We sat in silence, listening to the rain. Vegeta leaned against the far corner, arms folded and head lowered. I noticed the sweat glistening on his temple. Something was bothering him but what I couldn't tell. Gokou stood right of the Prince, gazing out a window as water droplets blurred the glass.
The young boys and Bapa were upstairs, hopefully asleep. Whatever had Dad and Vegeta alerted had them three spooked and it had taken many stories to calm them down. The power outage wasn't helping any either and a few candles were dotted around to shed a little light. The only sounds were the ever-present rain and noises from ChiChi cleaning the kitchen.
Gohan, my little brother no longer so little, sat beside me on the floor. I remembered the first time we met, how small he was and yet still so brave.
"Sis?"
"What is it, Gohan?"
"Do you feel what father and Vegeta are feeling?"
I shook my head. "Not at all. Do you?"
"Yeah," he answered, hesitating. "Not as strongly, though."
"Well, what is it?"
"I- I don't know." His brow furrowed, eyes sliding shut in concentration. "It's like a haze . . . almost familiar in a way . . . I-"
The phone cut through his next words. ChiChi picked it up in mid-ring.
"Hello? Bulma, is something wrong?" A pause as she listened. "A boy?" Another long pause. "Yes, yes, I'll be right over." Click as she returned the phone to its receiver.
"Mom?" I called. "What happened?"
ChiChi hurried out of the kitchen, an arm already slung through her jacket. "Bulma just called and said some strange boy showed up on her doorstep. She said he was wearing a Capsule Corp logo and thinks maybe he's one of her employees." She made a face. "Anyway, he looks familiar to her but she wants us to come over and see if we can identify him."
"Why us?" I wondered.
ChiChi straightened her collar and opened the front door, fierce wind threatening to wrench her coat away. "Bulma said the boy's delirious with fever and keeps mumbling names." She glanced over at her husband who had perked up. "One was Gokou's."
Instantly, Gokou flew out the door in a burst of ki, Vegeta on his heels.
"Wait on us!" I yelled but the Saiyajins were already gone.
"Come on," said ChiChi, opening her umbrella.
"What about the kids?"
"I'll stay," said Gohan, standing and sticking his hands in his pockets.
I nodded. "Let's go then."
If possible, the rain came down harder outside.
***
The Saiyajins landed just outside of Capsule Corporation as we pulled up. Bulma opened the front door and we all ran inside, getting soaked in just those few seconds.
"Our power's out," Bulma said, indicating the eerie blue lights above. She motioned us down the hallway. "The boy's down here."
I sided closer to Vegeta whose dark eyes were narrowed and focused intensely ahead. Gokou was on my left, just as tense.
"I feel it now, Vegeta,' I whispered.
"I am surprised it took you so long," he muttered. "That boy's ki is screaming."
"Screaming?" I restated.
"He is very strong," explained Gokou.
"How strong?"
"Very," was all he answered.
I left it as that and followed Bulma to a back room. The pounding in my head grew louder, like a heart-beat or loud whisper. It was like my recurring dream all over again except the voices. The voices were silent. Could this have been what the others felt?
Bulma punched a number into the keypad on the door and it slid open. She stepped aside and I entered first. The room was dark; the only light came from a backup lamp on the table.
"How is he doing?" I asked the blue-haired woman, edging over to the bed.
"His fever broke," she said, checking the young man's pulse in the dim light. His hand was tan and the sleeve of his jacket also came into view. "He wouldn't let us take off his wet things though."
Bulma scowled at the figure still encased in shadow. She leaned against the wall, folding her arms loosely. "He keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, muttering names in his sleep like yours, Gokou. And Gohan . . . And mine . . . He also kept repeating the words 'artificial' and 'medicine." She shrugged. "But I haven't a clue what he's talking about. I was hoping you would know him, Gokou, since he mentions you so much."
"Not me," Gokou responded. "I've never seen him."
"Idiots," Vegeta barked suddenly. "The boy is obviously disoriented. We are wasting our time here." And with that he stalked out of the room.
Oy, Vegeta. I moved to follow him but a light tough on my shoulder stopped me.
"Ally?"
I turned back to Bulma. "Yes?"
"The storm's getting pretty bad out there. You and Vegeta and the others are welcome to stay the night."
"Thanks," I smiled. "But Gohan and the kids will be getting worried."
"Already taken care of. ChiChi's calling them right now."
"Well, ok then. But only if the storm doesn't lighten up."
Bulma nodded and we both stepped out of the small room, leaving the young man behind. "You and Vegeta can take this room," she told me, indicating down the hall.
"Thanks, Bulma."
"No problem. So, did you recognize him?"
"The boy? No."
The blue-haired woman seemed disappointed. "What a mystery," she sighed. "Are you all right, Ally?"
"What? Oh yeah." I wiped the sweat off my brow. "That boy . . . has he said his name?"
Bulma shook her head. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine." I straightened and flipped my hair out of my eyes. "Maybe if I just go lie down for a bit."
"Sure. Just holler if you need anything."
I thanked the older woman again and walked to the spare room she'd shown me. Pulling back the covers, I turned off the battery powered lamp and climbed into the small bed. It might have been two, three minutes later when the bed dipped slightly.
"What's wrong with you?" came Vegeta's annoyed voice from darkness.
I rolled over to face him. He had taken his shirt off and his muscular back gleamed in the dim starlight pouring through a window.
"The boy's power level--"
"Is probably nothing," he finished for me.
I sat up a little. "But Gokou said he was very strong."
"Kakarot only meant compared to you weak humans." The Prince snorted. "If his power level had been anything to worry about, I would have sensed it."
"I guess you're right," I agreed, sighing and laying back down. I didn't bring up the fact that the boy could easily have been hiding his true powers, just as most fighters could. But the likeliness that he was a fighter anyway was slim.
Wasn't it?
"Where are you going?"
"For a walk," I said quickly, realizing that I'd sat up again in my thoughts. "I- I need time to think."
Vegeta studied my face for a moment before turning back over. "That boy is nothing."
I just nodded, threw back the covers, and left the room. The hall was silent, lit by a small light overhead. I couldn't hear the rain anymore; maybe the storm had finally passed.
I let myself wander down the hall. The drumming in my head I'd felt earlier grew noticeable again. Almost unbearable until I walked past the room of the young stranger. I paused in midstep. The pounding stopped. All of it. I glanced around and moved closer to the door.
The 5-number code was easy to remember and I quickly tapped it in. The door sprang open. I shielded my eyes with a hand against the bright light inside. Then I blinked, slowly lowering my hand.
The young man sat on the edge of his bed, in the process of tying one boot. He jerked his head up and pale eyes containing emotion like nothing I'd ever seen stared up at me. Lavender hair framed the boy's handsome face. I stumbled back a little and he rose to his feet, pale eyes confused.
Suddenly I grew dizzy, grasping the doorframe for support. Those eyes . . . those so familiar pale blue eyes.
The young man took a hesitant step toward me. "Uh, do you know me?"
By Kami! The hair, the eyes, the clothes, the voice! I knew it all, and yet I couldn't . . . quite . . .
"You ca-can't be--" I choked out. Get a grip, Ally, get a grip! He's not-- he can't possibly be--
"No . . ." I whispered and darted out the door, slapping on the panel to close it behind me.
I couldn't breathe; the walls seemed to press in around me. I ran out of Capsule Corporation, sprinted away from the building and into the trees. I finally stopped, gasping for air, resting my hands on my thighs. I felt sick but straightened to keep running.
I gasped. "Piccolo!" I cried. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
The former demon king crossed his arms, stepping away from the tree he had been leaning against. "Taking a midnight stroll, Ally?"
I mimicked him by folding my arms, trying to look tough and yet still shaking. "For one thing, it's not midnight. And for another--" I faltered, staring at the ground.
"What is it?" Piccolo asked, moving to stand beside me.
"Nothing," I muttered. I had to find out who that boy was. But how? No one knew who he was; no one knew anything about him. I felt the panic rise again. If he really was . . .
"Piccolo, open the Gateway."
The Namekian started. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? The Gateway is closed for two more years and then only the Eternal Dragon can open it."
"And Kami," I pointed out. "So open it."
"I can't."
I grew angry. "You're part Kami now, Piccolo. I know he's in there and I know he can hear me. Dammit, Piccolo, please! Tell Kami I need into riaru right now!"
He bared his teeth at me in a snarl with slitted eyes. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Ally," he muttered. "But doing this defies every kind of rule involving Earth and space and time that I can think of."
"And Kami didn't break several of those rules himself when he and Shenlong brought me here? Don't stand there and tell me those rules can't be broken one more time."
"Fine," he snapped, pointing a finger at me. "But you owe me one, a big one, after this."
"Anything," I said. "All I need is five minutes."
"Where do you want to be taken?"
"My riaru parents' house."
Piccolo turned away from me, walking farther into the woods. "It's done. Five minutes."
And then I saw that familiar blinding brightness and the anime world faded from my sight.
***
The house was empty and I found the hidden key and let myself in. I think my parents were on vacation. Who knew? Who cared? My room was upstairs, my old room left untouched by my parents in the hopes they would wake up and find I wasn't gone after all. They would be hoping for a long, long time.
I plan in staying in anime until the day I die.
Running upstairs, I glanced at the clock. 10:32 PM. I had three minutes to find what I needed. Three measly minutes.
I flung open the door to my old room, darting to the tv. Or, more precisely, the mismatch of video tapes stacked beside it. I grabbed them, glancing at the labels, and tossing them over my shoulder one by on. There. I found the tape I was looking for. The dust-covered surface, the beat-up black plastic that had once been my only joy giver.
The scruffy label read: Androids Saga, episodes 118-121.
Shaking a little, my hand slid the tape inside the VCR, turned on the tv, and pressed PLAY.
And the screen came alive.