Chapter 39: Day 20 Part 6 — Elsewhere

Warning: Severe DV

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

Ichiro enjoyed a blissfully quiet night alone.

On Samudra, Bob and Daisuke avoided each other. Bob by claiming the shelter and camp. Daisuke by sleeping under the tarp next to the firewood.

At the resort, Denise took her melatonin while Lesley cried herself to sleep. When that failed, Lesley called room service.

In the Crawford's room however, he was blissfully asleep in a trashed room full of broken furniture and walls while Rachel was trembling and jerking in her sleep out on the balcony.

Earlier…

"You allowed a man to touch you!"

"You ordered me not to move!"

"Don't talk back to me!" He grabbed the lamp on the nightstand and threw it at her.

It missed, but she still flinched.

"You dodged! Stop refusing the holy blessing!"

"I didn't."

"You're claiming a man can make a mistake!"

"No!" She dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together. "Tell me what I should have done. Would you rather I break your law and move if a man tries to touch me again?"

"No! Never break my divine law!"

"Then what else could I have done?"

Crawford grabbed an expensive looking wooden chair. "Don't question your husband!" He beat her to the floor, and continued until the joints failed and the chair fell apart.

"You protected your head but not your stomach?!" he kicked her as hard as he could. "You refuse God's blessing and invite the devil into you!"

She rolled over from the force and then he stomped on her again.

She finally gripped her stomach and he made the move to stomp on her head. She turned her face away and moved her arms up in time to save her nose.

He looked at her with pure disgust.

"Take your clothes off. All of them."

"What? But not even husband is allowed to see his wife's full—"

"Now! Do it now!" He grabbed her by her blouse, picked her up and slammed her into the wall hard enough to break the drywall. "Do it now!"

Rachel fumbled as she undressed herself as he continued to scream. She dropped her underwear last and saw the wet diaper cloth as she kicked it away. He looked up and down her naked form and saw the urine dripping down her legs.

"You're disgusting."

He then grabbed her neck with one hand and her arm with the other, and threw her into the floor mirror, its glass and wooden stand shattering.

He picked her bleeding body off the ground by her neck again, as some of the larger pieces of glass fell out of the cuts carved into her back and legs.

"I'm not going to pay to clean your clothes from the filth in your veins." He threw her again, this time into the mirror above the dresser.

As she shivered in fear and pain, Crawford opened the balcony sliding door and was surprised to see they had a chain link fence around the entire thing. Then he heard a zapping sound every few seconds and tiny sparks at the joints.

The old farmer knew an electrified fence when he saw one.

He grabbed her back her hair, dragged her off the dresser onto the floor across all the broken glass and threw her outside with enough force that if it wasn't for the fence posts anchored through into the concrete with metal bars as washers above and below, she would have taken the fence with her to her death.

For the first time, she screamed as the electricity went through her body.

He smiled seeing they had turned it all the way up to its highest setting as God intended for its use on women and children. He was even happier when he saw her continue to jump meaning there was also metal under the grass mat.

He slammed the door shut.

She was out there for at least a half hour. She had squatted down to hide her naked body behind the solid railing. She bit her tongue to stop herself from making noise. Not just from the shocks, but the position had ripped open her old rectovaginal fistula, and now blood and feces flowed from her vagina pooling at her feet.

The door suddenly slid open again.

Before she could begin to stand, a bucket of ice water from a silver champagne bucket was thrown on her.

She shouted from the cold and a second bucket was thrown on her. The door shut for a few moments before it opened again and soaking wet blankets and bedsheets were thrown on her covering the entire balcony.

The door shut and locked it one last time.

Sunset at Vegeta's camp…

Vegeta had camp up and running and ready to go when he heard a sole ATV come up the track.

He went to the lower gate.

"Sugar Petal? Why are you here?" his voice cracked.

"I threw the game with an obvious answer," she said. "We need to talk alone."

Vegeta nodded as he gripped his throat.

Vegeta already had meat on the fire and Sugar Petal was quick with the plants for what was no longer just a snack for himself to relieve stress.

They ate in silence until the camera crews packed up an hour late.

"You two take care," Randy said. "We all know you had a rough afternoon. Especially you, Vegeta."

Vegeta sighed. "I'm fine, Fogalsanger. Just leave."

Randy went to speak, but froze realizing Vegeta actually said his name correctly.

"Come on Randy, let's give the prince some space," Nathan said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Randy said, still in shock. "Everyone let's go."

Many of the crewmembers told Vegeta to take care before they left, even though he had told them not to several times since he returned.

"Mr. Vegeta, are the two halves back in the hive?"

"Yeah why?"

"I've been thinking of making something all day, my needles and string are still in the same basket?"

"Yeah, everything is back where it belongs…"

Sugar Petal smiled and they continued in silence.

Soon they finished. Sugar Petal excused herself to the hive while Vegeta tossed the leaves into the fire, made sure the plates were clean, then stacked them.

He did the same for the cups, then went to the smoker.

"If they keep springing dinners on us, this could go bad even if the smoke doesn't go out while we're away… would the blue team even take food from me now? Me eating it defeats the whole point…"

"Mr. Vegeta."

Vegeta began turning around. "Yeah, Suga—"

Sugar Petal was standing by the fire pit. She took the half machete and finished cutting the last section of her side braid, severing it from her head.

"What are you doing?!" Vegeta shouted.

"You said not to hurt myself to help others. How can I do that when you are hurting yourself to help me?"

"What are you talking about?!"

"All you've been seeing in me is the woman who wore her hair like this! Not me!"

"I told you; you startled me that one time and I apologized!"

Sugar Petal shook her head. "No! Everytime! Everytime you look at me you see her! All I see is the pain in your eyes! I am not her! You need to help me for me! Not help me because you failed to help her!"

"Since when have I done that?!"

"Prove it!" She held the cut braid over the fire.

Then dropped it.

—

Vegeta was confused where he was for a second. Then he realized something was in his hands.

He looked and saw pink. He also began feeling heat in his arms.

"I thought so," he heard next to him.

Sugar Petal walked away and into the hive while Vegeta's brain rebooted from what his body did on its own.

Then, he vanished.

Piccolo touched down softly at the spring.

Vegeta was loosely curled up on the stone slab, staring blankly at the pink hair in a white-knuckle death grip in his hand.

"You know you never moved the cameras," he said sitting down in the shelter. "They are going to run with this for a lot of nasty rumors, you know?"

Vegeta did not move.

"Vegeta?"

…

"Vegeta?" Piccolo stood. "I know you're awake. Your eyes are open," he said, starting to reach down.

Then he stopped. "Me damn it," he stood straight. "You're like this again? Over her?"

Piccolo looked at him for a moment. "What happened between you and the person she looks like…" he mumbled before flying up.

Piccolo flew to the resort, and immediately noticed what had been done to the balconies.

Several balconies had chain link fences around them. He also saw sparks and heard the hum of electricity.

He also heard whimpering.

Piccolo flew over and found Rachel curled up on the soaking wet pad, wrapped in a drenched blanket.

She shook violently every few moments even though no part of her was touching the fence. He lifted up the corner of the thin pad with his energy and saw the metal mesh underneath.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Then he flew up to the generator on the balcony above and unhooked it from the metal fence. Then he came back down and extended his hand.

The water quickly vaporized despite the humidity, leaving everything and her perfectly dry.

Piccolo looked at her a few moments before flying off to find Bulma, leaving her to continue to rhythmically jerk in the oblivion between unconsciousness and true sleep.

Bulma heard the sound of metal crunching and rattling from the balcony and got out of bed to move the blind.

She saw Piccolo roll the fence to the side as the molten cut cooled.

She opened the door, "What's wrong?"

Piccolo looked at her then quickly turned away. "Get dressed. Vegeta's frozen himself."

"What?! He hasn't done that since Big Trunks left!"

"I don't know what specifically triggered him, but I'll tell you what I know on the way."

He returned with Bulma.

She surveyed the scene. "Piccolo can you do something about the cameras?"

He sighed, and began taking them down.

"Not going to break them?" she asked surprised.

"That's Vegeta's thing."

"Jake's on vacation. But Mike should still be at the mansion workshop today unless he's sick."

"I'll head out then."

"Wait a moment!"

Piccolo floated back down, "What?"

"Mattress and a blanket?"

Piccolo snapped his fingers and Vegeta lifted up on an air mattress and a thin flat sheet flopped over him.

"Thanks. I got this from here."

Piccolo nodded and left.

Piccolo felt a familiar energy. He hung the masks in a tall tree and Piccolo intercepted Dende flying back up towards the Lookout.

Piccolo could already see what had happened by the look on his face.

"You can't heal scar tissue Dende. She was always going to bleed to death this pregnancy in her sixth month."

Dende looked up and took a sharp breath. "I'm starting to see why you went mad with rage at your worst and could only muster numb indifference at your best."

Piccolo hugged Dende as he cried.

Bulma put her hand on the pink hair. Vegeta pulled it close to his chest.

"Well, you're not completely catatonic." She walked behind him and sat down next to him. She played with his hair around his ear looking for a reaction.

Nothing.

Not even a blush.

Bulma sighed. Then began walking her fingers up his upper arm. "Some-bo-deee's dis-a-so-ciated," she said rhythmically.

She then moved the thin sheet and snuggled next to him, putting her arm over him. "This is how we woke you up last time you lost yourself in lala land." She nibbled his ear. Then she began spitting and wiped her mouth. "Oh God, and I thought you smelled bad…"

She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and again got right next to his ear. "I know some part of you knows I'm here," she whispered. "And I'm going to keep doing this until I embarrass you enough you react."

She laid down her head behind his neck. "Isn't that how it worked last time? Hmmm?" she said as she began rubbing his arm. "My handsome prince run out of gas again? No more Saiyan go-go juice? Like when we found you after Big Trunks left in little Trunk's room? The baby screaming like a banshee like he never screamed before over the monitor and we run find you face down on the floor. Got blood all over the brand-new alphabet and numbers puzzle foam tiles we just laid down. You must have gone down like a rock to break your nose on foam. At least you didn't fall on your face this time."

Bulma pushed back her tears. "You," she choked, "You can cry, you know? Piccolo got rid of the cameras. It's just you and me in the middle of a fucking jungle like out of Tarzan? You started to cry and stormed out of the room halfway through the movie." She began to sing, "Two worlds, one family. Trust your heart, let fate decide, the kind of life we lead…"

She began playing with his hair again and touching his neck. "You've been a huge mess all day haven't you. That girl just turns you upside down and inside out and you won't tell me why. You promised me no more secrets when we married. Why does she do this to you? That's all I want to know…" She then formed her fist and brought it down on his arm. "Dummy…"

Dr. Brief woke up to a foot up his nose.

"Trunks boy," he removed the toe from his nostril, "how did you completely flip yourself around without waking either of us u…"

Panchy wasn't in bed.

Dr. Brief found her looking out the newly replaced glass doors at the coast. She was holding the engraved bracelet up to her chest with both hands.

"Vegeta senses tingling?"

"Both of them," she said.

"I think after this you should really try and learn proper sensing. You've never been wrong as long as I've known you, and you're the one with the freakishly high power level of 8."

"Yours is still 3.6 at your age. Vegeta said that's nothing to sneeze at. Everyone else we tested it on in the building was a decimal."

Dr. Brief chuckled awkwardly and made his way over to the chair. He groaned as he sat. He then held his cane horizontally with both hands. "I think I'll be breaking the promise I made to your father sooner than either of us would like."

Panchy gasped and looked at him. "Don't talk like that. You've been depressed ever since you can't play tennis anymore. Your father is 99, smokes five packs a day and is going on one lung, for heaven's sake. Oh, and your aunt was 105 two months ago according to your home town's newspaper. Don't forget that."

"I could really use a cig," he sighed, "but Trunks is with us tonight."

"They also electrified the balcony." It was her turn to sigh, "So much for a simple TV show…" She looked back at him. "Do you want me to get the gum?"

"Naw," he waved her off, "I'm fine." He looked down and ran his hand over the cane in his lap. "Do you think we should tell Bulma the truth? About why she only had one grandparent."

"Only if you bury a plastic skeleton in the rose garden and really make her really believe I'm an android."

He snorted. "Oh, Jesus fucking Christ no. Think of the drone footage."

"The entire planet already knows about Alex's murder. We don't need to go into any more detail of why we've embargoed an entire state from our products," Panchy said firmly. "She's petty enough that she won't let the politicians sway her. Besides, what else would they have to campaign on? Coal ran out a hundred years ago, all the mountains are chopped off flat, and the valleys are so fucked they canceled filming the latest Fallout movie on site because no health insurance company would cover them. Even the company that covers New Pripyat denied them."

Dr. Brief chuckled. "Country Roads at its finest."

Panchy knelt down and put her hand on her husband's. "We need to help Vegeta through whatever skeleton is causing him to act up before we worry about spring cleaning our own closets. Besides, at least at home we actually control all the listening devices."

Dr. Brief turned his head to the side. "Tsk. Yeah really…"

"Fuck Hoover!" Panchy suddenly said loudly.

Dr. Brief snorted and put his hand over her mouth, "Don't. You'll wake the boy," he chuckled.

Bulma sighed frustrated as she saw his eyes were still open. She crawled on the stone from in front of him to sit by his head. She ruffled his hair hard.

"You're really out of it, aren't you? Secret too deep even for me? Seems you've been lying by omission the whole time I've known you from what I've heard from the others." She stretched. "I can't keep doing this anymore," she yawned. "God… What time is it now anyway…"

She returned her hand to his hair. "Would Mom or Dad be better?" she said mostly to herself. "I don't know what they told you to make you do a 180 on them. Dad even helped you give Mom that bracelet before we even slept together. Even with how you always reacted to my advances back then, the thought I lost you to their swingers' clubs still crossed my mind when Mom kept showing off the bracelet… Why can't I have a bracelet?"

She formed her fist and switched to a noogie. "Since when can you make such pretty jewelry out of leftovers? I'm dragging you to a jewelry shop and you're going to make something for me out of something other than whatever roadkill you pouched. You didn't even care when the cops came because you got caught by the rangers' trail cams and got face matched with the street cameras always filming you coming in and out of the house. At least Goku had his survivalist licenses when he would come back dragging a whole fucking dead dinosaur for poor Chichi to cook all by herself."

She leaned over his head and spoke in his ear again. "You may not know what you want or what to do anymore, Vegeta. But an easier question for your brain has always been 'What do you not want to lose?' What do you not want to lose, Vegeta? And what actions do you need to do to fulfill that need? That is when your body moves, even when your brain hasn't caught up yet."

Bulma crawled back on the mattress and ripped the sheet completely off of him and wrapped herself in it.

"I'm going to bed," she said with a hint of spite in her voice.

She curled up and pressed her back to Vegeta.

Vegeta was still dead in the face when he touched down into the silent camp. He stared at the dying fire pit. Eventually he took a step forward. Then after blanking out again for some time, took another. This repeated for over an hour until he stood next to it.

Eventually, he robotically raised his arm.

Then after an even longer eventually, he dropped the braid in the ashes of the fire.

Immediately after, he fell backwards hard on his back, arms splayed to his sides, staring unaware at the canopy.

COCK A DOODLE DO*

BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Bark* *Bark*

Meow*