Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Fall of the Mighty ❯ Relief, Burnout ( Chapter 26 )

~Profound Thoughts For The Day~

Gee, Nathaly, I think you must be my number one fan. You make my head swell every time you review and, sorry, but you'll just have to wait like everybody else. Nah, I'm just really a screwed up chick with a colorful background and a few psych classes under my belt.

Life is a soap opera. (At least mine is) You just have to know when to laugh at the bad acting and corny lines and when to be bitingly sarcastic toward the pure unadulterated stupidity of the actors. It is possible in this world for everything that happens around you to be viewed as cut-n-dry. It's when you allow pointless emotion and petty thought to get in the way that things get complicated. Which happens to be almost all the time.

~Okay, So *I* Think They Are Profound~

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Food could wait until she passed her exams. She needed to be able to sit still and concentrate first. As she walked away she didn't notice when one of the customers from the patio appeared to watch her with a curious expression. When she suddenly disappeared into thin air the watcher's eyes grew large with shock.

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*Relief, Burnout*

Spice lounged in the corner. After having finished all her duties early she had spent the rest of the afternoon here. This part of the restaurant was surprisingly trendy and comfortable. It was a room isolated from the rest of the building, furnished with plush sofas, love seats and cocktail tables around a small stage. She sprawled across her chosen loveseat in a dimly lit corner as if daring anyone to try to share it with her.

Someone dared.

Carl sidled up carrying two drinks and a smile. "Hiya, hun. Your date hasn't shown up yet?" He sat the drinks on a coffee table in front of the seat, caught her booted ankles and lifted her legs, sitting down with her feet on his lap.

One eyebrow rose from behind her dark sunglasses but she didn't say anything about it. Instead she picked up the glass he brought her. It wasn't Carl's fault she'd been irritable lately and she wasn't going to take it out on him. "Nah. Kaky's not supposed to show for at least another twenty minutes. I've just been soaking up the atmosphere. Some of this stuff really sucks but they did a few readings a little while ago that were pretty good."

At that moment there was a girl sitting on a stool on the stage reading some original poetry. Carl nodded. "Yeah, I usually take my breaks in here. That's Sara up there. She comes in a lot. She's pretty good."

Spice gave a demeaning snort. "I could come up with some much better stuff than her flowery little bittersweets. She's just here for the attention. You can hear it in her voice. She doesn't really believe what she's spouting off."

They sat and listened in silence. Spice wasn't really in the mood to socialize. She wasn't even in the mood to get drunk but she wasn't about to let that stop her. A few minutes later she caught sight of Goku peeking into the room and looking around. "Kaky." She waved to him. "Over here."

The girl on stage glared at being interrupted and sniffed huffily before continuing her epic poem of tragedy.

"I should get back to work." Carl stated, lifting her legs again, clearing the way for the big grinning muscular guy. "Just keeping it warm for you, Kaky."

Goku smiled good naturedly and sat down next to Spice, not fazed at all when Carl plopped her booted feet across his lap. The girl was beginning to grow annoyed at Carl's liberties but she wasn't about to risk losing her buddy-to-buddy discount. "Hey, Carl? Two-drunk-guys and that tropical-thingy, just like yesterday. Keep em coming."

He grinned. "Sure thing, hun."

He left and she turned her attention to her grampa. He didn't seem to notice or mind that her calves were draped across him, he was too busy looking around curiously. The girl yawned widely and roused herself enough to scoot over and give her grandfather some room. She curled up in the corner and yawned again making her jaw crack. "So how've you been, Kaky?"

He answered distractedly while he watched the employees set up the karaoke equipment. "Fine."

She downed her drink before eyeing him suspiciously. "Don't lie. I asked an honest question."

"Huh?" Goku glanced over at her curiously.

She shook her head and winced, rubbing her neck distastefully. She changed the subject. "I ordered some food. It should be out soon." They watched the room begin to fill and the first group of clowns go up to make fools of themselves.

She did her best to keep her face from showing how utterly dark and bleak her mood was but she knew she wasn't doing a very good job. She was fairly sure she'd passed all her exams so that was a weight off of her shoulders but in it's wake she was left with too much room to think. She didn't want to think. She wanted to sleep but that hadn't happened yet. She planned to change that tonight, dreams or no dreams.

Goku looked over to where his granddaughter had wedged herself into the far end of the loveseat, wondering how she could possibly squeeze herself into such a small space. "You okay, sweetheart?"

She closed her weary eyes then pinned him with a very serious look. "Don't call me that. It's not an apt description. You haven't answered my question yet, anyway."

"Huh?" He'd already forgotten. Or it seemed like it.

She forced a smile. "When I asked how you are."

"Oh. Fine."

She nodded. "Yes, you said that. If it were true then I would have accepted it but it's not."

Just then a waitress arrived with three trays of different dishes. "Is this right? All of this just for you two?" She asked.

"Yep. It's a special occasion, might as well go all out." Spice answered with fake friendliness.

"Oh, of course." The ditzy blond agreed cheerfully. "Well, enjoy. Your drinks will be out in just a minute."

"Wow!" Goku was already diving into the food and Spice smiled at him with mild amusement, continuing to drink her beverage.

Goku didn't notice when the first group sang or when the drinks arrived. He was too focused on the food. About halfway through he noticed that, despite a number of empty glasses in front of her, Spice hadn't eaten a thing. "Aren't you hungry?"

She glanced over the still full dishes and shrugged. "I guess." Dutifully she picked a little at the nearest meal but still didn't eat anything.

Goku inspected her again. "I think you should eat something. All those drinks can't be good on an empty stomach."

She sighed. "I'll eat if you drink yours. They're starting to pile up." She gestured to his left where four of the tropical drinks sat awaiting him.

He looked back to her with an uncharacteristically calculating expression. "You promise?"

Finally a truly amused smile quirked her lips. "I promise." She loaded up a fork and held it poised. "As a show of faith you will drink down that whole first glass though."

Goku grinned. "Okay. As long as you eat, I'll do whatever you want."

The next few hours continued that way. Spice ate slowly and Kaky drank what she gave him and her mood lightened considerably. Soon they were carousing happily, hooting and cheering and booing along with everyone else at the people performing on the little stage. Suddenly Goku jumped up and grabbed Spice's hand. "I wanna sing too!"

She ripped her hand away looking spooked. "What? Hell no!"

He pouted and whined loudly. "Awwwwww, but it'll be fun!"

Spice crossed her arms stubbornly and struck a very Vegeta-like pose. "I will *not* make a fool out of myself. I *am* having fun."

"Awwwwww, come on, Spice, I wanna do it!"

She shook her head and laughed. "No one's stopping you."

"But I want you to do it toooooooooooo." He whined even louder. "It'll be fuuuuunnnn." By now everyone in the room was staring at them and cheering Goku on.

"You're making a scene!" She grated out through clenched teeth.

"I am not. You are! Come on, just one little song? I've got the perfect one. Pleeeaaaassssseeeeeeeee???" He begged as he tugged on her arm.

She blushed brightly while everyone around whistled and goaded openly and glared at Kaky. "I'm going to kill you for this. You know that, right?" She chugged down her drink and clunked it on the table with a sense of finality.

Goku just grinned ear to ear and dragged her up to the stage. "It's only embarrassing if you let it be. Loosen up a little. You look like Vegeta."

She eyed him, openly hostile. "Vegy would have blown up the place by now just to save face." She muttered and caught the blond waitress by her arm. "You get yourself to Carl and tell him Spice wants two doubled up three-wise-men. Get them back here in three seconds and you'll have a 50% tip when I leave."

The girl's eyes nearly bugged out and she trotted from the room. Goku scrolled through the selections until finding what he wanted. His grin grew even wider than before and he snickered at her as he selected the song. On the tv screen she managed to catch the song title.

A squeaking gasp broke from her and she clapped a hand over her own mouth, starring at him in horror.

He just grinned.

"Here you go, miss, just like you asked."

Spice spun around to see the blond carrying a tray with two glasses on it. "Oh thank goodness!!" She tossed back both drinks as fast as she could and cringed as the music started. She recognized it as Smashmouth instantly. Goku gave her a worried look when she approached him. Her head was down and her shoulders were shaking. Her high heeled boots allowed her to nearly meet his eyes when she looked up. It was obvious from the way she was biting her lip that she was trying to hold in the laughter. "You're lucky I have a sense of humor. Let's get this over with." The first lines of Padrino were about to start. "See if I ever let you listen to my old goofy stuff ever again."

Goku bounced happily, grin securely back in place.

Spice was already halfway off the stage by the last cord of the song.

"No, no, no, wait a sec!" Goku caught her around the waist and hauled her back. "I picked a song, now it's your turn."

She gave a fake laugh. "Ha ha ha, yeah right! One song! You said one! I don't think so."

Goku crossed his arms and stared her down. "Your turn."

She took a deep breath and growled back.

He replied by sticking his nose up in the air snootily. "Your turn."

She raised an eyebrow. "Saiyajin or not, you have a really good buzz going right now, don't you?"

He grinned at her. "I feel really great all of a sudden!"

Sighing, Spice realized she was beginning to feel pretty good as well from all that whiskey she downed five minutes before. 'I'm already up here, what else can happen to my reputation? Might as well make him happy.' She admitted to herself in defeat. "Alright fine! As long as we're going through my old stuff we might as well do something I still *like*. You'll remember this one,…"

The crowd cheered. They had been hanging on the squabble since the beginning.

She looked up Cosmic Castaway and grabbed the mike from Kaky, giving him a not-quite-so-harsh glare.

Spice hunched over her drink in their dark corner. Now that all that unpleasantness was over…though she had to admit it wasn't *that* unpleasant…they sat and Goku drank another yellow drink without her even having to prompt him. She leaned back and smiled. Finally relaxed after such a long time of being so tense. Her eye was still twitching but her neck hadn't spasmed all evening and she was pleasantly drowsy from the alcohol. She might even be willing to say she'd had fun.

"You okay, Spice?" Goku asked looking slightly worried again.

She just lolled her head over on the back of the seat to look at him sleepily. "I'm good. Kinda tired." She gave a satisfied sigh. "You?"

He looked like a kid, his eyes were bright and playful, probably from the alcohol. He definitely didn't have the same constitution for it that Vegeta had or maybe it was just because he didn't exercise as much self control as the prince normally did. "I'm having lots of fun."

"Good." She looked around as the waitress brought them two more drinks. "It's all good." The girl scooped up her drink and clinked it with her grampa's.

Goku drank the last of his and looked at her curiously. "You like that song a lot, huh?"

"Hmm?" Only then did Spice realize she'd been humming Cosmic Castaway while they were sitting there. "Yeah. It's a good song. Real close to my heart." She chuckled. "And so true."

"What? That you are an alien or that you're a castaway?" Goku asked with a smile.

She waved her hand dismissively. "The whole song matches me pretty well. Especially now. But I don't want to talk about that. We're here to get away from all that." She scooted closer and whispered conspiratorially. "Do you know how many women have checked you out all night? I think there were even a few guys. If you *were* my date I would be extremely pissed by now. Even Carl has been eyeing you."

Goku glanced around in surprise. "Really? Ahm… hehe… No, I hadn't noticed."

Spice snuggled up to him. "That's one of the reasons you're so great. You're so completely clueless."

He put his arm around her and leaned back comfortably. "That's what everyone says."

Spice thought about it. "Hmm, you're right. Sorry, I take it back. I try not to put stock into what everyone else says anyway." She yawned against his shoulder. "You're only clueless sometimes. The rest of the time you understand things *too* well. …I like this shirt, it's nice an soft… So glad you stopped wearing that orange thing all the time."

Goku laughed, looking down at the green satiny shirt. A dragon wrapped around from front to back with melding green and silvery scales. "I would think so, you gave it to me."

"Really?" She looked a little closer. "Oh, yeah. I guess I'm a little more out of it than I thought. Let's go get some air, huh? It'll wake me up."

They went out to the bar where she settled her tab. Goku hadn't felt this energetic and silly in a long time. He wondered absently what was in those drinks.

"You guys are really something. I haven't seen Spice smile like that in a long time." Carl was leaning on the bar next to them.

"Um…yeah…thanks. Who would have guessed?" Goku grinned and put his arm around her shoulders.

"You're a lucky guy to be able to get her to warm up like that."

Spice eyed the bartender dryly. "Gee. Thanks, Carl."

Outside it was just beginning to sprinkle and the sky was overcast and dark. Spice smirked. "Idiot weatherman said it would be clear. Oh well, summer storms are the best."

"That Carl guy is really friendly, isn't he?"

Goku's granddaughter smirked. "A little too friendly. He tends to keep himself limber so he can hop the fence at will. I've seen him do it. He can change gears almost instantly. Actually he's just never seen me with anyone so he felt he had to make a big deal of it."

Goku thought that over for a minute before giving up. "What?"

She shrugged and chuckled. "He's extremely bi and very energetic about it. I see him work over at least two different prospects every time I'm here. Male *or* female." She tilted her head back with a smile and let the misty wetness drift over her. "It's a nice night, ya wanna fly a bit, Kaky?"

"Sure. I love the rain!" He took a deep breath of the damp air and suddenly snatched her squealing off her feet. With a delighted hoot he jumped onto the roof and from there leapt into the sky doing a few summersaults with his granddaughter clinging to him. She was wide awake now.

Over the glistening trees they floated, sliding through the increasing raindrops. Spice stretched out contentedly, flying on her back and looking up at the dark clouds. She loved the rain and Kaky just loved the outdoors. He was doing all sorts of loops and flips beside her. It seemed that Vodka made him a bit hyper. She laughed while watching him, wishing she had a little more energy to play, then a thought struck her. Vegeta wasn't powered up anymore though he was still off in the east. Vegeta hated being rained on. Grinning, she slid up and caught Goku's arm, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks for coming out with me. I feel a lot better now. I wanna fly you home, okay?"

"Are you sure *I* shouldn't be the one to fly *you* home? You do look really tired."

"Nah, I treated. You're my responsibility."

Standing on his front porch, Spice patted her grampa on the back. "'Night, Kaky. Make sure you take a nice hot shower. Don't wanna catch cold. I'll see you soon, huh?"

Goku seemed a little downcast that she was leaving so quickly but smiled and told her to fly safely. Spice took off from the little cottage with a sleepy smile.

Vegeta groaned and rolled into a sitting position. He was cold and wet and sore. Where was he? Out in the middle of nowhere. He eased onto his feet. He must have passed out from the strain. Damn it! He was stronger than that! He was…! His thoughts were cut off as cold droplets began to pelt his dusty skin and worn gi. He was being rained on. Automatically he located Goku's ki and headed for it, not paying attention to anything else.

His blood had been spilled. His life had been taken. A life that belonged to him and was under his protection. It was his and it had been taken. Something had to be done.

"Damn it all to hell!"

There had to be atonement… But he couldn't take it. What he craved. What he required. What was right before him and within reach of his fingertips… He couldn't take. He wanted to kill that craven weakling. Why did he ever let himself get so far with Kakarotto? Why didn't he leave when he knew he should have? His own fault. As always. It was all his fault. He'd allowed this. He'd allowed a weakling to seduce him and then he allowed a weakling to overcome him. An angry, frustrated exclamation of broke from his throat as the droplets grew into a downpour, soaking him through. 'Great. This is all I need.' Before too long he landed and stood before Goku's cottage. 'I'm such a fool' He berated himself and stepped through the front door.

Spice landed at the doorstep to the huge capsule Corporation house. She was exhausted and soaked through by now and the C.C. had been closer than her boarding house. After landing on the doorstep it occurred to her that she could have just transported home but she wasn't sure if she could concentrate that well anymore. She was already here anyway.

Inside the lights were still on, it wasn't at all as late as she thought it was. The living room was empty but the tv was on and an action movie was playing so she sprawled out on the couch, settling in to watch and, hopefully, fall asleep.

Someone wasn't going to let her, though. "Hey! What the hell are *you* doing here? Get out!"

"Crashing." She didn't even open her eyes to acknowledge Nigel, opting instead to listen to the movie dialog.

"Like hell! Get your Son trash ass out of my home."

"Make me." She still didn't look at him but could feel him approaching. Finally she deigned to look up in sleepy unconcern. "If it weren't for my *Son trash ass* your grandfather would be underground by now. I'm here by *his* invitation so *screw off*."

Nigel scowled. "Well… Don't think you can bring anyone else here. They're not welcome."

She eyed him with dry annoyance. "Aww, really? I wanted to throw a party. Damn." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

He nodded graciously as if asserting that he had taken control of the situation again. "Okay then." Rudely, he knocked her legs off the couch and sat down.

Spice growled and sat up, reclining her side of the couch. She was in a haze now. The mixture of exhaustion and massive amounts of liquor was beginning to knock her for a loop. After a little while she realized that Nigel had said something to her. "Hmmm?"

"You look toasted."

"Yup." She replied, vaguely noting that the teenager was now sitting right beside her. She zoned out again to the explosions on the tv, only half conscious of her surroundings.

She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there. She blinked and it seemed to her that Nigel had said something funny but she wasn't sure what. Turning to look at him, all she saw was an open mouth coming at her.

Where is diane? My beautiful diane! I miss her so! She used to leave the most wonderful reviews. I always waited until she left a review before I updated. Damn you ff.net!!! It's your fault my diane is missing!! *sniffle* I shall mourn your passing, my sweet sweet diane. Never shall I forsake my lemons in the face of adversity! I shall continue on and fight the good fight with my citricly acidic tales of woe and angst even if you aren't by my side! I shall devote my writing to your memory so that wherever you are…if you deign to glance in my direction you will not be disheartened but uplifted once again!!

Okay, enough with the mushy melodramatics! Been watching LEXX too much. I hate that robot head. Next chapter……Lemon!! Woohoo!! YAAY! It's starting to come back together now. More Vegy and Kaky saturation…well…eh…I'm still writing.