Welcome to DBZ Saiyan Garden

You dream a dream, but you never wake up.
You’re so afraid, but the dream is over.

Only the good guys can get what they’re coming for.
Only the dreamers must take once upon.

Only the good guys will see what they came here for.
And only the dreamers will leave with a broken heart.
-Good Guys, By Aqua

2.1

His head hurt. His body was aching. He was cold and yet so hot he was sweating. He was scared, something happened, something important but he couldn't seem to remember what. His brain didn’t want to work. He rolled to his side and winced as that just made every part of him ache. He didn’t know where he was. He was afraid to open his eyes and look, everything was so confusing. He didn’t want to be in the cell. He didn’t want to open his eyes just to see he was still there. But… his hands weren't tied above his head so he couldn't be there. He moved his legs experimentally. He definitely wasn't in the cell. He -could- move his legs. Had someone come to rescue him?

Finally.

Was this another dream. A cruel, horrible dream. He carefully opened his eyes, wary of light but the room was dimly lit. He sucked his breath in, amazed at what he saw. He was in a room, the walls were raw wood, the floors were covered in a dingy green carpet. There was a dresser near where he was lying and windows. Windows! Somehow he wasn't in the cell. Somehow he was in a real room. Had someone rescued him? Or had his captor simply decided to move him? No… no, it wasn't his captor. He was free. His captor would have never left him untied. He tried to move his hands, then realized that he was tied. Only not how he’d thought. A firmly secured cloth was holding his hands together. The cloth didn’t hurt like the cuffs that had been used before.

If he had been stronger, though, he could have broken the cloth with little effort but as it was, and with his wrists as raw as they were, he didn’t dare. How discouraging to be so close to freedom, but unable to take the last step that would free him. There was just one tiny step between him and freedom. One thin piece of cloth that he couldn't break.

Maybe he could still get away. It was only his hands that were tied. Maybe if he got to that window and found some way to open it, he could escape. His legs could still work. Couldn't they? He hesitantly swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward. His head spun the moment he was sitting up. So he took a moment to let the dizziness settle. //Breathe in through mouth, out through nose…// He told himself, doing as he instructed. Slowly the dizziness receded and he attempted to stand.

He made it two feet away from the bed before he collapsed. He hit the floor hard and just sat for a moment gasping for air. //No…// He heard a soft sob escape his lips and he leaned forward until his forehead hit the carpet. //This can’t be… come on Trunks… you can make it. Just get up and get to the window. You -have- to get to the window.//

He felt the hot trail of tears on his cheeks. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to just die. He was so tired of being desperate. Body shaking with his sobs he began to half-heartedly chew on the cloth holding his hands together. He knew it was a worthless effort but he could not stop trying.

***

2.2

Gohan woke to find himself lying half on and half off a couch. He didn’t know whose couch it was or whose house he was in. He just knew his legs were up on cushions and his back was on a cold, hard floor and he was sore. From his toes to his head even his little pinky hurt, trapped as it was under his body, along with his arm, which he couldn't feel since it had fallen asleep. How cruel to have his arm unfeeling and sensation only in his sore pinky.

With some effort he pulled his arm out from underneath him and lay, staring at the roof. He felt fuzzy in the head. Like someone had stuffed cotton into his ears. This wasn't hangover pain but it was very close. Very carefully he replayed the events of the day before as best as he could. There were big holes in some places but as he thought over everything he began to fill those holes. “Oh Kami…” He whispered, rubbing his face and laughing shortly, “Krillian is going to kill me.”

He had kidnapped someone, only problem was he’d kidnapped the wrong person. Of course, if there was no Trunks there could be no wedding and that was good but cripes was he in trouble. With a great deal of effort he dragged his legs off the couch and got clumsily to his feet. First thing was first, he had to check and make sure Trunks was still alive. He couldn't remember killing the man but he wasn't exactly ‘careful’ with him the night before.

Walking took more effort than he thought it would. He stumbled his way across the room and realized he couldn't remember where he’d ‘put’ Trunks. The trip to the cabin was all a haze. He could remember picking Trunks up and heading down the hall out of Briefs's mansion and then he couldn't remember much else. He knew his mind set at the time had been; get to the cabin, but he couldn't remember actually going to the cabin. For all he knew he could be in the wrong cabin. Wouldn't that be great?

Breaking into someone’s cabin in the middle of the night and dumping a killer in their bedroom. He threw open the first door and peered into the room revealed. A bathroom, a large, you could lose yourself in it, bathroom. He stared at the rather ornate appliances for a moment the slowly closed the door and backed away as if the bathroom would attack him. “Not there…” he murmured, heading to the next door. There were three. The cabin wasn't especially large and one of the doors left led outside.

This time when he swung the door open he found himself looking into a bedroom. At first he didn’t notice the figure hunched over on the floor but when he did his mood soured considerably. Funny how one look at the lavender-haired man could make his blood run cold. //I really hate him.// He thought as he stepped into the room and closed the door firmly behind him. He watched with detachment as Trunks’s form jerked, then grew very still. If Gohan hadn't seen the jerk he would have thought the man was dead, he was too still.

“What’s wrong? Legs don’t work?” He asked sarcastically, finding a slight amusement in Trunks current position. Obviously, the man had tried to walk and failed.

He heard the sharp gasp and was surprised to see tears on Trunks's face when the man turned his head. “Gohan.” Trunks whispered weakly.

The expression on Trunks's face started with joy, then molded into fear, and finally hardened into something Gohan couldn't define. It was confusing to see and Gohan couldn't quite figure out -what- Trunks was thinking at that moment. “Trunks.” He responded, arching an eyebrow in question. The boy was acting surprised but then he had been very out of it when Gohan had grabbed him from the hall maybe he didn’t remember being kidnapped?

“You’re… here.. not a dream..” Trunks mumbled, pushing his hands against the floor and sitting up. When he was in a sitting position he started to topple backwards but somehow managed to catch his balance.

“I’m sure you wish I was.” Gohan snorted, placing his hands on his hips.

“If… you’re… why…” Trunks shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear his thoughts. He looked so desperately confused that Gohan almost felt sorry for him. But then he thought of his dead father and whatever pity he felt died.

“I know what you did. I always knew what you did.” Gohan said bitterly, “I know how you hunted him down, attacked him when he wasn't expecting it and then murdered him. I know and by Kami I will make you pay.”

“Go… ten…?”

“What?”

Trunks turned and crawled to the bed. He used the bed as a lever and pulled himself onto his feet. He didn’t look steady at all and leaned heavily against the bed to hold himself up from what Gohan saw. Gohan watched with a frown. He hadn't been that rough with Trunks, had he? He couldn't remember hitting him or anything… so why was his forehead bleeding?

With a grunt he turned and left the room.

***

2.3

//Why is Gohan here?// He painfully lowered himself onto the bed, his body shaking with sobs that overtook him the moment Gohan left. Gohan was here, and at first he had been overjoyed, but then Gohan looked at him with that horrible hatred in his eyes and all of Trunks could think was; run away. Only one person had looked at him that way. The person who had taken him captive.

The door swung open and he jerked in surprise, fully expecting to see his captor, instead he saw Gohan. Gohan was back, and he was carrying a small box. “There wasn't a first aid box so this will have to do.” Gohan said shortly as he walked over and sat on the bed beside Trunks.

Trunks held his breath, fully expecting something horrible to happen. Gohan’s words slowly sunk into his head and he relaxed a little bit. So, Gohan meant to patch him up? He could deal with that. That wouldn't be too bad, would it? Gohan wouldn't deliberately hurt him… he hoped. Everything was so crazy. If Gohan meant him no harm, why were his hands tied and what was that about murder? Nothing made sense.

He flinched when something cold touched his forehead. He hadn't realized Gohan had pulled a wet cloth out of the box. He looked at Gohan’s face shyly then quickly looked away as Gohan cleaned the wound on his head. Gohan had such a foreboding expression that he felt sick to his stomach. “How’d you get so banged up?”

The question surprised him, so it took a moment before he could process an answer, “Most of it I did myself … trying to escape.”

Gohan snorted, “Then you deserve it.” His movements were a little less gentle after that. He wrapped gauze around Trunks's head to keep the wound from bleeding then sat back, “You hurt anything else in your escape attempt, Houdini?”

Trunks shook his head quickly. He didn’t want Gohan to know about anything else because he was afraid of more rough treatment. “Good.” Gohan stood and left the room again.

This time Trunks didn’t relax. He lay stiffly, waiting for Gohan to return. His head was aching persistently now but he was used to the pain or at least, as used to it as a person could get. He wished he wasn't. He wished it was driving him insane and that he couldn't concentrate because of it because that would mean he hadn't suffered so much the last few days… weeks, months? He didn’t know how long he’d been in that cell. He didn’t really want to know. He was out, and even though he was now in Gohan’s hands he’d rather be with Gohan then … ‘him’.

Gohan and he had never gotten along very well, but he wasn't scared of Gohan. Gohan wasn't unnecessarily cruel not that he could remember anyway and although Gohan had never really treated him very kindly, he knew Gohan would take care of him at least for Goten’s sake. Gohan would do anything for Goten even tolerate Trunks.

Thinking of Goten helped him relax. His dear, sweet Goten a small smile tilted his lips and his tears stopped. If Gohan was here, maybe soon he’d see Goten too, it had been so long. He closed his eyes tightly, and he imagined Goten’s beautiful face. A face he missed so desperately. He rolled to his side and hugged himself tightly, pretending for a moment that the arms holding him were Goten’s arms. It wasn't hard to imagine.

His daydream was shattered as Gohan re-entered the room.

***

2.4

There was something that just didn’t sit well with Gohan. The way Trunks looked at him wasn't right. The fear, and … desolation in those dull blue eyes didn’t fit on Trunks very well at all. The wariness Gohan could see made sense, the fear didn’t, and the desolation was something Gohan couldn't even begin to accept. Desolation and fear were things a cold-hearted killer weren't supposed to feel or was it all an act to throw Gohan off?

He couldn't be sure. He grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the bed, then sat down beside Trunks. Trunks met his gaze and they just sat there for awhile, staring at each other. It felt awkward but Gohan would not back down. He refused to look away. “Why did you ask for Goten?” Gohan asked abruptly.

He thought he could see surprise in those eyes, and then Trunks turned his head and looked away. “Is he okay?” Trunks whispered.

Gohan frowned, “Of course, he was fine when you saw him yesterday, wasn't he?”

“Yesterday?”

“At the reception thingie, for your wedding? What’s wrong, that hit to your head scramble your brains?” He couldn't help but be mean and sarcastic. He hated Trunks with every fiber of his being.

Even so, he wasn't prepared for the look Trunks gave him. “We- wedding? … yesterday?” He rose a trembling hand and pressed it to his forehead as if trying to focus his thoughts. If that’s what he was doing it wouldn't work, Gohan knew this from experience.

“What happened to you, anyway? You were fine when I saw you earlier and then you were slumped over Ken in the hall.” He didn’t really want to know, he told himself, he was just asking to keep the conversation flowing while he tried to think of what to do with the situation. He was in the room only because he couldn't afford to let Trunks out of sight maybe all this weakness was just an act to throw him off guard.

As long as they were together he may as well keep the conversation flowing.

“Whose wedding?” Trunks asked weakly.

“Your wedding.” Gohan said with a deep scowl.

“M-my … to… to whom?”

“Who do you think?! Pan. Look, Trunks, I’m not going to play this little game of yours. I don’t care how weak and pathetic you look, I’m still going to make sure you pay for killing my father.”

Trunks jerked, his eyes growing wide. “Kill… but… Gohan… Cell killed your father… don’t you remember?”

“What? Do you think I’m an idiot? We defeated Cell a long time ago. It was easy after you came back with the time machine. Too bad your future self was a better man than your current self.” He waited a moment as Trunks turned away from him again. Was it just his imagination or was the boy trembling? Boy? Man… Before he thought of Trunks as a man but now, seeing him this way he looked more like the teenager he was, so he thought of him as a boy. “What game are you playing, Trunks? Whatever it is, it won’t work. We have a witness. We’re going to prove to the world that you killed my father. You will pay for your sins. I guarantee it.”

He heard a sob, and watched with morbid fascination as Trunks’s shoulders began to shake. “Are you crying?” He asked incredulously. There was no way, cold blooded killers didn’t sob like babies. Actually, in all his life he couldn't remember ever seeing Trunks cry. “Trunks?”

He stood to lean over and see if Trunks truly was crying.

“GOHAN! GOHAN!”

He jerked and whirled. “Krillian?” His day just got better every minute, didn’t it? He glanced one last time at Trunks then left the room to greet Krillian.