I know it was another long wait but I hope when you read this, you will think that it well worth the wait.
C-32
The Last Resort
Is this what the poison did to you?
Trunks never felt so much pain in his life! His blood was on fire and burning through his whole body. He thought that his eyes were going to burst out of his head and his heart was going to explode. Every breath he took froze his lungs as if daggers of ice were being pushed into them. He couldn't feel Goten trying to make him stand. He knew that he was touching him, but his touch was not there. He could feel the blood searing his skin as it flowed down his cheek and onto his neck as if it were acid. He never knew that such pain could exist. 'If I survive,' he though, 'I will never complain about my father beating me in a fight ever again.'
His ears started to ring. Goten was the only thing keeping him standing at the moment. He blinked his eyes. They felt so sore, as if his eyelids were covered with sandpaper. He could see that his father was down. How could that be?
He saw his father with his hand on his chest and blood seeping through his fingers. He looked frozen in place.
The whip in Krad's hand looked like twenty whips.
The ringing in his ears was increasing. The pain was increasing.
He only thoughts were on Pan now. He had to survive for Pan and their child. He couldn't leave her alone! He finally found someone to love and he was finally happy and now that dream of having a family. Having some kids running around the house and calling him daddy. He wanted all that now more than ever. Especially since Pan told him that he was going to be a father. He never knew before that he wanted it. Now, he was going to loose it all to letting his guard down and allowing some space punk to scratch him with a poisoned knife.
He heard himself groan.
He looked at the scene again. Soyna hand her hand on Vegeta's chest. Was she crying? Dad's blood sure looked red on her white skin. She was yelling something at Krad but he couldn't make it out.
Krad was busy smiling at them.
He wished his ears would stop ringing!
............
Pan watched her father rush out the door.
She watched his trail disappear into the blue sky.
It was supposed to be such a nice day. It was peaceful here. The birds seemed total unaware of the perilous fight that was happening on the TV. They did not seem to realize that the world was ending for her.
She found herself with her hands on her stomach. She couldn't fight because she had carelessly fell in love. They had used protection, but obviously not enough. She tried not to let the tears that were threatening to fall come. She had to be strong.
She had to worry about her and Trunk's baby.
Even though he might not be around to see the child born.
The tears silently fell down her cheeks.
If only she could fight to protect him. If only he could fight to make sure that she could have that dream that she always wished for.
She looked to the couch, purposely avoiding the TV, to see her grandmother holding onto a weeping Legen. She knew her grandmother and could see the tension that was in her face. The only thing that seemed to keep her calm was that she kept running her hands through Legen's hair in a manner to keep him calm.
She was almost surprised that she wasn't ranting or raving about this grim outlook.
Benot sat staring at the TV with a stony look on his bruised face. His lower lip was quivering but he seemed defiant to letting the tears come. His posture gave him away though, he was hugging himself so tight that his fingers were white against his tanned arms.
Junior was silent. Slouched in the chair with an arm over his eyes. For such a big man, he looked so small at the moment. He was muttering stuff under his breath, stuff that she couldn't quite make out.
She rubbed her cheeks and was surprised to feel that they were wet.
"It won't end like this!" she whispered and was shocked at how pained her voice was.
............
He just felt numb. It wasn't painful but it was numbing. He couldn't even feel Soyna touching him and holding him up. He couldn't hear her talking to him, for all there was, was a dull roar of his own heart filling his ears.
He realized that she had been holding out on him. She was definitely past Level 2. He could see it in her face. She didn't loose her eyebrows but they were sharp lines, and her hair was lighter than he ever remembered seeing it. She had been holding out on him.
Normally, he should have felt anger at that. He should have been furious with her for holding back so much of her strength. He didn't feel angry though. He felt a sense of pride through the dull pain and also a sense of fear.
Her hold on the form was not that strong. He could see her eyes shifting colors from a dark green to that iridescent light green. Her teeth were clenched tightly when her lips weren't moving.
He wanted to tell her to back down.
He knew how she got those burns on her skin. She had pushed herself too far. She was doing that again. She was pushing herself way too far. A touch of red flared in her hair. A slight streak that fell in front of her face. She was pushing herself way too far!
He wanted to reach out and knock some sense into her. She was not strong enough to get that far! She did not have enough of the Saiyian blood to reach that level!
He heard her voice. "Raymond will cure you. I won't let you die," she said in a strained whisper.
He couldn't answer her. He never felt so helpless in his life. He knew what it was like to die. He knew what it was like to feel that draining feeling and the loss that occurs with that. He knew that all to well. How many times has he died?
Twice.
Yes.
He was prepared for the third and final round.
............
Goten couldn't believe what he was hearing!
"You can't!" he yelled at her. She couldn't do that! He wouldn't let her. He was about to loose her after he nearly got her as his own! He wasn't going to let that happen!
They all looked at him.
"I won't let you!"
"It is the only way that you can't help your friends," Krad said simply, flailing the whip around as if it were some sort of party favor. "We have a deal and I say that I rather like it." Goten wanted to punch him in the face but Trunk's weight was ever increasing on his arm.
"Take them to Raymond!" Soyna said. "Get them better."
She lay down Vegeta who seemed oblivious to what was going on as Trunks. But then he was a full blooded Saiyian. The poison must affect him differently. He didn't seem to be in pain.
"I can't leave you!" He yelled and released Trunks so that he crumpled to the ground.
"You will!" She yelled.
There were tears in her eyes. She wasn't letting them fall, but there were tears in her eyes.
He had no intention of letting her go on with this stupid plan.
"This is the last resort," she said sharply as she walked towards Krad. She let her defenses down and was the normal looking Soyna again, with her wild red hair and dark green eyes.
"She is talking sense boy," Krad said. "I am allowing you to take these two," he pointed to both poisoned men, "to safety. I am allowing you to live as well, much against my own desire to destroy you."
Goten opened his mouth.
"Go you fool!" She yelled at him and now stood beside Krad and his son. "Before they die from the poison!"
"But..." he wanted to cry.
"Go!" She snapped. "Everything will be taken care of!"
What did she mean by that?
............
"NO!" Legen said and jumped at the TV. "Don't let her do it Goten! Don't you dare!" He knew they were all looking at him.
They were all wondering what was going on and didn't understand the sudden change in the fight and they wondered why Soyna had powered down.
Legen knew.
"Stop her! No! NO!" he yelled at the TV. He could see the look in his mother eyes. A look that he had seen from when she woke up from nightmares and was looking down at him, when she thought he was asleep. "Don't you let her do that!" He knew that yelling at the TV would not change anything and he knew that he couldn't hear him.
But it was all he could do.
He felt his uncle scoop him up and pull him back.
Junior was silent but he knew too. He knew just as well as he did what she was doing and it just wasn't right. Things were not supposed to end like this! It wasn't supposed to be the end like this!
"She can't do that! She just can't give herself up!" He sobbed into his uncles chest.
"It was what Krad wanted before. She refused him and people died. She is doing it so that no one else has to suffer," his voice sounded badly strained as if he were fighting his own tears. "She doesn't want any of us to suffer so she is sacrificing herself."
He just cried.
He didn't want to loose his mom!
............
Trunks forced himself to his feet. It was hard. It was really hard. His head was pounding and the world seemed to be spinning.
He tried to walk towards Soyna. She was the one that he had to worry about. She was doing something stupid. He knew that she was doing something really stupid and he had to stop her.
He managed a couple of steps and then he felt as if the whole place around him was shaking. He thought for a moment that it was the poison that was giving him that feeling but then he realized that it wasn't. The arena was shaking.
He nearly fell, but he kept on his shaky knees and looked up as a hole appeared in the ceiling and a shuttle craft appeared.
He covered his head from the falling debris.
Goten was yelling at Soyna.
Father looked dead. He couldn't see if he was even breathing.
He blinked his eyes as struggled to stay at his feet as the craft lowered itself in a dramatic whirlwind as the door opened.
"You can't..." he tried to speak.
They were not looking at him.
Krad put his hand on Soyna's shoulder. She hung her head in shame.
He gawked. He couldn't help it.
"NO!" he yelled. "No!" He tried to lunge forward. He tried to move quicker but he just couldn't. He doubted that his voice was heard over the roar of the engine in the craft.
She did look at his though. He knew that sadness. The first couple of months in which she wouldn't talk to him, she would give him that look. The look of total loss.
They stepped into the open plank of the craft.
She was doing it! She was going with him!
He yelled to her again and stumbled forward.
She shook her head and pointed.
He mustered all his strength that he could as the craft was starting to rise. He lunged at the walkway.
............
"Stop her," Legen whispered as he watched the TV with one eye.
"It is what he wants and she is doing it to safe us all," Junior whispered but his voice was very loud in the room. "She told me that she would do this, if it was the only way to beat Krad."
"What?" Pan snapped. "She knew this would happen! She knew that she would go with him?"
Junior rubbed his sore eyes through a cloth that they had wrapped around them. "She knew it was a very possible option."
They all were staring at him. He knew it. He knew that this was a very possible option from the beginning. She blamed herself for the death of everyone that she loved and the fact that his eyes were hurt. She blamed herself because of her temper. Her temper and her refusal of Krad's offer. She had never outright said it, but he knew that she sometimes wished she hadn't lost her temper and everyone would still be alive.
She was going to make sure that it was different this time.
.......................................
There we go...
Another chapter to the IT NEVER ENDS. Keep reviewing and reading me!