Chapter 24: Grieving the Past
Two figures shared a shower despite being situated in different rooms on the Saiyan battleship. Both of them faced the same direction, and combed their fingers at the exact same moment, through thickly tangled, onyx black hair. But only one figure emerged from the bathroom steps, while the other only descended deeper into the imaginary bowls of the ship.
Roughly only fifteen minutes after swallowing the Seoxyrium-blood concoction, Videl felt her body involuntarily hit the hard surface of the shower room tiles. She'd barely had time to stop her knees from bucking under her weight, and conclusively failed to find any grip on the smooth reflective surface of the surrounding walls. She hadn't expected her body to absorb the drug so quickly, but the signs were already tumbling down on her with the contrast of the showering water cascading in harder beats against her sensitised skin. The temperature wasn't exactly steamy, but she could see the hazy mist around her. Her eyes then focused on a single droplet, as it slid down the mirror tile in front of her. The reflection cast there of herself, split into three fuzzy images, until her pupils had dilated heavily enough for her focus to strengthen.
On cue, came the start of epinephrine rush with the quickening of her pulse. Perhaps the shower was not the best place to experience it though, as Videl began to struggle with the humid air around her. Lungs panicked, forcing quick panting while her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears. Only this time, she was ready, or as ready as one could be under these circumstances. When the time came for the feeling of vital organs about to implode under the sheer stress, she released the pressure with a long and loud cry. Voice echoing across the contained four walls, Videl sailed with the searing light that washed over her entire being.
Newborn cries pierced the silence. A pair of hazy eyes blinked once, then twice, as they re-focused on two purple aliens who wore matching scouters over their eyes. They held the healthy child up for the mother to see, and Videl heard herself heave a relieved breath.
"Well?"
"It is female," one of the aliens nodded. "Healthy, yes."
The eyes closed again, a feeling of pride already washing over Videl, as she tilted her head back. Everything felt so completely natural, even though she had no real control over her voice and body.
"Tell me. What is her power level?"
"Hmm," the second alien frowned as he clicked the scanner over his eye-piece. Various digits appeared over the screen, causing him to shake and stutter uncontrollably.
"The p-p-p-power level, it… i-i-it…" He couldn't finish the sentence; needing to gulp nervously instead.
"Yes?" A wave of excitement soared through her, and so she drew a heavy breath of impatient anticipation. A similar reaction had welcomed the birth of the first half-breed. How delightful this would be, if her child exceeded his newborn power.
"Marginally… low." The other alien very bravely completed the sentence for his colleague.
"What!" The most nervous of the two of course flinched at the sudden bark, while the braver one stood his ground.
"Perhaps it is a miscalculation, yes? We will consult the dome, at once."
Videl weakly sat up, ignoring the searing pain between her thighs, as she followed the exact path of the two aliens with her slanted eyes. They took the wailing baby to a raised dome structure, very much like an egg. The transparent, curved upper wall lifted, and the newborn was placed on the purple cushioning. A second scan was conducted, but now the results were in full view for all to see. Videl felt her heart sink. A male voice boomed and echoed throughout the room.
"Dispose of it."
"NO!"
With a feline hiss, Videl felt herself leaping off the medical bed in a heartbeat with a surge of wild energy. Various equipment devices crashed behind her, along with the metal bed which had somehow been pushed backwards against the wall. The two short aliens croaked like frightened frogs, and dashed in separate ways. Videl didn't care; her only intention was to finally hold her daughter, for the very first time. A soothing wave of calm, flushed away her rage, even as the male voice growled through the intercom again.
"Kari! You will put that thing down and do as I say!" Her head tilted upwards, to acknowledge the window box near the infirmary ceiling. Two almost identical males stood there, though one was far taller and sported a thick beard. The shorter man was more youthful, perhaps in his mid-twenties. The ruggedly handsome features were currently spoilt however, by the cruel, lop-sided smirk. As he was next to speak, 'Videl' felt a burning rage churning in her gut.
"You heard the man, onna. It is unfit to breathe our air." He darkly chuckled at the declaration, leaving the female to hiss once more. She felt the bristles of her tail standing on edge, as it whipped through the air behind her.
"You are both wrong! My child is strong, and she will prove it!"
"It is merely a failed experiment," the King sternly corrected. "Accept it, and be thankful, my dear. At least we may learn one vital fact from this." He paused a moment, to scratch his chin pensively. The son looked up to his father, folding his arms with a completely unimpressed and altogether uninterested scowl.
"Well? Don't keep us waiting for your genius revelation too long father." The arrogant son received a smack behind the ear, while Videl narrowed her eyes in knowing expectance.
"The bond means nothing." On cue, she held her daughter into the air, as she stole her father's words. "This proves it!"
"I will hear no more of this blasphemy!" The King transferred his attention to the two servant aliens. "See to it."
"W-wait!"
Still holding the baby with one arm, and pressing the tiny body against her chest, Videl extended a threatening arm to the advancing scientists. Her dark eyes however, remained on her father.
"She is mine! If this is what you command, then I will see to it myself." He folded his large arms, expecting her to prove her loyalty there and then. But she scowled a moment, scheming quickly.
"But I demand blood samples and further scans. At least allow me to study this… t-this failure. Let me decipher how it came to be." She clenched her fist with the downwards thrust of her bent elbow towards her hip.
"You owe me that much! I will not let nine months go to waste! I swear to you! By my honour. I will see the… abomination, sufficiently dealt with."
The King was silent a moment; dark shadows creeping over the wrinkles that formed across his deep scowl. At last, he uttered the two words, that would tear Videl in half.
"… Prove it."
Feet backed up, until she felt the curved edge of the dome against her thighs. A guilt-tainted breath already escaped her parted, burgundy lips. Dark orbs lowered to the unaware child in her arms, now reaching up with her chubby little fingers to the face of her mother. Videl knew what she had to do, as she slowly laid the child on the soft violet cushions again. The baby giggling, thinking this was some sort of game, as her arms and legs squirmed and kicked. Gentle hands turned the child, and unwound the fluffy tail that was already protectively circling the waist. She knew what she had to do if the King was to consider her request, but it destroyed her to be forced into such a monstrous act. Even still, fully convinced that this was all for the greater good, Videl lifted her arm, pointed her finger, and shot the single blast that would sever the tail from the base.
Prince Vegeta was the only presence unconvinced, even as the baby's wails screeched over the sound devices. Nor as his defiant half-sister looked back to him and their father, and tossed the tail over her shoulder as though it were nothing but unwanted trash.
"Don't tell me you believe this steaming pile of shit," he snarled, cocking his head in disbelief to his silent father. "The woman breathes nothing but lies. Might I remind you how this whole scandal was her doing, behind your back!"
"Take your samples." The King clearly ignored his son, making eye contact solely with his daughter. "Then see to it that this disgrace is removed without a single trace. The last thing we need is the council poking their noble noses into these affairs. Take this as your lesson child. Should you ever dare to even think of crossing me again, you will remember this day."
The words mattered little to Videl, as her eyes blurred with the welling of tears that would not break. She could not allow any other being so see her in such distress, feeling so deeply in this weakened state.
"Get out," she snarled at the two remaining aliens, as soon as her father and brother had disappeared from the boxed observation room above. They too, scuttled away, leaving mother and daughter finally alone. At long last, Videl held the screaming baby close to her, as she had longed to do from the moment it had been birthed.
"That's it," she cooed, patting her palm ever so gently across the baby's back.
"Spit the venom out." Young wet tears fell to her arms, but she persisted in the ministrations, as if she were burping the child.
"All of it." At last the child only spluttered with dry little coughs, as the last of the pain was replaced by the warmth of her mother's touch.
"Venom is pain, my precious one. Venom is what the others call, emotion. To feel pain. To feel this, emotion. It only makes you weaker."
The mother would at last indulge in the feeling of having her child suckle the milk from her breast, for the first, and last time. Already, she was concocting the plan that would ultimately grant her child the gift of life.
Videl found her vision blurring, as the scene faded into another. Now she was the squirming newborn, hastily being wrapped in Royal red cloth and placed in a cocoon womb of more regal red, accompanied by sterile white. It was the sharp and slightly younger features of Kari, who now watched over her, as she leaned forwards to place a burgundy kiss against her daughter's forehead.
"Hurry up!" A blue-haired woman demanded in a hissed whisper, as she tapped at the flat screen of her handheld computer. Kari nuzzled the tip of her nose against the young Videl's, and finally straightened from her bent over position.
"If your co-ordinates are wrong I will have your head." She hissed back to the human woman, who rolled her eyes in response.
"Yeah, yeah! I know what I'm doing, and it's not like I'd send a helpless baby to the middle of nowhere. What do you take me for; some kind of heartless, Saiyan monster?" The two women exchanged dangerous scowls, and then the human continued. "Are you sure this thing's even safe?"
Kari smiled, admiring this Earth woman's spirited tongue, even if her ki levels were pathetically weak.
"It has to be."
"Then you better stand back. Poor thing… this is going to be a really bumpy ride for her."
At the blue-haired scientists instruction, Kari stepped back, and the hatch over the space pod slowly closed. It was the last sight of the woman that Videl would see, as the vision also came to an end. Her body jerked in a sudden spasm, and she awakened to her true, teenage body under the constant spray of tepid water. The high-pitched tinnitus of her ears faded as she struggled to sit, and sought the immediate parching of her dry throat. Tilting her head back, the gaping mouth welcomed the shower water, until more tears inevitably joined with the constant flow of water down her face. Videl had never cried so much before, especially not in such regular intervals. But she couldn't help it, and trying to force herself to stop, only had the reverse effect. What she'd seen, and felt, had been so real. It was strange to be back in her own body, though an obvious relief. There would perhaps be questions later. Or maybe not. Maybe she would just accept what she had witnessed. Not as a contrived figment of her imagination, since she knew she wasn't capable of such a dark and twisted scene. Instead, Videl would accept the smallest insight into the other side of a mother she had barely really known. But a mother indeed, and one whose presence she now both deeply missed, and sorely grieved.
She wasn't sure how long she had been to contentedly laid curled up in Kari's bed sheets; for time was trivial and insignificant to the healing process. To go from hating a woman to learn how she was in fact connected far beyond Videl's imagining, was something that would take a long time to fully settle. Not to mention still having no idea who her real father was, and quite possibly never knowing. But at least she was dealing with it, one issue at a time. Until the incessant interruptions of her growling stomach put things a little more into perspective. Her gluttony would take no more denial; it needed to be fed, now. So the Earthling scrambled from the web of scented sheets, and absentmindedly reached for the dressing gown her mother had favoured. Dazed footsteps took her the short distance to the kitchen, literally next door. But as she appeared in the doorway, the single occupant of the room, dropped the jar he'd been feeding from. Videl stumbled back against the door frame with a silent shriek, startled by the sudden shattering of the glass, along with the shock of facing the Saiyan she had never spoken to. Hers were not the only eyes however, that stared so widely.
"I… s-sorry," she barely breathed the words, as the male's tail flicked behind him. Thankfully, he was quick to calm again. The female was not who he thought she was, even if she did carry the strong scent. Still, eyeing her quite primitively, he lowered to crouch, and inspected the ruined blue sludge that stained the pristine floor. There went a portion of their limited rations…
"Oh, please, l-let me help." Before he could advise against that offer, Videl was already walking closer, and kneeling in front of him. Carefully, her hands dodged his own, as she collected pieces of the jar. He could only blink at how she was so concerned about trying to salvage the object. All he had cared about, was seeing if the food could be saved.
"Leave it, onna."
His voice caught her be surprise; the tone carrying a familiar edge to Gohan's. Lifting her face, she watched as he fluidly straightened. Videl copied, dejectedly leaving the jar pieces by her feet.
"I am Kakarot," he suddenly announced, lifting his chin rather proudly. "Son of the great Bardock. Father to Gohan."
The human's reaction to his self-introduction surprised him again. Very politely, she clasped her hands together in front of her, and dipped her head. Her shoulders rolled with her deep bow from the waist, which she held perfectly straight as she answered him. Even if she was the child of Kari, there was no mistaking the clear differences. The sign of such genuine respect, soon brought a gentler smile to Kakarot's lips.
"I am honoured to meet you."
Videl straightened again, to find that the man was regarding her with a softer expression, even if his eyes were still twitched slightly.
"Gohan told me, you came to rescue us. I can't begin to thank -"
"It was for my son," he quickly interjected in a firmly uttered tone. It was devoid of anger though, especially as he quickly added to the statement. "But your gratitude is welcome."
To her further astonishment, he then gestured at the table and chair. Obediently, she sat, and the man finally turned to find the jar she was no doubt looking for. Not only did he want to keep a firm eye on the rations. Behind the scent of Kari, was the half-breed's malnourished state. Kakarot could smell it on her breath, along with something else that concerned him more.
"While you're onboard my ship," he started, finally turning to hand the jar of protein porridge to accepting hands. "You will refrain from using any Seoxyrium. I don't know where you found it, but I will not have you drain the resources which we do not have the liberty of wasting."
"I won't," she answered with the brief hunched shoulders of a scolded teen. When he nodded, she gulped, and finally unscrewed the jar lid. Ah the protein porridge, how she missed the taste of it. Sarcasm cut short however, by the way Kakarot slowly descended onto the opposite chair, and calmly watched her eat. It was uncomfortable and awkward to say the least, but Videl was far too hungry to allow his presence to irk her. Meanwhile, the Saiyan was silently engrossed by how human this apparent half-breed truly was. He could smell the salt from her dried tears, and the distant emotion in her lightly dilated eyes. The reminder of ChiChi, had him swallowing back bitterly. Indeed, this female had threatened to raise sour memories from the moment she'd been brought onto the ship. Kakarot had been only glad to stay away from her, but now he tortured himself with her presence, in the comfort of knowing that he would be with his own mate. Soon.
"We never had the chance to unload our trade cargo," he suddenly announced. Several crates had been dropped in an attempt to reach Vegetasei quicker, but several supplies remained. "Seoxyrium will not help you sleep. We have safer pills for that."
Videl stopped eating for a moment, to stare at the more caring words offered to her. She could hardly suppress her light smile. "I don't think I need any help sleeping, thank you."
He lifted a palm to rest on his thigh with side-way bent elbow, and exhaled an indifferent breath at her response as he hunched forwards ever so slightly. Females, always so difficult.
"I know how you humans need to feel everything. You do not handle loss easily, and that is something we share. The loss of our blood, is not easy for a Saiyan to endure." To his further surprise, as if she hadn't already done that enough; the female lightly smiled.
"You… called me human." Kakarot had to lean back at what was initially an absurd declaration.
"It will be difficult to see you as anything but human. Does this offend you?" Surprisingly again, she gently chuckled. '…Women.'
"No. Actually, I guess I should take that as a compliment."
Abruptly he stood, but only because he reminded himself of the importance of his delayed return to the control room. Videl followed the quick movement with the lift of her chin, fearing for a moment that somehow she had managed to turn the offence on him. But he struggled for further words, and so he uncomfortably fled. It would be difficult to get to know the half-breed under their current circumstances, but Kakarot approved of the aura she radiated. Perhaps when tensions were calmer, they could attempt communication again.
"Wait!" Or perhaps that attempt would be sooner than he anticipated. Her voice called out to him, and he rather obediently stopped. "Could I, ask you something?" The way he looked over his shoulder, convinced her of his acceptance.
"Did you know, my father?"
"No." He replied far quicker than Videl had wanted, and so her shoulders appropriately dropped. As he tried to leave again however, the voice called out once more.
"J-Just, one more thing?" Kakarot froze, but didn't turn to look back at her this time. Still, she quickly persisted. "Is there something special, about Saiyan blood? I mean, is it possible to erm… t-to… I'm not really sure how to put this."
Sighing at her failure to find words, she frowned with self-scolding thoughts. Thankfully, the voice of Gohan's father, rung over his broad shoulder.
"Some believe our Ki is linked to our blood, but Ki is all around us as well. If Saiyan blood were special, so would be everything else. Our blood is no different to yours. It is only stronger, because our Ki is greater."
With that said, Kakarot made sure he exited the room fully this time, leaving Videl to repeat his words over and over in her tired skull. Surely that was a riddle worthy of Kari? Or was that just a trademark of these Saiyans and their ever-puzzling culture. A puzzle she was determined to crack however, and who better to learn from, than her other half?
To be continued…