A/N: It's the EPILOGUE!! YAAAAAAAY!! ENJOY..
Disclaimer: No, Karci does not own DBZ or any of its characters, all ownership goes to Akira Toriyama and Funimation productions and what ever other productions contributed to this EPIC anime unless I made it up, which is like, one character, Vegeta's daughter, who I named Kelsey Shacore Briefs [excluding the last name] because well, I have know idea what to name her
Chapter 12 –
Goten cried over the state his Brother was in as he gently glomped the older hybrid, who grunted painfully but was happy Goten was safe at last. Goten snuggled under Gohan's arm and tried to help him to his feet, but it was no use. Gohan was just too weak and broken to stand. This only brought Goten more grief, and he croaked,
"Gohan, what have they DONE to you?! Nissan raise your energy if you have any left. Please, please, PLEASE tell me you have some left! If you don't you can have mine!"
Gohan grimaced and coughed weakly, "Squirt, if you were to lend me the energy I needed, you would DIE. No, I think I'll just wait for my energy to come back by itself. In the mean time, do me a favor, will ya?"
"Anything, Nissan!"
"Could you…possibly…find a HUGE lump on my back…and step on it really hard? As hard as you can?"
Goten shook his head vigorously, "That'll HURT you! I'll do ANYTHING for you, EXCEPT cause you more pain"
"Please…Goten…I'm in more pain right now because of that kink. Please…in order to relieve the pain you have to CAUSE me pain"
Tears filling his eyes, Goten stubbornly shook his head and backed away slowly,
"I know what I ask is tough. I know that—but it HAS to be done. You're strong, Goten. You're an ASCENDED SAIYAN, now. I KNOW you can do this…please. I can't hold on much longer. I NEED you to show me that true strength!"
Sniffling, the younger hybrid slowly nodded and gently ran his fingers over the back of his injured Brother until he found the knotted vertebrae. Gohan cringed,
"Yep, there it is. Now, either heal-of-palm strike it back in place, or stomp on it. Either way its gonna hurt me, but you KNOW what'll happen if you DON'T take care of it. SO forget the fact that it hurts me. Strike hard, strike FAST and it'll go quickly. NOW, do it NOW!"
Goten braced himself, pushing all thought out of his mind except for the precision strike. He was going to put his Brother through a ton of pain…but it was for the best, positioning his hand in the correct strike pose, the chibi struck.
Gohan screamed. He screamed in pain. He screamed in surprise, he screamed…to SCREAM. He had held back his expression of his agony for so long, it felt GOOD to be able to yell his pain to the world. Goten wailed in relief. He screamed in sorrow and transformed
"Hey…it's over, Squirt. You did well and now the fight's finally over. Everyone's safe and was can go home as soon as you're up to it. But the hard time…is OVER" Goten sniffled, powered down and cuddled near his Brother, "whenever you're ready just give a chi call and have Dad come get us, ok?" Goten simply nodded,
"Yea" came a tired reply
Kelsey gasped for air and she shivered as if she were cold. She whimpered. Her head was throbbing from the mental abuse that's been inflicted on her. Then her eyes snapped open as she realized she was being held up by something…or some ONE. Someone who smelled like her Brother but whose energy was not like his at all. Her Brother's energy had turned dark and cold, and the person holding her now had energy that flickered warmly, coaxing her out of the mental pit that she was shoved into and filling her with a good feeling. A good feeling that went away as the girl's eyes focused on the person's face, surrounded by soft, periwinkle locks and looking down at her fondly with his electric blue eyes
Kelsey struggled to get away from her captor only to have her plans foiled by his honest, reassuring tone that always brought her the comfort and security she needed, even when she was knocking on death's door,
"Easy…Easy, Kels. I'm not gonna hurt you this time, I promise"
Kelsey still refused to listen as she weakly tried to get away from his grip as he still tried comforting her with his words,
"You're gonna hurt yourself, Feisty. Relax, you're minds unstable right now, you need to calm down. It's ok now, it's over"
Trunks sent soothing waves of energy into his Sister's mind, calming the nerves, and trying to ease the anxiety he had inflicted on her himself. The girl at first resisted the mental prodding, and he could hardly blame her as she squeaked in weak protest
"Leave me ALONE! Get OUT of my head! STOP!"
He backed off a little, tears filling his eyes as he continued to reassure his sister that he had reverted back to the way she knew him to be
"I'm so sorry, Kelsey…I know I can't expect you to trust me right away, not with all the terror I put you through. I just want you to know that…that you're the most important thing in the world to me, and had I been in my right mind, this NEVER would have happened!"
"T—Trunks?" she looked up at him with her intense black eyes that were identical to their Father's
"Yea, Kels?" she snuggled to him and buried her face into his chest
"Hold me and shut up before I really do blast you"
He chuckled, "Ok" he smiled
The two sat there, she in his arms, as he continued to heal the hurt he had inflicted on his kin as much as he could for the damage was…PERMAMNENT. The effects of the infiltration technique were soon to come. Kelsey yawned, and spoke up
"Hey…can you call Dad? I wanna go home," she asked tiredly before fatigue knocked her unconscious, Trunks nodded
"Hey, Goten, wanna call our Dads? Your Dad can instant transmit us to my house and my Mom can help Gohan" Goten nodded and both hybrids sent chi calls to their Father's and both appeared in a flash
"Daddy!" Goten shouted and glomped his Father
"Hey, little guy" he smiled then looked at his oldest Son "He's in pretty rough shape, huh?"
"Bring us to Bulma, Dad! Hurry!" Goku smiled and nodded
"You got it, Son" Goku turned his head towards the Prince who picked up is Daughter, "how is she?"
"She's fine," he growled, "…physically"
Goku nodded, "Everyone ready to go?" they all gathered around Earth's Greatest Hero and put a hand on him and before they cold blink, they were in the family room of Capsule Corp.
"Oh my—what happened to Gohan?!"
"Help him! Help him! PLEASE!" Goten begged
"Alright, kid. We need to check you too, let's go" she motioned for Goku to put Gohan on the couch, "Is she alright?" Bulma's focus now on her youngest
"She's fine" Vegeta headed for his Daughter's room and placed her on her bed
Three hours later, the hybrids were being overlooked by Bulma to make sure that no PERMANENT damage was done. All the chibi's passed except for Trunks. The Prince To Be had HIS problem riding on his back. LITERALLY
"A TATTOO?! TRUNKS BRIEFS!!"
Bulma scrubbed the huge scorpion with her INK REMOVAL as she chastised her wayward Son on getting a tattoo before he was of age. Trunks shied away and stated in shame and resolve
"Don't remove it Mom! You don't know what this mark signifies for me! I HAVE to keep it!"
Bulma chased him around the room, her fiery temper aroused "WHY?! So you look COOL?! And SIGNIFIES?! It SIGNIFIES what exactly?! Your rebelliousness?! Your AUDACITY?! Tell me Trunks Briefs!!"
The boy stopped running and his eyes looked towards the ground "My SHAME."
Bulma also stopped, confused at the seriousness tone in his voice "Your…shame? What do you mean?"
Trunks looked up at his Mother as tears lingered in the corners of his electric blue eyes. "This mark on my back was made perminant to signify my gang loyalty. Now, I wear it to remind me of what I've done."
The Prince to be paused to look at Kelsey, his eyes cloudy with apology, regret, and pain as he continued, "I FAILED to protect the most precious person in the world to me and betrayed her to satisfy my own selfish desires. This is my lifelong retribution, to bear the Scorpion until I die. My failure. . . My SHAME…will remain with me forever. It's a crueler punishment than anything even DAD could come up with. So I'm KEEPING this tattoo and never removing it for any reason. It is my mark of shame Hopefully, I won't have to bear another."
Bulma calmed down and her eyes filled with sadness for her Son. "Ok" she gave him a soft smile
"Thanks Mom"
Bulma looked from her Son to the body on the couch. Gohan was barely recognizable under the mass amount of tubes that he was hooked up to, and his breathing was shallow—as if the very action caused him pain. Bulma had to hook the oldest hybrid to the respirator five times more than she had when she was caring for Trunks.
The mighty warrior looked half-dead, but the genius could see that he was merely sleeping under the sheets that threatened to bury him. This was a good thing, for if Gohan were UNCONCIOUS, his risk would be twice as high.
"Oh, Gohan." The genius lamented in pity and sadness. Then, Bulma smiled adoringly as she looked at the sight before her. Goten was nestled on top of the sheets, on the stomach of the injured hybrid, Gohan's powerful arm laying protectively and lovingly around the chibi's tiny form.
Bulma hated to break the adorable and somewhat private scene, but she HAD to remove the little boy off his older Brother's lungs before he accidentally suffocated Gohan. Goten of course wasn't having it, he clutched what was left of Gohan's gi and whined that he didn't WANT to be separated from his Niisan.
"Noooo" he whined, still half asleep. Bulma was exasperated and pulled harder
"Come ON, kid!"
"No! No! Noooo!"
"Goten, LET GO! You're preventing—no, HIDNERING—his ability to breath! LET…GO!"
Bulma kept pulling, frustrated…until she noticed that Goten wasn't resisting her tugs on his own power. Gohan's arm had tightened around the small form of his little Brother—as if he also didn't want to be parted from Goten just like the chibi clung on to HIM desperately. The genius's eyes widened in surprise
"Gohan? Gohan…I HAVE to get him off of you. The pressure he's putting on you…it could KILL you. You understand, right?"
The arm wrapped tighter. "Please…Bulma…Let…Let him…Stay. Please…" The voice coming out of Gohan's mouth was so weak, so pleading, that it nearly broke Bulma's heart.
A tear fell down her face as she sadly shook her head. "I won't let his position suffocate you, you fool! He HAS to come OFF if you're gonna have a GHOST of a chance to LIVE, kid!"
Gohan rubbed his Brother's back gently, trying to smile but could only grimace. His eyes barely opened, and his voice portrayed the grin as he whispered,
"You here that, Squirt? She wants to take away my lifeline. How do you like THAT?"
Goten let out small chuckle and nodded, clutching the Gold Fighter even tighter. "How rude, huh, Niisan?"
Bulma raised an eyebrow, then realised 'Life line…?' That's RIGHT. These boys are so close; they have such an inseparable bond that they are practically each other's life support!
"Alright, Gohan. But the minute you STOP breathing I'm prying the kid off you" Gohan nodded as Bulma went to go check on HER brats
Goten nestled deeper into his Brother's embrace, sighing contentedly.
"Hey, Gohan?"
The body on the couch moved slightly, "Yea, Squirt?"
Gulping, stealing himself for a rebuke or harsh story that would haunt his dreams, the chibi asked tentatively, in a very small voice, "What happened in there? What did they do to hurt you so bad? AND WHY did they hurt you in the first place?! YOU never did ANYTHING to THEM!"
Gohan grimaced again, not really wanting to tell his Brother the gory details but knowing that he would get no peace until his curiosity was satisfied. SO he did the next best thing…he made light of his torture by snickering weakly,
"They…COUCHED me and used me as a staircase."
The result was not what the older hybrid was expecting
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! I'LL KILL THEMM!! THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIEEEE!!"
"Calm down, Squirt! You're HURTING my ribs. It wasn't a big deal, really! It wasn't! calm down, CALM DOWN… There we go, now, let's get some rest and forget about it, ok?"
Goten sniffled. He was determined to be strong for his Niisan. He would deal with Pencil later, but Gohan needed him now and he would NOT abandon his older Brother for ANYTHING. Settling down, Goten let Gohan wrap his arm around him again. Together, bound by their love for each other an the bond they shared—the bond that NOTHING could tear apart—the two Son boys drifted to sleep, both with large grins on their faces
DBZDBZDBZDBZDBZDBZDBZ
Kelsey moaned and groaned in her sleep before waking up and moving towards the room that was her Brother's. She didn't know WHY she sought his presence in the middle of the night, when it was HE who haunted her dreams. Looking out the window, she saw that it was no longer nighttime but early morning. She had only slept two hours. As the Princess tiptoed in the room of the Prince-To-Be, she had a feeling that her Brother KNEW that she was coming. However, this fact did not prevent the girl from leaping onto hybrid's bed and whispering in his ear
"Niiiissssaaaannn. Niiiiissssaaaaaaannnn"
Getting no response, the girl opened her diaphragm, put her mouth inches away from the sleeping boy's ear, and took a deep breath
"TTTRRRRUUUUUUNNNNKKKKKKSSSSS!!!!!!!"
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! WHAT THE—?! FINISH BUSTER!!!"
There was a flash, and the two siblings suddenly found themselves tangled in each other's limbs on a pile of ashes that USED to be a bed. Trunks was a bit put out and began smacking his Sister upside the head with the hand the was NOT entangled in Kelsey's limber frame
"BAKA!!! BAAAAKKAAA!!"
"I'm sorry. I'm SORRY!!"
"BAAAAKKKKKAAAA!!"
"GOMEN ASAI! SHEESH! Calm DOWN! Mom'll make you another bed and you can CALM DOWN!"
Trunks could not respond, he was so ticked that the only thing he could do was continue smacking her
"BAAAKKAA!!"
Finally, to shut him up, Kelsey ki blasted him in the face. The older hybrid calmed himself and the two got untangled
"What. Is. Your. PROBLEM, Kelsey Briefs?! WHAT was so IMPORTANT you had to SCREAM in my EAR?!"
"Well, you wouldn't wake up what was I spose to do?" Kelsey folded her arms and snorted. "Besides, I'm not the BAKA GAKI who got mixed up in a CHIBI MOB and tried to KILL ME in COLD BLOOD. AM I?!?!"
Trunks was struck silent for a whole two minutes before turning away in anguish and shame. "You know NOTHING about my original intentions. Shut up"
Realizing she had struck a fatal blow, Kelsey walked up to him and stood in his peripherals, her voice soft and small ash she asked softly,
"Why don't you explain to me then?"
Trunks sighed heavily, clearly not wanting to talk about it, but knowing his Sister had every right to know
"I did it…I did it for…YOU, Feisty. I figured, if I got on the enemy's side, I could relay you information back to you and they wouldn't be able to HURT you"
Trunks bowed his head as he continued, "It doesn't matter what my plans were…they backfired and I ended up exactly like them. Hurting you…and Goten…I can never take that back…and I'm sorry. And the worse part is…" the tears fell, and Trunks fell t his hands and knees, overcome by guilt and shame over his actions, "I completely ENJOYED it!"
Kelsey instantly regretted striking his nerves. It seemed her older Brother was beating himself up enough over his failure. He didn't need HER to rub salt in his wound
"I'm sorry, Trunks. I didn't mean to remind you of your mistake…so SOON. Let's forget about it, ok? I came to ask you a favor"
Trunks snorted. "Why ask a favor…from the person who BETRAYED you and now haunts your nightmares? Go talk to Mom"
Kelsey kneeled down and put a hand in his shoulder, "Because Mom doesn't know the INFULTRATION technique and she can't give me the comfort I NEED. Only YOU can" she whined
Again the older Briefs sighed and pushed his sibling away, turning towards the window as he said wearily, "I…CAN'T undo what I've don't, Tiny. The damage I done to your mind…It's PERMANENT. I'm sorry. I'm SO sorry"
Trunks paused for a minute and continued again, "You woke up from a nightmare…didn't you? As much as you try Kelsey, you CAN'T hide the anxiousness and fear in your eyes, I see it…we ALL see it and…I can't take it away." Trunks sobbed heavily, his shoulders shaking with the intensity of his cries. Kelsey put her hand on her Brother again, feeling his pain, feeling his pain and wishing she could take away his shame forever just as he wished he could take away her fears
"It's…it's ok, Trunks. I…I KNEW the technique was permanent. I was wondering if…if you can maybe LESSEN the effects…? I'll let you in…I promise. Just please…I want things to be as they were before. I NEED my BIG BROTHER back, Trunks, PLEASE" she pleaded
He looked at her finally, tear marks staining his face as he took her face in his hands and said sadly,
"I don't know if things will EVER go back to the way they were, Kelsey"
"Don't SAY that, TRUNKS!" tears fell down her face, "They WILL. They HAVE TO"
Trunks shook his head, "I'm sorry, Kelsey. But I'll TRY to negate the effects of the attack. You have to promise me something in return, though"
"ANYTHING"
"Promise me…that if ANYTHING like this EVER happens again…that you'll KILL me before I have a chance to hurt you this bad"
"Trunks…"
"Promise me, Kelsey"
She shook her head vigorously as more tears fell from her eyes. She tried to back away, and threw a fit "No…you…you CAN'T make me promise that…it's not FAIR! I WON'T do it! I CAN'T do it!"
"Kelsey.."
"NOOO!" she shrieked at pushed his hands away
"Kelsey…if you really love me, you'd honor my request. I'd RATHER die then be the cause of your pain AGAIN. If you love me at ALL, you'll deal my deathblow if this EVER HAPPENS AGAIN! DO you swear it?"
The Princess bit her tongue and slowly nodded,
"I swear, on our Father's heritage…if this ever happens again…that…I'll snap your neck with my own hands…that you…wont bear this shame again" she chocked back a sob
Trunks was satisfied, Kelsey on the other hand, was as distressed as ever and the anxiety came flooding back. He hugged her and then led his sibling to her room onto her bed where Trunks sat down, his back leaning against the head board and his sister laying in his lap
"Thank you, Kelsey Briefs" she sniffled and nodded
-- Hide Out --
"I'll be back, Briefs! I'll be back and stronger than EVER! Then, you will feel PAIN! You and your little boyfriend and ESPECIALLY that TRAITOR Sasori! You will ALL SUFFER!"
"Well, isn't THIS a pitiful site…and you call yourself the LEADER os Shimasu Akai. How PATHETIC!"
Lead's head was yanked up by his hair, and he stared into the cold, hard eyes of a person he least expected to see in his territory
"Sh…SHIO! What are YOU doing here?"
The dark figure chuckled in deep menace, "I came to see YOU, cousin! I heard you had some trouble, but I wasn't expecting to find you BEATEN at the hands of a CHIBI smaller then you!"
Lead snorted, "They aren't NORMAL chibi's! They—"
"Shut UP, cousin. I came here to lend you a hand. I heard about the Briefs Brat and her older Brother and don't worry about it. He's going to be part of us in no time and as for his Sister…she's gonna be a VERY fun toy to play with" he grinned evilly
"I like what I'm hearing, Shio" Lead's eyes sparkled at the thought that crossed his mind
The figure nodded and licked his teeth. "Yes. We will make them suffer for this humiliation. We will make them suffer and suffer and SUFFER some more. And when they think they've had enough…"
Lead giggled madly, his eyes burning with hatred as he snarled in veracity, "Then we start with the PAIN!"
The older cousin snickered and lifted his chibi relative to his back,
"Yes, pain, Lead. We will cause them so much PAIN that they will BEG for DEATH before our feet!"
The Leader smiled in glee at this and his mouth opened in a hungry snarl.
"And we will gladly grant their wish, but in a different way than they expect!"
Two voices laughed into the night, the full moon bering witness to their cunningness as they planned for a future that would make the past events look like a mild nightmare in comparison for their enemies…..But would be a pleasant dream for the gang of the Red Death.
The fun was just beginning.
TO BE CONTINUED
HEY!! THANKS SOOOOOOOO MUCH if you have gone through this fic it means SOO much to me :)
MAJOR TNAKS to Batwingteenavenger for helping LOADS with this fic. This is a collaborative piece and this is the end of my first fic BUT we're already working on the sequel starring BatWingteenavenger's OC SPYROK SILVER SAIYAN so keep an eye out for that thank you all :)
