DISCLAIMER:
DBZ I do not own.
A/N – I know
this chapter took a little longer then usual to get out but I was away at
schoolies all week. This chapter isn’t quite as angst ridden as the last but
it’s still pretty sad…We get to find out what’s happened to Goku…and how Bulma
handles Turles’ death.
~*~
~*~
I hope all will be well. We must be patient: ~*~
~*~
But I cannot choose but weep, to think they should ~*~
~*~
Lay him i' the cold ground. ~*~
-
Ophelia
from ‘Hamlet’
-
~*~
“Nooooooo!”
Goku
snapped back into consciousness as Bulma’s scream of agony reached his ears.
Bulma!
Goku
tried to stand up, but his left leg folded under him and a bolt of pain shot up
his body. Momentarily blinded by the pain, Goku sunk into a sitting position
and looked numbly down at his leg. The thigh bone had snapped and was sticking
up through the skin.
“Turles…no…no…”
Goku
looked sickly over at Bulma, who was curled up next to Turles, slowly rocking
back and forth with her eyes tightly closed as though to block out something. With
an almighty effort, Goku managed to levitate himself into the air and float
haltingly towards Bulma and Turles. When he was almost at them he could see why
Turles was so still and why Bulma had her eyes shut: Turles was dead.
Blood
rushed in Goku ears and he fell to the ground as his power left him.
Turles
was dead?
Goku
stared at the mass of blood and gore which was all that was left of Turles’
chest. Even though death had already claimed him, blood continued to pool
around his body.
“Bulma?”
Goku sat up again, forcing himself to look away from the body of his brother
and concentrate on Bulma. He had to take care of her now; he’d won the fight
and had won his chance to claim Bulma as his mate. He had to stop her pain.
“Bulma?”
Goku reached out a hand towards the traumatized beauty that lay in a shivering
heap next to her former mate’s body. He crawled closer and laid his hand on her
shoulder.
“Don’t
touch me!” Bulma shrieked and sprang away from him, her eyes wide with pain and
fear, laced with tears. “You did this!”
”Bulma…I didn’t mean…” Goku tried haltingly to explain, but Bulma shook her
head and buried her face in Turles’ neck.
“You
killed him! You did! I saw you! You killed him!” Her muttering was frantic and
her hands stroked Turles’ hair nervously.
“Bulma…stop
this…” Goku reached for her again, and once more Bulma sprang out of his reach,
this time trying to drag Turles’ body with her.
“No!
You won’t take me away from him!” She curled up next to Turles and glared at
Goku. Slowly it dawned on Goku that Bulma, his beautiful friend, was mad. She
muttered incomprehensively into Turles’ body again and then suddenly threw back
her head and screamed, her fingers scratching at her face and hair, leaving
bloody trails where they clawed.
“Bulma,
stop it!” Ignoring the pain in his leg, Goku moved closer to Bulma and dragged
her away from Turles, forcing her hands to her sides and away from her face. Bulma
screamed louder in his hands, kicking and clawing at him as she fought to get
away.
“He’s
dead, Bulma! He’s dead and this isn’t going to bring him back!” Goku wrapped
his arms around her, wincing as Bulma jarred his injured leg.
“I
don’t care! I want to die too! I want to die!” Bulma broke free of his grasp
and scuttled back to Turles’ side, dragging his body into her arms were she
stared mournfully down into his face and began crying harder.
A
sound behind Goku alerted him to another presence and he looked over his shoulder
to see Vegeta slowly coming towards him, a sad and pained look on his face as
he took in the situation.
He
walked up next to Goku and glanced down at him. “I warned you.”
Goku
didn’t say anything as Vegeta slowly made his way over to Bulma and gently took
Turles out of her lap. Bulma stared down at the spot where Turles had been,
tears gently running down her void face.
“Bulma,
look at me.” Vegeta sat down next to her and gently touched her cheek. Goku
felt a small pang of jealousy as Bulma looked at Vegeta instead of screaming
and running away as she had with him.
“It’s
going to be alright, I promise.”
“It’s
never going to be alright ever again.” Bulma’s voice was just as empty as her
face.
“The
pain will stop.” Vegeta carefully drew Bulma into his arms and held her as she
continued to cry. “One way or another, the pain will stop.” Vegeta’s eyes
stared accusingly at Goku as he rubbed the back of Bulma’s heartbroken form,
lifting her into his arms. “I can promise you that much.”
Bulma
only sobbed louder and clutched at Vegeta as though he was the last sturdy
thing in her world.
~*~
“Is
she getting any better?” Goku came up beside Vegeta, who was watching Bulma
through a glass barrier.
“Worse.”
Vegeta looked briefly at him, and then looked back to Bulma. “She’s getting
worse.”
It
had been two weeks since Turles had died. Goku spent most of that time in a
healing tank, but Vegeta had spent almost all of his time either with Bulma, or
with Raven.
During
those two weeks Bulma had slowly sunken into a depression that was so bleak and
black that even Goku felt it through his one-sided bond to Bulma. At first she
had merely been angry and upset, but, soon enough, Bulma had slowly gone out of
her mind from the pain and emptiness inside of her.
Seeing
Bulma so fragile and distant had hurt Goku more then he thought anyone could
hurt him, and it hurt him even more to know that her pain was being caused by
him. She didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, she didn’t even seem to be conscious.
Eventually Vegeta had moved Bulma to the medical wing and she’d eventually slipped
into a coma.
“Are
we going to do it now?” Goku looked away from Bulma and back to Vegeta again.
“We
have no other choice, we have to do it now or she’ll die.”
“She’s
so lonely.” Goku ran a hand through his hair as the loneliness that dwelt in
Bulma seeped a little into him.
“She’s
dying of a broken heart. How would you expect her to be feeling?” Vegeta opened
the door that led into Bulma’s room.
“How
do we do this?” Goku went to stand beside Bulma, her appearance giving off the
impression that the slightest touch might shatter her.
“She
just has to drink your blood and the bond between you will be finished.” Vegeta
looked from Goku to Bulma. “You realize that she’s going to hate you for doing
this to her.”
“I
don’t care how much she hates me, just so long as she’s well again.” Goku sat
down next to Bulma and ran a hand through her hair. Last night Vegeta had come
to him and explained that the only way to save Bulma would be for another bond
to be formed with her, and since Goku already had half a bond formed, the
obviously solution was for him to complete it.
So,
here he was; about to tie the woman who had been his best friend for longer
then he could remember, to him, forever. So why did he feel as if he was about
to hand her a sentence of life imprisonment? The answer came to Goku in an
unpleasant flash; because he wasn’t just tying Bulma to him, he was forcing her
against her will to join with him.
But
he couldn’t just let her die.
Even
if Bulma hated him so much it poisoned their bond, Goku knew he would never let
her go if it meant she would suffer like this again. But what would their life
be like together if Bulma did despise him as much as he suspected she would?
Would he be forced to sit by and watch as she had affairs with other men? Would
he be forced to feel her love for another man? Goku snapped back to reality to
find Vegeta looking at him expectantly with a scalpel in his hand.
“You
have to cut yourself and let her drink your blood.” Vegeta handed him the
scalpel and stepped back.
“I
thought she had to bite me?” Goku held the razor-sharp knife to his wrist.
“Biting
is the traditional way of bonding, but it isn’t the bite that actually causes
the bond, it’s the blood. Once Bulma drinks your blood she’ll be tied to you
and you to her, forever.”
Goku
nodded and ran the blade along his wrist, cutting a shallow grove into his skin
in which blood instantly welled up. Carefully, he held his wrist over Bulma’s
mouth and watched in morbid fascination as drops of his blood splashed onto her
lips, staining them like some sort of exotic lipstick. Goku reached across and
gently parted her lips with a finger, dripping more of his blood into her
mouth. Bulma licked her lips and swallowed in a reflect action.
Goku
felt that tenuous hold he had on Bulma strengthen, and then, in a sudden burst
of emotion, he felt Bulma’s mind inside of his head. He felt her take his essence
inside of her and in return give some of herself to him. Goku opened his eyes
to find himself kneeling by Bulma’s bed with Vegeta supporting him. Goku could
feel Bulma in his head, but her presence wasn’t disturbing, rather, it was
comforting as though she was meant to be there.
Vegeta
pulled him back into his seat and Goku looked down at Bulma, who was awake and
staring at the ceiling, her cornflower-blue eyes wide and frightened looking. She
slowly turned her head and looked at Goku, and then, with agonizing slowness,
she pulled herself up into a sitting position and spoke:
“I
hate you, Goku.”
~*~
A/N – Another chapter done…poor Goku! Can Bulma learn to love
him, or is he doomed to be tied to an angry, hateful woman forever?
(Who? Are you talking about Chichi? ^_~ Lmao! – Ane.)