Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Fall of the Mighty ❯ Alarm Paroxysm Horror ( Chapter 22 )

~Twisted Sister~

First and foremost. There have been lots of changes around ff.net. There's not tooooo much hentai stuff in my fic is there? Well, it'll work out somehow. Also, I have AIM now if anyone wants to know. My id is Rogue Raven 13 and on Yahoo messenger I am rogue_raven_13 and I am always logged in. I am usually around in the early mornings, 6 or 7am, and after 4pm, pacific time. Who knows if anyone will even look me up on this site. If you do then leave me a review and let me know who ya are and what ya think. Thanks guys.

!Diane! *eyes Diane sternly* Why you…you… *swoops her up in a hug then sets her back down and dusts her off* I like you. You're cool. Too bad your last review is gone. I had just broken 220 too! That's what I get for trying to safeguard and give a strong rating.

Everybody - remember the Cell saga when it took soooooooooooooooo long for Gohan to just suck up his little pitiful helpless "oh what can I do?" act and just do what had to be done? Well, once he got over that part he looked very Piccolo-ish or, dare I say it, Vegeta-ish. He turned completely serious and focused and totally uninterested in mercy. He even played with Cell a little. That was how Cell was able to get the upperhand and try to blow up the planet. Gohan does have the bloodlust in him. He just keeps it buried.

I think everyone suffers from some sort of mental disorder. They just don't show it as obviously as some people. I know I have many but I'm getting better. I'm getting better damn it!! Anyway… My cliffhangers are murder? Hmmmm… Maybe… hehehe But the whole point of the cliffhanger is to drive you all mad and get a reaction right? I'm actually getting more reviews from random people aside from my fantastic amazing thought provoking intelligent funny wonderful brilliant irreplaceable loyal readers. Again, too bad those reviews are gone. My new followers, loved though they are, will never replace my best buds though. You know who you are… I think… You should. You guys are all great. *^_^; wipes away a tear*

Again I list music to read by. This chapter and the next are represented by Nickelback: How You Remind Me, Staind: For You and Can't Believe, Creed: What If, and Puddle Of Mud: Blurry. This is for the soulless who always wanted to have a soul but somehow could never truly manage to find one. All those who know *the pain*. Those of you who have this intimate knowledge, I expect you will understand perfectly.

~Come Out And Play~

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Gohan now noticed the sparse trail of bloodspots leading to the building. 'Oh no! What did I do?' He sucked in a breath and took an involuntary step forward but Trunks caught him by the front of his shirt. "You've done enough."

Suddenly the door to the building smashed open. "TRUNKS!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Alarm Paroxysm Horror*

"Father!!"

Trunks ran to where Vegeta knelt hunched over on the tile, arms carefully tucked close while his blood spread over the floor much too quickly. When he tried to help, though, his father barked him away. "Don't touch me!"

"My Kami!"

Vegeta lurched to his feet when he heard Gohan's exclamation and grated out. "What the fuck is *he* doing here?!"

Gohan backed up a few steps putting a hand over his mouth. He was horrified at what he'd done to the Saiyajin. What he'd done to Vegeta. The Saiyajin no ouji. His father's chosen. A man he'd known and fought beside since he first began to fight. "Kami! Vegeta, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Goten showed Trunks a blood soaked towel. "He wouldn't stop bleeding and then he collapsed. I didn't know what to do."

The prince stumbled and Trunks caught him carefully by the shoulders, swooping him off his feet and gently laying him onto the table despite the multitude of angry objections. His father tried to push him away but his limbs had begun to stiffen. Trunks held him down easily. "I have to stop the bleeding or you're going to die before I can fix you. I can't believe you didn't tell me it was this bad!"

Spice appeared in her grampa's bedroom and had to duck a flying object. The place was torn apart. "Where is it?"

"Where's what? What the heck are you doing?"

Goku went to the closet and started tossing things out of it haphazardly. "I can't find it."

"Can't find what?" Goku started past her to look somewhere else and she had to catch him by the arm to get him to stop. "Kaky! Look at me. Look. Right here. See me? Right in front of you. Yes? Okay. Now. Think. What… Can't… You… Find?"

"I can't find the bag of senzu beans." He pulled away heading to the living room, still preoccupied.

'Okay.' She frowned and slowly followed him out to idly watch him tear through the room for a minute. "Kaky, where do the senzu beans usually go?"

"The kitchen, but I couldn't find them there either."

She thought for a second while he tore off the cushions to the couch then her shoulders slumped and she chuckled. "What's the first place you usually go to in the kitchen?" She said pretty much to herself because Kaky wasn't listening. She left the room, returning with a small bag and the remote control to the tv. "They were in the fridge." She stopped short.

Goku was kneeling on the ground clutching his stomach with a surprised look on his face. "Kaky? What?"

He looked up at her, still unsure, and stiffened in a spasm. "It hurts all of a sudden."

Spice didn't move immediately and Goku tensed again and groaned. She threw the remote and ran to kneel next to him. Fishing out a senzu she gave it to her grampa and he swallowed it quickly. After a second he stood up and smiled at her gratefully but then another spasm hit him and he fell.

"Woah!" Wrapping her arms around him they both hit their knees but she did her best to take most of the impact. "Shit!" She'd never teleported with anyone before but Kaky could do it so it couldn't be that hard. She tucked under his arm and concentrated. They disappeared.

"Trunks!" Spice stood up, lifting Goku up with her, only to see the huge amount of blood spread around Vegeta on the table and floor. She cursed again. "What the fuck?!" 'I leave for five minutes and it's Armageddon!' Fishing in the bag she took another senzu out. "Here, I've got it. Take Kaky! There's something wrong with him." She let go of Goku and pushed past the scientist, getting a better look at Vegeta. "Bloody fucking hell!! Is he even conscious still?!"

"Shut up, onna. What's wrong with Kakarott?" Vegeta rasped out. She took that as an affirmative and held the bean up for him. He bit down, swallowing and sitting up even before the burns had completely melted away. "Kakarott!"

Trunks caught Goku as another spasm rocked him. "Damn it. You said you felt fine. Come on, Goku." He took him from the room and further into the lab. Vegeta lurched to his feet and followed unsteadily.

All was suddenly quiet. The panic slowly dimmed. The amount of blood puddled in the room was surreal. It looked like something out of one of her favorite horror movies.

Spice stood there and stared at the crimson with a mixture of fascination and revulsion before gingerly stepping out of the puddle she was standing in and examining her boots for unwanted stains. The burnt, coppery scent that filled the air made her want to sneeze. She looked over and saw Goten standing a few feet away, likewise unsure of what he should do.

Then she saw her father standing hesitantly by the door and her calm façade exploded. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DONG HERE?!! GET OUT!! GET THE HELL OUT!! DID YOU COME TO FINISH THE JOB?! BOTCHED IT UP THE FIRST TIME, DIDN'T YOU?!" The jet-black tail, carefully hidden under her shirt around her waist, revealed itself with severe whipping lashes. It contrasted sharply with her light blue jeans. Both Goten and Gohan stepped back from her in shock. Her mouth kept working silently while she tried to think of how to express how furious she was. Nothing came to mind so she clenched her fists and screamed at the top of her lungs and stepped forward threateningly. "You… You… You…" She shook her head, still speechless. "I hate you."

Goten gasped in shock. "Spice! You don't mean that!"

She ignored him and her voice rose to a shriek. "I despise you! How could you do something like this?! Who do you think you are?! Get out! Leave! Now!"

Gohan just stared, slack jawed, making no move to obey. She screamed again, her hair bursting yellow except where it was streaked with bright green dye. In the blink of an eye she flashed across the room and took her father by the collar, hauling him down to face her. Her dulcet tone now quiet and cold and she glared into his bright wide eyes. "Are you not taking me seriously? I happen to be very serious. Believe me. Anything. *Anything* that happens to either of them! I will do to you." As she spoke she dragged him out of the building with Goten following open-mouthed. Outside she tossed him away and he was too surprised to even catch himself. He rolled in the dirt and groaned before pushing up onto his knees to see his daughter watching him with hate and loathing before she turned and reentered the lab building. The door slammed so hard that it's hinges bent and left it hanging askew. Goten walked over to him with a confused and unsure sympathetic look. Gohan just stared at the door. He could still feel his daughter's angry chi inside the building. Crashes and shouts could be faintly heard by his straining Saiyajin ears.

"She's serious."

Goten put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Gohan. She's just upset. She'll get over it. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

Gohan shook his head, still in shock. "She walked away."

"Just leave her alone, let her cool off."

Gohan shook his head again and looked at his brother with horrified eyes. "She walked away… She said I don't know her but I know her well enough to know what it means for her to walk away."

Goten was confused. "What do you mean?"

Gohan just sat there shaking his head. "What have I done, Goten? How could I have let this happen?"

"Sorry, bro, you can't ask me that 'cause I still don't know what happened."

"I… I can't believe it. She's right. What was I thinking? How did I do this?"

After smashing the door Spice went back to the bloody room. She was so angry that she couldn't hear past the blood pounding in her ears but that only prompted her to shout louder so she could hear herself. 'Everything is suddenly so fucked up! Why the hell couldn't he just deal?! Why couldn't he accept what he couldn't change?! He just fucking had to find a way to change it! He just had to make it fit his fucked up little world!' She stepped into the room and stared at the thickening blood. Her mind was racing but her thoughts were clear. Everything seemed just as red as that lake of blood. She was a smart girl. She owed that to her father. It was a fact she couldn't escape. 'He just loved us so fucking much! We had to have the best! Kami! I hate him!' She was also a pessimist. She knew that if she hadn't found those senzus that Vegeta would have died. Her father would have killed him. She knew that nothing was wrong with her grampa. He'd eaten a senzu, he was fine. It was the child. Her father had killed the child. Her father had refused to accept this and had found a way to change it. She wanted to break something, anything. She wanted to hurt someone, anyone. She could still feel him out there. She wanted to go back out there and hurt him. He deserved it. She could show him what he'd done. She could kill him as easily as he destroyed this. No. She wouldn't go back out. Something awful would happen. She was not willing to trust herself. Not like this.

Deep down in the back of her mind she knew she needed to calm down. She knew she was being irrational. She knew she needed to regain control. She just didn't want to. This was why they weren't allowed to lose their tempers. This was why she was so carefree and easygoing. She'd realized a long long time ago that she had an extremely bad temper. That was one of the reasons she got along so well with Vegy, she understood him that way. She tried to push it down, bury it. Almost succeeding until she caught sight of her reflection in the bloody table and it all bubbled up again. They always said she looked just like him. She screamed it out. She had to let it out. She wanted to let it out. The metal warped under her fingers and she wrenched it up from it's place and embedded it in the wall, splattering red across everything in the room including herself. Then she did the same with every object she could get her hands on, lashing out at everything within reach until she finally slipped to land in the puddle on the floor. She sat there, chest heaving and palms pressed into the sticky substance. Feeling the cold wetness soaking through her clothes. Around her she could hear the drip drip of blood on the pristine white tiles.

"You finished?"

She looked up to see Vegy in the doorway watching her. She still smoldered but it did not overwhelm her anymore. "No. But I guess I can take a break." She replied with quiet sarcasm. She crawled to her feet and faced him.

"He's still out there."

She nodded. "Sometimes I wonder how he's survived so long. He can be earth shatteringly stupid sometimes." They just stood there for a moment, regarding each other. She grimaced and shook her hands trying to fling off the blood that was dripping from them and then wiped them down her loose orange tanktop. "Kaky?"

Vegeta shook his head.

They left the room and found a place to wait for Trunks to tell them what was happening in the lab. Spice kept watch silently while her uncle passed out from exhaustion and slept on one of the sterile counters.

"Goku?"

The large Saiyajin blinked groggily. He felt very weak and stiff and his abdomen hurt. He reached to hold his stomach but a hand restrained him.

"It's alright. Here, Goku, it's a senzu."

He let Trunks feed it to him and took in his surroundings as the pain disappeared. "What happened?"

The look on the lavender haired man's face made him distinctly nervous. "I'm sorry, Goku. There was nothing I could do."

Spice sat in the same spot. It had been about two hours and Trunks had finally emerged to get a senzu from her and tell her what she already knew. She was surprised that Vegeta hadn't woken during the conversation, at least she didn't think he had. He must have been really beaten up to sleep so deeply. She knew Trunks meant well, that's why she didn't believe him when he said it wasn't her dad's fault. He said it would have happened anyway and had probably already happened. The shock to Goku's system had just brought it to their attention faster.

She glanced over to where the prince slept, considering waking him. 'No. He needs his rest. Nothing will have changed anyway.' She might as well give her father a head start, whether he deserved it or not. She supposed she owed him that much for being her gene-donor. Now that she was in control it was probably safe to confront him again. She stood and walked down the hallway. She was surprised at how much damage she'd done to the first room as she walked through it. She'd have to apologize to Trunks but he should understand. It was better than what could have happened. Unlike her father she could control herself somewhat.

Outside, Goten and Gohan sat together on the ground in the twilight where Spice had left them. Neither one speaking.

They both looked up when Spice carefully opened the broken door and Gohan paled slightly. She walked up slowly, with purpose, to stop a few feet away and regard them wordlessly. She looked frightening with her clothes, arms, and face smeared with blood and that pitiless unfeeling expression on her face.

Gohan tried to see some sign of his little girl but her eyes were the eyes of a cold, uncaring stranger. Finally she gave him her complete attention. She almost whispered when she spoke. "You want proof that Vegeta cares for Kaky? You want proof that Kaky is safe in his hands? Here's your proof. He's safer with Vegeta than he is with you. Did you mean well? Of course you did, you always do. You always meant well with us. Look at where your meaning well has gotten us. Look at me. Have you actually looked at any of us at all in all this time? I am not your little girl, I haven't been in years. Look around you, it's your last chance." She snorted. "I don't know why I bother, you won't listen. You never do. I guess I feel obligated to tell you that I won't fight for you. I refuse. You brought this on yourself, deal with it yourself. You better be ready when the prince wakes up. We'll see if Kaky stops him." She turned to walk away and Goten spoke up.

"Spice, is dad okay?"

She paused, turning just far enough to see her uncle over her shoulder. "Kaky is fine. He miscarried." She faced her father again. "I told you that anything that happened to them I would do to you. You may subtract me from your list of children. I disown you." Then she continued back into the building.

Goku nodded reservedly. "Yeah, I understand. It couldn't be helped." He looked up at Trunks hopefully. "It's nobodies fault? Right?"

Trunks shook his head. "I don't think it's anyone's fault."

Goku nodded again wiping away a few tears that escaped and taking a deep breath. "Does Vegeta know?"

Trunks shook his head. "He's asleep. I haven't woken him up yet."

"Where's Gohan?"

"He's still outside."

Goku hesitated. "I think… He should go home and stay away for a little while. Vegeta…"

Trunks nodded. "I know, I'll tell him you're okay and send him home."

"Thanks."

Spice stood up as Trunks and Kaky came out. Goku smiled weakly at her and went to where Vegeta sprawled out on one of the tables. At a touch, the prince was immediately wide awake and upright. He sent one glance to Trunks who nodded and then said something inaudible to Goku and they disappeared.

"I'm going to talk to Gohan."

"You're on your own. I have nothing to say to him anymore. Sorry about the room I trashed. I hope there wasn't anything too expensive in there 'cause I'm gonna have a hard time paying you back now." Without explaining further she transmitted out as well.

Gohan didn't go home. He flew high up in the atmosphere, as high as he could go without killing himself. He flew aimlessly with his head in his hands. He'd sunk himself in a mire and didn't know how to get out. He didn't know what to do.

At home Videl bustled about in the kitchen laughing as she listened to her son tell her about his day while he set the table. She was smiling happily as she took the heavy pan off the heat. The smile faltered suddenly and she set the pan down again. Her brow crinkled and she glanced down at her left hand, slowly clenching and unclenching a fist. In the background Tong still rambled away to the sound of clinking silverware.

Shaking out her arm she again turned her attention to the food and finished removing the heat from the other pots and pans. She picked up a pitcher of lemonade and carried it to the living room to set it on the table. "Dinner is just about ready, don't forget the glasses."

"Of course, mom, I've only been doing this for half my lifetime. Did I tell you what Charlotte said?"

"What did Charlotte say?" She asked dutifully from the kitchen again. Tong kept talking as he finished up and joined her to retrieve the cups. She paused again while he was stacking them, fisting her hand. She frowned and put her other hand to her chest. "Tong?" Her voice was soft and he didn't hear it over his one sided conversation. She swallowed and called his name in a stronger voice. "Tong?"

"Yeah, mom?" He finished stacking the last cup before turning to her. "Mom? Is something wrong?"

She gasped in pain and started to fall. All the cups crashed to the floor as Tong caught her. "Mom?! Mom! Pan!!"

Spice sat at the very tip top of a rocky mountain, staring at the stars and wondering what she could do now. It hurt. It hurt so much but it was true and she would stick to her word. She hated him, she really did. Years of pent up, unexpressed resentment had come to a head and that was what it boiled down to. She almost hoped Vegeta would find him. 'Why?' No. That was a stupid question. Why didn't matter. It was "what" that mattered. "What" had always been. "What" had happened. "What" was going to happen. "Why" didn't make one ounce of difference. She'd thought things would change when gramma died. Gramma had certainly been a force to be reckoned with and Spice had thought even dad would have been relieved when she passed on but that hadn't happened. For some reason Gohan had decided to raise them just like he'd been raised…even without gramma to browbeat him. Well… Pan had spent a while in space so she hadn't gotten it like her and Tong. Spice was pretty sure Tong got it a little worse than she did but she was different than the others. Her and Flick. Vegeta could see it. He was the one who had made her see that it was okay. He taught her to be proud to be different. Flick, on the other hand, Vegeta hadn't been able to stand since the beginning.

Why was she thinking about this? It didn't matter. It didn't change anything. She had struggled to be who she was and succeeded. Now everything was totally fucked up and she needed to move on. She stood up. Time to go see mom. She would have to explain it all to her. She searched for Videl's ki. It was surprisingly hard to trace but she found it.

And then it disappeared.

Tong paced back and forth in the emergency waiting room and slammed into Spice, a little blood from her stiff clothes rubbed off on his. She stumbled and whirled to look at her surroundings. "What the hell is going on?!! Where's mom!! Her ki's gone?!! Where is she?!!"

Tong tried to grab her shoulders but she pulled away. "Stop, Spice! What happened to you?! Stop! I don't know! She's in there. They said it was cardiac… Spice! Come back!!"

She forced her way into Critical Care, ignoring him. Knocking away anyone that tried to stop her. She searched through the maze of hallways and machines and rooms until she found the room her mother was in. She froze as the group of doctors stepped away from Videl's still form. It was obvious they had done all that they could.

Loud gasping breaths overtook her as she stared at Videl's pale face and blue lips. One of the nurses finally noticed her. "Hey! You can't be in here! …Are you alright?"

All at once Spice stopped.

Turning on her heal she calmly walked out. She stepped out of the swinging doors and Tong ran up to her, his face flooded with anxiety. She looked him in the eyes and then at Pan who stood behind him. She opened her mouth but promptly closed it again. 'She's dead. She's dead. She was the only one I had left and she's dead.' She couldn't speak.

"Oh no." Tong knew from her silence. His eyes welled up with tears and he tried to enfold her in his arms but she pushed him off and walked away. "Spice. Spice, come back! Please come back!"

Behind her she could hear her older sister sobbing loudly. She had to get out of there.

DO'H!! Yaoi Ashes? You gotta keep your big mouth shut! I think you ruined the surprise about Videl for some of the less clairvoyant readers! >_< Good guess though. ^_^ Ah well. I'm sure I am the only one obsessed with knowing what all my reviewers write to me. (I'm so glad I had the presence of mind and the paper handy to print them all out) I think we may think alike at times. Your reviews are some that I really pay attention to and glean things from. Hope you don't mind. I haven't decided what to do with Piccy yet. An idea is forming that might be acceptable to everyone though. (and very unacceptable to dear old uptight Piccolo) Ooops I said too much. And here I was reaming you for letting the Saiyan out of the bag. O.o