mystery right up until they arrived at the right room. It was a romantic comedy. He should have known. This had premiered in theaters last week if he remembered right. The people who'd wanted to watch it had already done so ages ago. It didn't take long these days for movies to circulate out of the theaters. This was likely the last week it would be in. He spied her looking at him as he noted the movie title in large letters on the signage.

"So?" she asked wanting to get his opinion.

"Well, it's a movie."

"Cute. You don't like it, do you?"

"I won't know until I see it, but it's not my favorite genre."

"Oh, you're so diplomatic. You can just say you hate it. It won't hurt my feelings."

"We'll see," he said much to her annoyance. For some reason, he didn't mind her annoyance and he grinned in response.

He hadn't seen a lot of these kinds of movies, but he'd seen enough in his humble opinion. They were all quite painful to watch. Had anyone other than Chi-Chi been there beside him, he might have just left the theater a few minutes in. Is this what Chi-Chi wanted from him? Should he be more romantic? The very idea of it sounded tiring. He just wanted to be in her company. It didn't necessarily have to have some romantic subtext. From the short time he'd know her, even she didn't seem all that interested in overtly romantic things. Of course, they were at the movies together. Perhaps one could read into that, but he didn't think it was the same.

His perpetual tiredness did nothing to help him actually sit through more than a quarter of the movie. He was already fighting with his eyelids not to close completely. Whenever he glanced over at Chi-Chi, she seemed to have her full attention on the screen. Why wouldn't she? It was a huge screen and the biggest thing sitting directly in front of them with bright flashing lights. Yet he couldn't find the energy to even pay attention to what was happening. The dialogue that droned on and on turned into a pleasant lullaby. There was some argument happening—it reminded him of something, but he couldn't think of what. He could hear distant voices. It was his mother's voice or what he assumed was her voice, he really had no idea what she sounded like anymore. There was a striking familiarity with it. Then a heavy, male voice which seemed similar to his own yelled back with overwhelming fervor drowning out the woman's voice. He couldn't decipher the words. He was too young, and they were talking too fast. It all felt nostalgic. Someone was holding him. He was in someone's lap, his father's lap. He could feel the electric environment around him yet he felt safe and unbothered. He heard one sentence clearly.

"I told you to go put him upstairs!"

He felt someone nudging him. He ignored it at first, but then it became more insistent. "Auden? Movie's over," came Chi-Chi's voice.

"Hm?" he said tiredly. It was a struggle opening his eyes again. He'd probably been moments away from really falling asleep.

"Come on, let's go," she said climbing out of the chair. She stretched a little and he heard a few of her bones cracking. "Ugh, sitting in one place for too long does wonders for me."

It took him a moment to catch his bearings. Waking up in such a public place was jarring and the room was still dark albeit a little less so since the credits were rolling. He yawned despite himself. "Sorry about that—

"No need to apologize," she said laughing. "I had a blast and my husband would have done way worse than you. We made it through the whole thing without you annoying me to death."

"Sounds like a low bar."

"He would have needed tons of food to get him through a two-hour long movie and that's if you could get him to sit down and that's even if you can explain what a movie is in the first place and that's even if you can drag him away from training for more than a few seconds."

"Well, he seems interesting."

"Like I said, you did far better."

When he climbed out of the chair, he was a little light-headed and as they stepped out of the theater, the world appeared strange around him as it always did after watching a movie. Even though he hadn't seen much of it, the same effect still applied. Auden could sense Chi-Chi's good mood as he had to constantly move faster keep up with her pace.

She turned to him moments before making it past the sidewalks, pausing in her giddy pace. "I think I forgot to say it but thank you for taking me to the movies. You came all this way just for me and I know that you didn't have to do any of this."

"The pleasure was all mine," he said readily.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No, I really mean it," he insisted. "I know it sounds cliché, but it describes what I'm thinking. I suppose we haven't done very much today—even still."

"I think I might just believe you," she said observing him quietly. "Which is incredible since, you said it, we haven't done anything really. Hanging out with someone like this—I'm not used to it. Whenever I tried to do something like this with my husband something would always come up or he'd find every silly way to get out of it. You're nothing like that."

"One of my favorite parts of the day is when you start comparing me to your husband."

She looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry, you probably don't like that, but I think about him a lot. Since the day he decided to leave, I'm always wondering if he's doing okay or if he's even alive."

"Do you still love him?" he asked in neutral tones.

"Yes," she said looking at him squarely. "Is that a dealbreaker for you?"

"I was just wondering. I wasn't aware I was involved in some sort of deal. Besides, I think people are capable of loving more than one person at once. Monogamy is overrated."

She seemed to be left in shock even as he made movements towards the parking lot. After two steps, she snapped out of it and caught back up with him.

"What is this? Are you 'edgy' Auden now?" she teased. "I know I don't know you that well, but that seemed completely left field."

"I think I prefer 'city boy'. I'm not very edgy. Just from observing people from afar, I know people end up being attracted to far more than just one person and then struggle trying to convince themselves that they must choose one. They can only be fulfilled by one person and not another. We all know that that's clearly not the case, but societal norms force them to choose or face the consequences."

"It's almost like you were secretly watching the movie. I think you're right though. I could never see myself in that situation though. Goku was my first and only."

"Don't you think it's a little short-sighted?—especially since you have no idea what the future holds or the people you might meet."

Chi-Chi snorted at this. "Don't think I don't see what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know what you think this is, but we are just two adults enjoying a movie together."

"I wouldn't call it that, but I don't see why we have to put labels on anything."

"What would you call it?"

"I haven't the slightest clue. I'm just glad you got to do something you otherwise wouldn't today and that I got to spend some time with you."

"That last part…" She let the sentence hang in the air.

"Yes?" he asked urging her to finish her thought.

"If that's really all you want, then maybe I can persuade you to take me somewhere else."

"Of course. I have all day."

"First off, are you hungry?"

"Not particularly."

"Great, I wasn't either. It's just…Well, I won't bring him up again—"

"There's no need to censor yourself. If you want to talk about him, then I want to hear about him."

Chi-Chi laughed at this. "Yeah, right. I know you're just being nice."

"Where did you want to go?" he asked refocusing the conversation.

"There's a park I haven't been to in ages. I just want to walk around there a bit, well, however long you're willing to anyway."

"Let's go then. The weather's nice today."

"R-Really?"

His eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion. "Why not?"

By now they'd made it back to the car and were talking to each other on either side of it.

"You don't seem like a 'park' kind of guy. I can picture you somewhere inside messing around with some sort of computer."

"Usually, but not all the time. I'm not opposed to some change in scenery." Auden took this moment to open the car door and slip in. He waited for Chi-Chi to do the same.

She climbed into the seat beside him. "Well, good, I didn't want to take you too far out of your comfort zone."

"Hm, I've been trying to expand my comfort zone as of late."

Chi-Chi looked at him questioningly. "Oh? Some sort of midlife crisis?"

"No, just a determination that hadn't been there before. One has to start somewhere."

"Now that's a gentle way of putting it," she teased. "Alright, so this park I want to go to—I actually have no idea how to get to it or the address."

"Just tell me what it's called."

"Wait, that's all you need?"

"That's all. I'll do the rest."

"The wonders of technology. Dyer's Park."

Auden quickly input this into the GPS, having to eventually change the spelling, before located what was possibly Chi-Chi's destination—she couldn't even remember if it was inside the city limits or not.

"Doesn't it feel like we're on an adventure now? We have no idea if we're going to the right place."

"You like getting lost, don't you?"

"It's all part of the fun. Everyone's always in a rush and it doesn't have to be that way. All that pent-up stress always needing to be somewhere at some particular time. I don't know how people do it all their lives."

"Nothing would ever get done otherwise. Have you ever thought about the people who constantly waste time waiting for the person unconcerned about whether they get somewhere on time? That's stress-inducing."

"So, you value punctuality."

"If there's need for it, yes."

"But even if it's not, I bet you set up some sort of rough schedule in your mind that you more or less try to adhere to."

"There's only so much time in a day. I do have some plans later on."

"Like?"

"Well, I think I'll make dinner tonight for my daughter. She wants to bring over that guy she's been seeing for a while now."

"I remember those days. They always make it like some huge ordeal every time I asked about their girlfriends. I'm a perfectly reasonable person."

"Well, this would be the first time for this sort of thing. She usually likes to keep to herself."

"Oh, like you."

"She's nowhere near as bad as I am."

Chi-Chi's eyes were already glued to the passing trees of the highway. "I bet she's just as beautiful as you are."

"She takes after her mother quite a bit."

She turned quiet when he said this. It was as if she knew not to ask anything further. Frankly, he wasn't even sure why he'd even uttered the words. It was as if some part of him was willing to rip open old wounds having barely healed over in the first place. Of course, he couldn't help that his mind would always return to the trauma at some point each day.

Chi-Chi seemed more enthralled with the environment outside and he let the matter rest. He looked at the ETA and noted that there was a half an hour left. Auden had his doubts that Chi-Chi had even been there before. This was on the edge of the city and it seemed difficult to get someone to even take her to the movies that was just five minutes away. They drove in relative silence until they made it there. Trees were already looming overhead and soon they were in complete shade as he inched through the one-way lanes to a parking spot. There were quite a few cars out there already on account of the bright, sunny day.

She looked around with a bit of a smile on her face. "You know, I'm still not sure if this is the right place, but I like it already. I bet it has hiking trails."

Tired of being in the car and enticed by the greenery beyond, he simply climbed out of the car. He wondered if he should have been better prepared for this. When it came to places like these, it always seemed like a good idea to have a bag of emergency items, but such forethought was often too tiring to follow through on.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No."

"Are you sure? I mean, we can always grab something before we go in. I don't want you to starve to death."

"I'm not hungry."

She looked at him perplexed. "Well, alright."

"Are you?" he asked outright.

"Not this early," she said.

"My thoughts exactly."

"But…Nevermind."

Without even knowing where they were headed in particular, they began on a trail that started nearby. Neither were opposed to it. Auden hadn't stretched his legs like this in some time, but as long as they kept a leisurely pace, he didn't foresee any issues.

"You really seemed concerned," he noted at last.

"Sorry, I'm just used to someone wanting food all the time."

"Your husband?" he asked casually.

"Goku couldn't get past a full thirty minutes before he was thinking about food again. I used to cook all the time and pack so much food or arrange to eat somewhere at certain times that it became second nature, at least whenever we actually hung out."

"He sounds even more interesting. Eating is such a chore. Finding all the ingredients, cooking, cleaning up, using the bathroom afterwards or wasting money at some overpriced restaurant or fast food. If I can sit down at three different meals in a day, that's a good day. The idea of snacking between meals, equally as tiring—you either plan for it or waste more time and money looking around for something to eat. And if I get too full, I'll probably just fall asleep which isn't ideal in the middle of a workday."

"Geez, you make it sound so depressing! What about good food? Don't you ever look forward to eating something nice and flavorful?"

"I do sometimes, if I can get around either cooking it or going to get it somewhere. It requires motivation I don't always have, and it just adds one more stipulation to figuring out what to eat."

"Spoken like someone who's not that good at cooking."

"It doesn't come naturally, but whenever I get around to it, I don't hear any complaints from Aster and she has no issue complaining about things."

"Well, that's something at least. I guess you don't have a lot of good memories with food then."

"I wouldn't say that. It's just not a big deal. Not on a daily basis."

"Huh," she said thoughtfully as they continued down the path. "You know, I guess I'd say the same. I feel like I'm cooking almost all the time, but by the time we're all sitting around the table to enjoy it—I'm just not up to the task. Strangely enough."

"Food tastes even better when you're not the one preparing it or it wasn't too difficult to put together."

"You might be right about that."

They walked a while without speaking. The foliage was thick around them and all he could hear were sounds of wildlife coming from every direction. It was as if the trees were alive chattering to one another especially as a persistent cool breeze shook the leaves. The heavy shade kept the climbing temperatures of the day at a reasonable level. If only he'd worn the right shoes to this little venture—he wouldn't be feeling every sharp rock he managed to step on.

"Want to race me?" Chi-Chi asked breaking the silence.

"No—

But before he could fully answer, she was already racing off and he didn't want to be left behind. Her feet moved easily over the uneven floor filled with sticks and other tree and animal droppings. He tried to keep up, but he was already losing ground. He almost fell down twice in his haphazard pursuit. Then she parted from the trail completely and led him deeper into the far less traveled section. He was beginning to see why as he struggled moving through thick, unmanaged plant life. He stumbled a few more times before losing sight of her. For a moment, he was utterly lost and surrounded on all sides by heavily vined trees. Panic was just beginning to set in, but he ignored it for the time being.

"Hey, Chi-Chi, wait up!" he called out.

Several birds shot up into the sky nearby, but he didn't hear a response. All he could do was keep going straight. He moved as fast as he could without falling flat on his face though he knew he was quickly running out of breath. His breathing was quite ragged, in fact, when in the next moment he was out of the thick foliage and in a comparative clearing. The grass was too dense for stable footing, but it wasn't as bad as before. He saw Chi-Chi in the distance further into the center much to his relief. Hopefully, she was done sprinting around as she seemed to be enjoying herself in the bright rays of the sun. Maybe this was her preferred area in the park. He wondered how she'd ever found it considering how far off the trails this was.

He made it a few steps in before deciding to simply sit down. Besides, his balance wasn't improving as he was trying to catch his breath. He was still in the shade of the trees. Her excitement could barely be contained as she frolicked about in all the open space. She was bursting with energy and completely in her element—a sharp contrast from himself.

Eventually, she acknowledged his presence and came back to sit near him. "A little out-of-shape, are we?" she teased laughing.

"Just a little." He might have laughed as well had he the breath for it.

"So how do you like it? I mean, I had no idea this was here, but I'm glad I found it."

Auden looked at her wearily. "This was just some wild goose chase? I should have known. You don't seem like the type to plan anything out."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have left you behind. I'm not that inconsiderate."

"One can only wonder." His heart was still pounding but his breathing was just beginning to normalize.

"Maybe we should do this more often, you know."

"Stumbling through a forest? I think I'll pass."

"Oh, you'd get used to it. This was kind of spur of the moment. I meant jogging somewhere. I really don't get out like I used to."

"This was jogging? Seemed like you were running at breakneck speeds."

This seemed to amuse her as she laughed a little louder than last time. "Someone should drag you away from your computers more often. I barely broke a sweat and this is me on a bad day." She took this moment to lie down on the grassy carpet to peer up into the sky.

"It would help if I didn't have the wrong kind of shoes on."

She glanced over at his loafers. "I bet you don't even own a pair of sneakers or boots."

As he thought about it, he realized this was true, but he didn't grace her with an answer that was likely obvious at this point. He made himself a little more comfortable as he spread his legs out before him in a direction away from Chi-Chi. He'd rather be sitting in a nice, clean chair, but he had to make do. Perhaps a blanket would have helped in this situation.

"Are you hungry yet?" she asked.

"Are you going to keep asking me that?"

"Force of habit, I guess. Now I'm worried you're starving yourself—I've probably been around too many Saiyans."

He wondered at the term 'Saiyan', but he ignored it for now. "I suppose it's getting to lunchtime. Maybe then I'll get something."

"Maybe I could make you something."

"You don't have to go through all that trouble."

"No trouble at all. I have to get back home for lunch anyways."

"What happens if you decide not to cook?"

"I'm sure they won't know what to do with themselves," she said giggling.

"They're all adults, they should be able to figure something out."

"You'd think. I know Gohan wouldn't be happy if I didn't tell him ahead of time."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"Oho, you're telling me not to worry?"

"You're right, that felt a little strange," he said amused.

Though he'd gathered himself by now, he knew he'd feel perpetually tired for the rest of the day—more tired than usual at least. Whatever reserved energy he thought he had simply disappeared in the face of rigorous activity even if it was for a few minutes.

"You know, me and Bulma talk sometimes."

He unconsciously bristled at the utterance of her name. "It's difficult for me to imagine Bulma having a friend like you."

"We just so happened to be in the same circle of friends and Goku can make friends with everyone. She ended up with Vegeta and suddenly we always had a ton of things to talk about. Anyways, she was there for me when others weren't."

"That seems like a common theme for her."

"She's a fiercely loyal friend."

"I suppose so."

"She told me about you coming to help her on one thing or another. As soon as she gets into her science talk, I kind of tune her out. I had no idea who you were at the time, all I had was a name and she told me how worried she was about you. She sort of colored my impression of you before ever meeting you. We've been hanging out for awhile and you hardly seem like the person she described, but I guess I don't know you as well as she does. Here you are completely out of your element and you seem calm and composed."

"I'm flattered anyone would bother discussing me at any length. Last time I visited her, things turned sour fairly quickly and I didn't handle things well at all. It was embarrassing."

"Oh, sorry, I don't mean to put you on the spot. I couldn't keep all this to myself."

"I took a couple days off work to recover which is why I have so much free time today. Me and Bulma have some history together—history I'd rather forget—it's not always so easy to keep my composure in front of her. I know that's not a good excuse. It didn't have to be her; it could have been anyone in which that happened. One thing just sets off another and then it seems to spiral out of control. Sorry, if I'm not being very specific."

"That's alright. I don't need any specifics. I understand. Whenever I'm left to myself, I start to think about Goku, about how I'll never see him, and how much that continues to hurt more and more every passing day and I get into a mood that I can't seem to get out of very easily. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes cooking doesn't help me at all and then everyone gets overly concerned about me. I'm not usually like that. Usually, I can hide my sadness, but sometimes I can't and my thoughts become—well, I'm too embarrassed to say it out loud. They darken to a point which scares me."

"How do you ever recover from that?" he asked.

"Well, I wake up to a bright new day and the mood has somehow lifted. It's easier to sweep whatever I'd been feeling under the rug until it creeps back on me again some other time."

"I suppose a full night's rest really does work wonders."

"I don't know what I'd do if it didn't." She sat up slowly and positioned herself directly in front of him.

She observed him silently and he wondered what could possibly be going through her mind. She seemed pensive.

"Sometimes I like to meditate as well when all else fails," she said finally.

"It's helpful to think back on past actions and figure out how you could have done things differently."

"Not quite that—I do that sometimes too though. I'm talking about a more traditional form of meditation when you clear your mind of all distractions and strengthen your mental fortitude and balance your energy."

Auden looked at her questionably. "I don't think I've heard it described that way."

"Do you want to try it with me? I think it might help you."

He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he couldn't think of a legitimate reason to refuse. He'd already admitted aloud as well as to himself on plenty of occasions that he wasn't okay. He could manage to make it through a day only if nothing triggered him in the wrong way and he still wasn't fully aware what those triggers might be. He took a chance every time he went to work and engaged in social interactions. He knew he was taking even greater risks tasking himself with doing things outside of his usual routine. He knew that Aster hated whenever he did such things, but these were the milestones he'd set out for himself. It was something his therapist seemed to focus on each session. What were his goals and how would he reach them?

"Sure, I suppose it's worth a try."

She wore a subtle grin. "And here I thought you'd brush me off as crazy. People outside of our little group tend to think that. You already know about the dragon balls so I guess you're not quite like the general public."

"These dragon balls must be quite important. Is it forbidden knowledge to even know they exist?"

"Not really. It's just that so few people do and we're the ones who've tracked them down time and time again—not me specifically, but Bulma and the gang. It has far reaching consequences."

"If they do what Bulma says they do, the possibilities seem limitless."

"There are limits but for all intents and purposes, they might as well be," Chi-Chi replied. "Now, I need you to close your eyes."

Chi-Chi had already done so. He followed in suit. She didn't say anything else for a while and he wondered if he should have been trying to "clear his mind" at this point. The constant sounds of life around them became a bit more prevalent as he waited.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

"And how is that since we've barely just met?"

"You haven't given me a reason not to."

She paused before responding perhaps considering his answer. "So analytical or incredibly naïve—maybe both. Where do your feelings come in? Do you feel you can trust me?"

"They're unreliable at best, but I do feel I can trust you."

"Good. I'm just going to ask you a few questions—the same ones I ask myself every time I do this. You can come up with your own later on."

There was a longer pause here and once again the sounds of the forest overtook his senses. He wondered if this was intentional. He wondered if he should stop trying to 'figure out' how all this was working and just experience it. She had just asked if he trusted her after all.

"What is something you most look forward to doing right now?"

"In this instant? Figuring out if meditation will actually affect me in some profound way."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised at that answer. What is something you don't look forward to doing right now?"

"Doing anything that requires more physical exertion. I don't think I can take much more."

Chi-Chi couldn't resist giggling at this. "Don't worry about that. No more running today. I promise we'll just walk back to the car after this. Who do you trust the most?"

"You."

"Me? Do I need to remind you that we've only just—

"Yes, I know."

"But what about your daughter?"

"Aster? I know she cares about me, but I know she doesn't say certain things to me. I know that she's constantly trying to control every aspect of my life so that I remain socially isolated from anyone aside from her. I understand why she does that misguided though she may be."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you can work something out with her one day. Who do you hate the most?"

He had an answer immediately, but then couldn't bring himself to say it. They sat in awkward silence for some time.

"Out of all the people that you know," she expounded eventually.

"Is that really important?"

"I mean, not really. You don't have to say anything you don't want to."

"How do you usually answer that question?" he asked.

"The answer has been 'Goku' for many years now. It's important that I admit that to myself or else I might just burst."

"The man who you still love?"

"The very same. Life is strange sometimes, isn't it?"

Auden took a deep breath. "It's Bulma, sorry."

"No need to apologize. I know she can rub people the wrong way sometimes."

"At this point, I don't know what to do with that fact. It's just there and for some reason, it hasn't faded with time."

"Maybe it will one day, maybe it won't. Who do you—

"I'm already running out of people to answer these questions," he cut in.

"Just repeat names," she said with some amusement. "Who do you like the most?"

"You."

"Oh, stop. I thought you were taking this seriously."

"I am. I don't have a whole laundry list of people I hang out with, but even if I did, I suspect I'd have the same answer."

Chi-Chi sighed at this. "Right. Tell me, what is something you really like about yourself?"

"Well," he began thoughtfully. "That I'm able to help people with things they find too difficult to understand."

"All that techy stuff is way out of my wheelhouse, yet you make it sound like it so easy to understand. What is something you really hate about yourself?"

"As much as I like having time to myself sometimes it gets pretty lonely. I know that sounds pathetic. To not have some deep connection with someone that I trust becomes increasingly trying and it makes one stupid and desperate. I'm sorry, but do we have to keep doing this? I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to do," he finished with frustration in his tone.

"I—Well, I guess that got a little personal. I'm trying to be neutral. It's good that you're being honest with yourself. That's not easy for people to do. Saying these things out loud allows you to think more clearly. There's no confusion in your mind. You know where you stand. I was just asking things that I'm usually not sure about or I fool myself into thinking that it's something other than it is."

"I do enough of this sort of thing with my therapist."

"Oh," she said apparently caught off guard by his statement.

She was either surprised that he went to a therapist or that his tone wasn't quite as friendly as it usually was. He didn't care which one was true, but he was suddenly regretting doing any of this. Why had he agreed to take her to the movies anyway? He barely knew her. He'd already admitted to trusting and liking her more than anyone else and that was truly pitiful. No one would want to spend much more time with someone like that. Without Aster, who would even care? Why was he even bothering reaching out to anyone other than her? Eventually, every person he talked to would realize how much of a waste of space he was and move on with their lives regretting ever giving him any attention whatsoever. He opened his eyes for a second to check the time—it was a few minutes passed the time he was supposed to take his pills.

"Hold on for a moment," Auden said before she could say anything else.

"Take your time."

Her eyes were still closed. He thought about turning around so that she wouldn't see, but he realized that he was done with attempting to appear somewhat appealing in her eyes. He didn't have any water so he couldn't take them all at once, but slowly he poured the pills into his hand a few at a time and forced them down his throat with help from his saliva—probably not the most pleasant thing he'd done in his life, but he was far away from water and he knew he was already spiraling.

"Okay," he said returning to his position.

"I don't know what to say—Um, I didn't mean to upset you, but I guess I kind of did. It's always hard admitting things to yourself."

"It's fine."

"It's not 'fine'. None of this is designed to make you feel comfortable. That's not what meditation is about."

Auden frowned at this, but made no comment.

"I think I've prepped you enough and being in this sort of environment helps. Now that you're clear of mind it is time for the body. Try to sense every inch of your body without moving. Feel every part of yourself without touching—your neck, your shoulders and down from there. Notice the feeling of the ground beneath you and how it interacts with your feet and legs. Notice the breeze passing through here and how it touches certain parts of you and not others. When you're clear like this, when you're acutely aware of yourself, do you feel something else just under the surface? Something that's always been there but was never told to notice? Something moving through every part of yourself. You can control that. You have authority over that energy. If you can, can you bring it forth?"

He wasn't sure if he was focusing in on the right thing, but he'd noticed it before many times in the past in very quiet moments. It never occurred to him that he could somehow 'bring it forth' or that it was something to be manipulated. He hesitated for a moment as he felt it more prominently than he'd ever had before coursing fiercely through, almost nauseatingly so. It was hard to ignore now that he knew it was there. He was trembling now from its very presence as if excited about the prospects of its full acknowledgement. He realized he was holding his breath.

"It's alright, I can already feel it," Chi-Chi said encouragingly.

Then he released it and it was like the floodgates poured open. It raged completely out of his control seeping from every part of himself. He opened his eyes and all he could see was bright yellow all around him with sparks of electricity. He tried to climb to his feet, but only wound up falling forward onto his hands.

"Kami!" he heard her exclaim in surprise. She sounded further away from him. "Try to focus it in your hand! Just focus everything into one place, okay?"

Words seemed to escape him, but he took her advice—it was the only thing he could do otherwise he had no way to even begin figuring out what was happening. Focus, focus… Though it was a bit of a strain, he was able to reign all that energy into one singular point.

"Now try to bring it back—

He couldn't hold the fiery ball of energy in his hand and it shot from his grasp into the distance only to come in contact with the other end of the meadow. Then all at once, the ground began violently shaking and he lost what balance he did have. He heard Chi-Chi nearby falling to the ground though he hadn't sighted her yet. A mass of wind lifted him well off the ground and pushed him back so forcefully that he ended up colliding with a tree.

/

When he opened his eyes, the skies were already darkening. Clearly, some span of time had passed. He felt faint even as his senses slowly returned to him.

"You're awake!" Chi-Chi said excitedly. She was standing now before him with arms akimbo.

"H-How long was I out—What the hell was that?" he asked all at once.

"For hours. It's the same day. And I don't know—you tell me."

"Was that supposed to happen?"

"No way! I did the same thing with Goten and that definitely didn't happen. This was just supposed to be some mild mental and body strengthening. That's all!"

He tried to climb back to his feet, but quickly realized that he'd sooner be tumbling back down to the ground if went any further. As he sat down again, he waited for the world to stop spinning around him.

"Not so quickly," she warned. "It's no rush."

"What time is it?"

"Almost seven."

"Tch, it's gonna' take me hours to get back home and by then it would be well past dinner."

"You don't have to drive back today—maybe you can stay over. We have plenty of rooms."

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea," he said looking up at her now. "No offense."

"None taken. If you're so insistent though, maybe I can drive you."

"But then you'd be stuck in my city or get home really late."

"None of this is rocket science, alright?" she said squatting now. "We'll figure it out as we go. I'm more concerned about what just happened. You sure you're human, right?"

"Y-Yes," he said caught off guard by the question. "Is there some other species of humanoid beings?"

"You'd be surprised. I'm just making sure. What I saw today…" She looked out towards all the destruction in the distance. "I don't know how to say it other than it's way more than expected especially since this was your first time. I'm not all that well-versed in power levels and all that, but you must have broken some record. And your base energy seems extremely potent. I don't know what to make of it really."

"I don't know if what you said is a good or bad thing. Whatever energy I was feeling before, I'm not feeling it the same way. It's more subdued."

"I bet it is. Here, try standing again now." She held her hand to him and he took it.

This time when he climbed to his feet, his initial dizziness didn't overwhelm him, but he did stumble a little from weakness. He'd never felt this level of weakness before. It was as if he'd been overexerting himself for hours all in the span of a few moments.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I can manage walking," he said. It was becoming a little more difficult to see her in the increasing darkness. The sun had already set.

"Let's go before it gets too dark. I think the park already closed."

"Okay. I'll follow your lead."

She didn't run this time as promised. In fact, she walked slower than usual likely to accommodate his labored pace. The first few steps were somewhat manageable, but the rest of his fight through the thick forest was an uphill battle. He hoped he wouldn't lose his balance again. He knew he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon if that was the case. He was glad when they eventually made back on the path. They inched their way slowly back down the trail. He was grateful for Chi-Chi's unhurried pace.

Once in the parking lot again, Auden instinctively headed to the driver's side, but Chi-Chi insisted he take the other side. She was probably right in her sentiments, but he wasn't sure she could drive. Without bothering to voice his concerns he climbed into the passenger's side of the car. Upon sitting down, he knew he had no business behind the wheel at this point especially when exhaustion overtook him suddenly.

"So where to? Do you really want to head home or back to my place?"

"I know it sounds silly, but I really want to go back home. I won't fare very well elsewhere. Not resting at least. I can call a cab."

"Don't bother with all that. I can drive just fine. All I need is an address."

"Alright," he said no longer feeling up to analyzing why she wanted to do it this way. He told her the address and she seemed to remember it.

"I'll use the GPS," she said, "But…could you start it for me?"

"You? GPS?" he asked in surprise.

"Shut-up. I realize this is probably better than me bugging you the whole way there. Just do it before I change my mind."

Auden was already pressing the couple selections needed on the screen—his home was already programmed into the system. Soon the map was displaying directions.

"Good. Now all you gotta' do is relax. I'll take you home."

"But what about you?"

Chi-Chi sighed exasperatedly. "I'll take a cab back, of course. I know they'll really want me back."

"Fine, alright—I just wanted to make sure."

"Must you plan everything?"

"Sorry."

"It's alright."

The car being on, she finally decided to back out of the parking lot. She seemed to be a careful driver and she was likely quite rusty. He couldn't relax until they were out on the highway again. By that time, he couldn't resist closing his eyes in utter exhaustion. It was nice to finally give in.

The next time he was opening his eyes, he felt the car slowing down and his surroundings were familiar. He was back in West Capital.

"Had enough of your beauty rest? You're right on time."

The car was pulling up into the parking space. It was a little ways from where he usually parked, but he wasn't too concerned about this. Hours has passed in seconds. The second half of the day was becoming quite the blur. He groaned in his slowly subsiding bleariness. He heard as she opened the door on her side. It took him a moment, but eventually he did the same.

"Thanks," Auden finally said as he stretched his aching muscles.

"The pleasure was all mine," she said teasingly.

"You sure you're not just saying that just to make me feel better?" he said echoing their previous conversation.

"No, I really mean it," she said mocking his tone. "I know it sounds cliché, but it's really how I feel!"

Auden grinned at this. "Perfect execution."

She bowed barely able to stop herself from laughing. "Now that we're back and it's dinner time. I'm going to prepare dinner for you."

"Chi-Chi—

"And I won't take no for an answer!"

She looked at him challengingly and something told him that it wouldn't be in his best interest to decline. "Well then, welcome to my very small apartment home."

Auden wasn't sure if Aster was home yet, but he soon got his answer when he opened the door and found Aster and Jensen sitting quite closely together on the couch watching television. It gave him quite the surprise.

"Oh hey, Dad. Hey—" she stopped abruptly when she finally noticed Chi-Chi. Her expression immediately soured. "Who is she?"

"I'm Chi-Chi," she said as she closed the door behind herself. "And I'd appreciate it if you speak directly to me if you have any questions."

"Well, you still haven't answered my question," Aster snapped.

"Aster, please," Auden said wearily, seeing the sparks fly.

"I told you my name," Chi-Chi said haughtily.

"She's Gohan's mom—she's friends with Bulma," Jensen said speaking up just as wearily as Auden felt at the moment.

"Oh well, you two better not be up to anything," Aster cautioned.

"And who are you to tell two adults what to do, little girl?"

"I'm his daughter and I have every right to—

"Every right to—

"I could tell you to leave if I want—

"I could tell you to meet the bottom of my shoe!"

He could suddenly feel increasing gusts of wind around Chi-Chi and the temperature started rising as they both continued to argue and raise their voices. It was all giving him a major headache, but he had no idea what to do. Jensen was dragging Aster away down the hall much to his relief. It wasn't until the door slammed to her room that the tension began to dissipate. Chi-Chi had moved further into the house as Aster was being dragged away.

"The balls on that girl!" she shouted. "I swear!"

Auden sighed wearily. "Apologies for the introduction—that was Aster as you must have learned. I'll talk to her."

Chi-Chi shook her head. "Here I was thinking you were exaggerating before." She seemed to perk up after this. "Anyway! Let's start dinner!"

She was already racing into the kitchen. Auden was certain he'd never let someone new have so much access to his place in such a short amount of time. He thought he'd be panicking by now, but it all seemed somehow routine and inevitable. Maybe he was simply too tired to make a fuss. He could already hear the clanking of pots and pans. She had no idea what he had in the refrigerator and yet she felt confident that she could make something for four people.

"Need any help?" he called out.

"Nope, I'm fine. Dinner will be out in thirty!" she yelled back.

Far be it that he interrupt her flow. With a shrug, he took refuge in the small couch nearby. Already, he was dozing off again that is until he heard new footsteps. He hoped it wasn't Aster coming to wreak havoc. He peered at the newcomer with one eye.

"Hey," the boy said shyly.

"Hey," Auden said back quickly.

"I'm Jensen, by the way."

"So I gathered," Auden said with a yawn. "I hope Aster hasn't been giving you too much trouble."

"No, not at all," Jensen said shaking his head vigorously. "N-No sir. She's really fun to hang out with. She's usually a lot more laid back than this. I don't know what happened."

"Laid back?" Auden said wondering if they were talking about the same person. "If you say so. Isn't a bit late to be out?"

"It doesn't matter when I get home," he said haughtily.

"Ah, the rebellious type then? I should have known."

"That's not—well, you wouldn't understand."

Auden sat up a little straighter in the couch and looked at him squarely. He was a very effeminate looking boy preferring to wear white ribbons in his long, glossy black hair, deep red loose hanging rose earrings, and a crimson clothed choker. He was quite fair skin with long dark lashes and deep dark eyes. His clothing consisted of a turquoise blouse tied up in the front and tight-fitting jeans. Somehow it made sense that Aster would be attracted to him though he couldn't quite put his reasoning into words.

"I suppose it's complicated, right?"

"Are you teasing me?"

"Take it as you will. Well, glad to finally meet you."

"And you too, sir."

"You can drop the 'sir'. I hardly feel like I deserve the respect. How is she doing?"

"She's just upset about—well, she thinks you're dating that woman now."

"If I was, do you think it makes sense for her to be upset about it?"

"Well…Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"The way she described it. I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Of course you're taking her side."

Jensen frowned at this, "I'm not an idiot. I know she's overreacting a little."

"A little? Hm, the bias is quite strong. That's alright."

"Are you going to reprimand me now? Just like adults love to do all the time?"

"You do know that Aster is an adult, right?"

"I know. She's older than she looks."

"And how old are you?" he asked quizzically.

"I don't have an age. It doesn't work the same as humans."

"Sure, kid," he said successfully stopping himself from laughing.

"It's not a joke," he said angrily. "I don't have an age. I don't have any parents. I'm whatever I want myself to be."

"Is that right?"

His frown seemed to deepen.

"Then tell me. Who are you?"

Jensen seemed upset at first, but then slowly opened his mouth to answer. Before he said anything, he closed his mouth again and became pensive. "I haven't—I'll let you know when I have a good answer," he said finally.

"I'll be all ears."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm certainly interested in someone my daughter chooses to spend so much of her time with."

Jensen observed him quietly. "It's hard to get a read on you. Your thoughts seem shrouded in fog."

Though Auden was confused at this, he simply let the matter rest as Jensen made his way across the room back to Aster. It was probably for the best. If anything, the boy seemed to be harboring more baggage than what he was willing to deal with at the moment. He allowed himself to doze off for a while longer until Chi-Chi was shouting that the food was ready.

"Hey, sorry to leave like this, but I can't stay. Gohan's really worried."

"That's alright—you already did more than enough. I'll save some food for you."

"Don't bother," she said dismissively. "I have so much at home." Chi-Chi made her way quickly to the front door.

"Well, thank you. I could call you a ride, if you want."

"I'll be fine." She turned back to look at him. "I keep thinking about what happened at the park. When you've recovered, come call me again. I hope I didn't do more harm than good."

Something about what she said reminded him of his pills which he'd forgotten to take hours ago. He didn't feel like taking them, but more than that he still felt normalized. It was strange. "I'll call you regardless," he said with the beginnings of a grin.

She shook her head and then smiled briefly before turning the handle on the door. "Good night, Auden."

"Good night."

Auden had no idea how she was making it back home all in one night. She didn't have a cell phone to call anyone and she'd refused his help. Maybe he should just follow her advice and not worry about it. Clearly, she knew what she was doing better than him likely.

Jensen followed by Aster finally decided to show up just as he was making his way over to the kitchen to see what masterpiece Chi-Chi had created. The counter was overflowing with food—he wondered how she'd managed to make dinner look so full with so few ingredients. There was no way they'd make it through it all. He'd likely have a freezer and refrigerator filled with leftover.

Aster appeared to have calmed down by the time he finished setting the table, but he wasn't holding his breath for an apology. He wondered if he should have made a bigger deal about it. Seeing as it was two against one, it was probably a fool's errand.

"There's no way you made this," Aster said grudgingly as she managed to completely stock up her plate.

"It's on par with Bunny's cooking," Jensen said piling his plate even higher than hers.

Were the two of them in some sort of competition? He took his usual portions and sat on the other side of the small dining room table.

"Did you take your pills already?" Aster asked moments before Auden could place what was on his fork into his mouth.

"Of course," he lied.

Astor glanced over at Jensen who shook his head as if at a loss.

"I can't read him," Jensen said.

"Great, right when I needed it the most." Her eyes were on him again attempting to bear holes into his skull. "I can't tell if you're lying or not, but I really hope you took your pills this time."

His mouth was already filled with food so he did not answer immediately. "I've already told you once. Besides, didn't I say that I'd be on my best behavior today?"

"You didn't mention you were going anywhere today though," she challenged.

"It was spur of the moment."

"I know," Jensen said brightly, "Why don't you just show us the organizer with the pills."

Auden's eyes narrowed a little as his gaze turned to the child. "No."

"No?" Astor said with a laugh. "Just show us, Dad. Then we can stop making a big deal about it."

"I don't see why I have to. You either believe me or you don't." He continued on his food completely ignoring her annoyed look.

"Seriously?"

He continued to ignore her, but he felt his own annoyance growing.

"Dad," Astor said frustrated as she stood up from the table. She took a step towards him.

Now he did look her way. "If I were you, I wouldn't move any closer."

"You don't scare me," she said matter-of-factly, "And you know I'm just looking out for you, right?" She took another step with a knowing look on her face.

He gave her a hard look. "Sit down," he said acidly. She jumped back at his tone.

"Just do as he says," Jensen said tiredly, "There are some lines you just don't want to cross. Trust me."

His growing annoyance slowly fizzled out as he watched her sit down again. He didn't really think that would work, but he supposed Jensen was proving to be helpful. At this, he thought it was high time he went to bed. As nice as the food was tasting, his appetite simply wasn't there any longer and he wasn't sure he could stomach sharing the same table as the two know-it-alls. It was becoming nerve-racking.

"What? Where are you going? You haven't finished your food," Aster protested.

"Think I'll just call it a night," he said with a sigh. "Astor, make sure you clean everything."

"But—what about your plate? You didn't put it up," she said to his now turned form.

"I'm sure you can figure out what to do with that. It better be cleaned up by tomorrow morning."

She continued to protest, but he simply ignored her. Usually, he would indulge her. In fact, he always indulged her and he always caved to her demands, but he simply did not feel like it. He felt no obligation to do so. Maybe her new boyfriend could help her out.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," he heard Astor say loudly.

"Let's just clean it up. I think you'd better leave him alone tonight," Jensen answered.

Auden couldn't hear the rest of what was said, but he didn't care. It sounded like he'd get some peace and quiet tonight. Though he closed the door, he could eventually hear the sounds of dishes being washed and aluminum foil being rolled out. Music to his ears. It was like a sweet lullaby which finally coaxed him into sleep. He thought he might rest for the entire night, but it was not to be so.

At some point, he climbed from under the covers as the temperature became too warm for him. He tried various positions, but he was utterly uncomfortable and his covers were becoming soaked with his sweat. He probably had a fever. Maybe he was coming down with a cold. It wouldn't be the first time. Only now, something felt far more intense. There seemed to be pressure building up somewhere from within. It eventually became too much to even pretend like he was asleep. He sat up in bed wondering what he should do next. It was simply too hot to bear. Perhaps a cold shower was in order. The very thought of it sent him scrambling out the room into the bathroom so that he could feel some modicum of relief. He turned it on the coldest setting to no avail. Even as the ice-cold droplets hit his skin, the water began sizzling off and the bathroom became filled with water vapor. He remained there until he could no longer feel the water reaching him.

"What the hell," he said under his breath, looking into the mirror wondering if he might find something in his reflection.

The mirror was much too foggy to even see through. He had to wipe it off a few times, but he was presented with himself and nothing out of order. He knew that wasn't the case though. He knew he felt ready to burst. He was already beginning to tremble just like before. Fearful now, he ran back into his room and grabbed some clothes before escaping the confines of the apartment and nearly tripping down the stairs into the parking lot. Everywhere he looked there were cars and more cars—there were simply too many people around.

He remembered a grassy area behind the apartment building that rolled into a manmade pond. Maybe he could go there. He wasn't sure what he was planning to do, but now that he felt sufficiently out of the way of people, he simply released what meager hold he had over the energy that was already boiling. It was much more intense this time as it tore through him quickly. In fact, it was a bit more painful. Not painful in a way that felt traumatizing but in a way that felt good and relieving. It was enough to make him cry out in pain and joy. He heard his own voice echoing in the skies—he was probably waking everyone up, but it was also in the dead of night when most were already deeply asleep.

He saw a fist come out of nowhere and he evaded it instinctively. It had been a slow incoming punch. Surprising, but easy to avoid. Then another one came at him. Someone was trying to knock him out. He could barely see through the haze of yellow, but eventually his vision cleared enough to look upon the intruder. He'd seen that person before—the man with spiky hair. Auden eventually found himself trying to dodge all of his attacks—a feat that didn't seem too difficult considering how slow the man was moving. In fact, the entire world around him seemed to be moving slowly. Auden didn't want this to keep up for too much longer, but he didn't know how to stop him. Then, in the blink of an eye, the attacks suddenly became swift and the spiky haired man was glowing yellow. He cried out in actual pain when a punch landed squarely in his gut and he fell to the ground clawing and grasping at the ample grass. He'd never felt anything like it. Tears sprang to his eyes quickly and eventually he was sobbing uncontrollably. He vomited everything he'd managed to eat for dinner.

"Will you get a grip already!" came the rough voice of the familiar man.

Auden couldn't even begin to form words as he curled and whimpered at the enduring pain left by one attack. Was he dying?

"Hey! Are you listening? Don't you dare pass out."

He opened his eyes slowly to look at the imposing man. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Vegeta—the guy from Bulma's lab. That was you last time, wasn't it?"

"At the…at the lab?" Auden struggled to say.

"No, in Satan City. That burst of energy."

Auden started coughing as something caught in his throat. As fluid came forth, he realized that it was his own blood. He was definitely dying.

"Shit," Vegeta said just loud enough for him to hear. "Look at me," he ordered.

Auden looked at him frightened though his vision was blurry.

"Don't die, alright?"

"S-Sure," he said just as he passed out.