A/N: Oh so much foreshadowing. I'm beginning to like where this story is going.
Also wanted to address anonymous reviewer "XYZ." First off, I make it very clear in several sections of my profile that all I write are darkfics. I also make it clear that if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. Read something else or better yet, write your own. This is what I like and this is what I write. Please tell me in what fucking universe these kinds of relationships could be spun as anything other than a darkfic. Goku is SIXTY at the end of GT. Why the fuck would a sixty year old man date a sixteen year old? He wouldn't, which is why I twist these kinds of pairings into darkfics. Ephebophilia has no place in a normal story.
Plus, I just like dark content. It's kind of my thing. I've written several novels that revolve around gruesome subject matter and I understand that not everyone likes it, nor can they tolerate it. If you can't, please click the little arrow pointing left at the upper left hand corner of your screen. Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
Spectre
03
We all set off after dinner with full stomachs and eyes set on finding Goku. Trunks agreed to come along after a bit more cajoling from his mother and Pan hung back nervously by Bulla, watching him talk to Goten about finishing their work bright and early. It was the five of us, though Gohan looked seriously perturbed as we all left the house. Videl barred him from coming along.
Goten couldn't find a direct pulse of his father's energy signature but he could discern that he was somewhere out in Mt. Paozu. Bulla groaned in distaste as we all took off high into the sky to avoid being seeing by pedestrians. We could be stuck looking for Goku for hours if he was in the woods.
"I'm just saying, this isn't our problem," Bulla said, examining her nails while we all flew casually through the sky. She made a small spin and sighed. "I'd rather be home right now than out trudging through the woods to find Goku. What a jerk."
Pan scowled. "Don't talk about grandpa like that. He likes having time to himself and I think after everything he's done, he deserves it. He just wasn't sure about the exact time Mr. Krillin was coming home. I'm sure when we find him he'll be ecstatic and hurry over there to see him."
Goten was flying underneath us three girls and rotated on his back to grin up at us. "Come on, Pan. Dad just doesn't care about social things. If we can even find him, he'll probably catch up with Krillin tomorrow or whatever. Fifty bucks says he's harassing the fish at the lake again."
"I hope we find him. Dad's been looking forward to this for a long time now." I looked ahead, scanning the treetops as we approached Mt. Paozu. There was no way I'd let Goku ruin our triumphant return.
When the trees were growing too thick to see through, all of us landed. Trunks and Goten both felt around for Goku's energy but it was still difficult to trace. I wished daddy had taught me how to do cool things like sensing ki. It came pretty naturally to my friends because of their alien heritage but we humans really had to work at it. Flying was an extremely difficult concept for me to grasp.
"It's gonna take forever if we look this way," Trunks sighed.
"Then we'll split up. Trunks, you go with Pan. I'll go with Goten and Marron. Someone needs to chaperone these two." Bulla winked at me.
I felt a heavy arm drape over my shoulders. "Don't you have something else to do, Bulla? I'm not sure if I can trust Trunks to take care of my niece. Maybe you should go with them."
Bulla grabbed Goten by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the woods, beckoning for me to follow. We left behind a very nervous Pan standing beside Trunks while he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Something told me they wouldn't be helping us look for very long.
I struggled not to trip over branches as we ran and nearly lost my footing on more than one occasion. It was easy for Bulla and Goten to walk without bothering to look but I had to seriously focus on it. We began to gradually grow apart as I repeatedly tripped and stumbled over unseen obstacles.
The sun was setting in the sky. Bulla could pick up traces of Goku's enormous energy, too, leaving me alone in the dark. They'd definitely need to teach me that trick because I hated feeling like the weak human. Shooting beams would be awesome, too. I didn't want to be the odd man out.
As we walked through a particularly narrow set of trees, something on the side of the trail caught my eye. I stopped dead to check it out while the others moved on ahead and called Goku's name. I knelt down to examine the glittering object in the grass, stupidly reaching forward to grab it without thinking. It was the first time in my life I did something that was honestly stupid.
But it wouldn't be the last.
The sparkly thing turned out to be a very angry, very big spider. It whirled around at light speed and sank its fangs into the top of my hand, making me squeal in pain and recoil backwards. I flung it into the woods and hissed at the two huge holes in my skin that were seeping some kind of fluid. It probably wasn't anything dangerous. I just had to find my friends and…
The trail was growing dark. Crickets started chirping from the brush as night settled on Mt. Paozu. I squinted at the steadily vanishing trail and stumbled to my feet only to slump back down in agony. The bite was throbbing painfully. My vision became blurry faster than I imagined it would.
My heart was beating in my ears. I crawled into the grass, trying to find somewhere to hide while the venom incapacitated me for the night. It was potent. I wasn't sure if I'd make it to go home and tell everyone the next day. I began trembling violently, teeth chattering as sweat beaded on my skin.
No, no, there was no way I'd die looking for Goku. Mom was gonna throw a fit if they came home without me. It'd only been a little while. They probably realized I was missing and—
Nausea hit me so hard that vomit erupted into my mouth, leading me to coughing and spluttering and trying not to inhale it. I spat out puke and made a pitiful whimpering noise when I saw blood staining the leaves of the bushes. Okay, so I was gonna die looking for Goku. What a load of bullshit.
I was panting desperately as fear paralyzed my muscles. Death was closing in.
Suddenly, there was a palm pressing to my forehead. I weakly opened my eyes and could only see a hazy outline of the stranger, but that was enough. I could tell who it was by the crazy black hair. I would've laughed if it didn't hurt to breathe. He sat beside me and I could smell pine trees.
"Long time no see!" he said. "You've got a pretty bad fever. What bit you?"
"Shiny… s-spider," I rasped.
"Well, gee, Marron. You can't just touch random animals. Mt. Paozu is a dangerous place." He wiped the vomit away from my mouth without hesitation and lifted up my numbed bite hand. "Lucky for you that I was in the area. Even luckier, the venom isn't all the way through you. See, it burns a green path as it goes through your bloodstream… oops, I should probably fix you first."
Goku took my small hand in his huge fingers and lifted it to his lips. I was too dazed and disoriented to care as he pressed his mouth to the bite and began sucking on it. My entire hand was numb but the feeling gradually returned. He paused to spit out some of the venom-filled blood and I could feel it when he resumed sucking out more. When I groaned in pain, he stopped and spat the rest of the toxin out of his mouth. I could see a bit better but I still felt like I'd been hit by a train.
The Saiyan whistled. "You're one resilient human. Alright, let's get you home. You still need to rest and get some medicine. Plus, I'm sure your parents are worried."
To my surprise, he yanked off his shirt and tied it around me. I was still shivering miserably from both the dropping temperature and the bit of venom coursing through my veins. Goku very carefully lifted me up off the ground and I wrapped my legs around his waist, resting my head on his shoulder. He was warm. It helped my nausea a little bit.
One minute we were outside and the next, I heard gasps and cries that hurt my ears.
"Marron, thank god!" It was mom. I heard a chair scrape against the floor.
Goku held me tighter. "She was bitten by one of the venomous spiders that live in the mountains. I sucked out a lot of the venom but she needs rest and a doctor. Is her room upstairs? I'd like to set her down so she doesn't get sick again."
"You can't suck venom out of people," Chi-Chi snapped. "None of this would've happened if you just came along with us instead of messing around in the woods!"
"You're a fool!" Vegeta said.
"Let me see her," mom said sternly. "Is she okay?"
"I agree with mom," said Gohan. "Things like this are bound to happen if you can't get your act together, dad. We've known about this for weeks."
"Why did you let her fall behind?" Bulla asked, turning on Goten.
"Me?! You were too busy trying to get your brother alone with my niece!" Goten was indignant. This was spiraling out of control. "Get your head out of the clouds."
I felt Goku's fingers tighten around my body. He was losing his patience.
"It's YOUR fault!"
"No, you should've…"
"Well you should've been…!"
"Where were you?"
"He doesn't know anything about venom!"
We suddenly weren't in my house anymore.
The aroma of burning wood roused me from my confusion and I blinked as Goku walked up a set of rickety stairs with me. It definitely wasn't a hospital. He gently nudged open a door and took me inside a warm room. I'd brought my tremors down to a slight shake as he pulled back the sheets and laid me down on the bed. He smiled and covered me up to my neck in the plushy covers.
"We'll let all of them calm down," Goku said. "How are you feeling now?"
I swallowed hard. "Better. Should I go to the hospital? My mother's probably gonna fly over here in five minutes flat to make sure I'm okay."
He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead, furrowing his brow intently. "No, you're getting better but stress is gonna make it worse. I'll bring you some water and a bucket in case you get sick again." He sat on the bed beside me and tugged back the sheet to take my hand again, turning it over to expose the pale skin underneath.
My veins were bulging from my flesh and had been tainted a dark green color. I gagged and he ran one big finger down the biggest vein, laughing when I tried to hide my face in the pillow. Ew, disgusting. I didn't want to see something like that.
Goku tucked my arm back underneath the sheets and fixed them. "I've been bitten so many times by those things that I lost count. It's good that it isn't bright green."
"We were looking for you," I said sourly.
"I know. I'm really sorry but I really did lose track of time." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and smiled. "Hopefully Krillin isn't too mad at me. I better head back over there to make sure they aren't all killing each other. It was uh… nice to see you, though, even if the circumstances are kinda bad."
"Yeah, you too. Thanks for not letting me aspirate on my own vomit in the woods."
"All in a day's work. Now I'll be right—"
The bedroom door flew open and I saw a flash of blonde hair before I was scooped up into a hug that did nothing to help my nausea. Mom sat beside me and Goku rose as my father and Chi-Chi entered the room. Dad hung back, eyes flickering between all of us with a strange sort of bewilderment. He almost looked lost watching all of us.
Chi-Chi smacked Goku across the face. "Just what do you think you're doing?! Is Marron your daughter? What business do you have sneaking her here and putting her in our bed? 18 was very clear that she wanted Marron at home in her own bed so she could keep an eye on her. You were rude to our friends and you endangered the life of your best friend's child. Honestly, Goku. What is wrong with you?"
"It was my fault for acting stupid," I said, sitting up and jumping to Goku's defense. "I should've been staying closer with the others instead of getting distracted like that. If Goku hadn't found me, I would've died in the woods so I don't think we should blame him. And honestly, I didn't want to stay at the house and be harassed with questions all night. I still don't. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest."
No one said anything. Chi-Chi shook her head and left the bedroom, leaving Goku rubbing his bright red cheek and staring at the floor. My mother felt my forehead and started to help me up out of bed. I wanted to stay there forever and sleep. I could barely move a muscle.
"Krillin, let's go," mom said.
Oddly, he didn't reply to her like he always did. He watched us uncertainly until mom yelled for him to hurry up and he appeared to snap out of a trance. Goku looked perturbed as his eyes followed dad walking towards us. Was he noticing the same thing mom did? I wondered what was going on.
Dad hesitated. "Actually, babe, I need to talk to Goku. It's important. I'll meet you at home."
Mom scowled but turned and headed out the door with me somehow managing to limp alongside her. Before we left, I noticed dad's eyes constantly flickering between Goku and me. He ran a hand through his hair as the door slammed shut.