| It was a hot spring day. Local schools were less than a month away from summer vacation. It had been 12 years since the Earth faced the greatest challenge it had ever faced; the Cell Games. Since then, the planet has been safe from anything major. Anything that had been destroyed had been long since rebuilt, and everyone had been going on with their lives. A young girl with blue hair and bright pink eyes walked at a normal pace down the street. School had just been let out for the day, and the girl was making her way home. She sat on a bench at the bus stop and waited for the bus to come. With her books on her lap, the girl watched the traffic rush by her. Finally the bus came and stopped in front of her. She walked up the stairs and sat in a seat near the front. About fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped at Capsule Corp. The young girl got off the bus and walked to the main entrance of the office. She looked and smiled at the lady sitting at the front desk and continued on. She walked down a couple of hallways and then knocked on a door to another office. A “come in” was heard and she went in. The lady at the desk looked up from her computer and smiled. “Tyra,” she said, “what brings you here?” She took her glasses off, uncovering her blue eyes, and laid them on the desk. The young girl jumped onto a chair in the corner. “I thought I’d come home with you today.” “Well. I’ll be done in about half an hour. I saw Trunks wondering around a few minutes ago. Why don’t you go find him?” “Yeah, I guess. See you later Mom.” The girl hopped off the seat leaving her books on her mom’s desk. “Bye Tyra,” Lara called after her. She smiled, put her glasses back on, and continued her work. Tyra left the office building and head over to a house. She knocked on the front door and waited for an answer. An older lady came and smiled at Tyra. “Hi Tyra,” she said. She wore a red top and blue jeans. Her hair was blond and short. “Hi Mrs. Briefs. Is Trunks around?” Tyra asked. “He just went out back,” Mrs. Briefs replied. “Okay, thanks.” Tyra headed to the back of the house and saw a young boy with lavender hair sitting on a lounge chair with lemonade in his hand. “Trunks!” She called. Trunks looked over. “Oh hey Tyra. What’s up?” “Nothin’ much. I’m waiting for my mom to finish her work so I could go home.” Trunks smiled and turned on the chair, facing her. “Want some?” He held up his glass of lemonade. “No thanks.” “Tyra!” Lara yelled from the front yard. “Oh, my mom must be already done. See ya tomorrow Trunks!” Tyra waved to him and started jogging off. “Did you find Trunks?” Lara asked. “Yeah. Can we go now?” Tyra started walking ahead. “Yes.” “Finally! I want to ride in your new convertible.” “That explains it.” Lara and Tyra walked to the parking lot and hopped into a blue Mustang convertible. The ride home was filled with Tyra’s voice. She was telling her mother about her boring day at school and that she thinks this boy likes her. A little while later they arrived at a small house in the country that sat at the bottom of a hill. Lara parked the car and put the top up. She gathered her things and heard the passenger door slam. Tyra ran to the front door and tried to open it. She twisted the knob and pushed, but the door would move. “Mikau! I know you’re holding the door shut! Let me in!” Tyra yelled to her brother who was standing on the other side of the door. “I mean it Mikau!” “Mikau, open the door,” Lara said. The door opened and a head appeared around it. Mikau laughed and eyed his sister as she walked in. The both stuck their tongues out at each other. “Hi Mom,” Mikau said flying over to a chair and sitting down. “Hi Mikau. How was your day?” “The same as usual. I sparred a bit with Dad, but he was in a mood.” Mikau repositioned his black wings and leaned back against the chair. The only feature that he and his sister shared was their pink eyes, which came from their father. Mikau was in fact a replica of his father, only smaller and he was blue instead of green. “Speaking of the devil, where is your father?” Lara asked. Mikau shrugged. Tyra sat in a chair across from him and rested her head in her hands. “What’s wrong with you?” Mikau asked. “Me? Nothing. I’m just bored. I want to spar with you guys,” Tyra said with a sigh. “Girls can’t fight,” Mikau stated. “Can too!” Tyra shouted back. “Enough you two. Mikau, find Seru and come help with dinner,” Lara ordered. Mikau left the house and flew off. A few minutes later he returned with his brother, Seru. Seru was now almost eleven-years-old. The blue streaks were very visible in his tall, black hair in the sunlight. He walked in and took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. He joined his brother and sister at the table and waited for his mom to give him instructions. Lara walked back into the room after changing from her work clothes. She took out a bowl of unpeeled corn from the refrigerator and placed it on the table. “You guys can do that. I thought corn on the cob would be different for a change.” Each child took a piece of corn from the bowl and started peeling off the green coverings. “Is Daddy coming home?” Tyra asked. “I don’t know. You know your father. Sometimes he’s nice enough to grace us with his presence.” Just as she said that squeaky footsteps could be heard outside. The screen door opened and a tall figure entered the kitchen. “Oh, well looked who walked in,” Lara said with a smile. She walked over to Cell and they exchanged a kiss. “I’m gracing you with my presence,” Cell smiled. Lara laughed and continued to defrost some hamburgers in the microwave. “Hey Daddy!” Tyra yelled. She got up and jumped into her father’s arms, giving him a hug. “What have you three been up to?” He asked, holding Tyra. “Nothing much, Dad,” Seru answered. “Getting into trouble!” Mikau grinned. “What else is new?” Cell said to his middle child. After dinner, Seru, Mikau, and Tyra were excused from the table and they ran outside. Lara quickly cleaned up and leaned up against Cell. He in turn put his arms around her and tickled her ear with his breath. She giggled and put her hand over his mouth. “You know, I’m really happy with my life,” Lara said. “So am I,” Cell said quietly. He kissed her cheek and then her neck. Lara turned around and her lips met with his. Outside, Tyra was being teased by her two brothers. They flew around her while she stood on the ground. “Come on Tyra!” They called down. Tyra looked up with a sulky face. “You know I can’t fly!” “Oh yeah,” Seru said. “You’re no fun,” Mikau said. “Drop if Mikau. You know what happened last time,” Seru reminded him. “Yeah, don’t want her to cry and run to Mom.” The two landed on the ground and stood in front of their five-year-old sister. “You guys are so mean,” Tyra said and sat down. “Look, its not our fault you can’t fly,” Seru said. “Teach me!” Tyra begged. “No, you’d be a pain.” “I hate you guys! It’s not fair! Every weekend you and Daddy take off and leave me here!” “Well, you’re a girl. You don’t have the ability to fight,” Mikau commented. “I do to! I’m Daddy’s daughter you know! If he can fight, then that means I can too,” Tyra’s eyes started filling with tears. “Here she goes,” Mikau said. Tyra couldn’t hold it in any longer. She got up and ran down the street as fast as she could. “Good job, Mikau,” Seru said. “She’s never run away like that before.” “Should we tell Mom, or do you think she’ll come back?” Seru sighed. “We better tell Mom…” The two walked back to the house. Lara and Cell were kissing when they came in. Lara looked over and knew what had happened. “Where is she?” Lara asked the two boys. “She ran down the street,” Seru said. Lara shook her head and backed away from Cell, grabbing her keys. Cell grabbed her arm and shook his head. “I’ll go get her,” Cell said. Lara nodded and Cell left. “You two have to stop teasing her,” Lara scolded. Cell flew down the street searching for his daughter. She wasn’t on the street anymore, so he looked around the trees. She couldn’t have gotten far, he thought. And she didn’t. He finally found her in a familiar spot. Tyra sat on a tree stump; the same stump her mother used to sit on. Her face was stained with tears, but they no longer escaped her eyes. She watched the birds fly over the water and night started to come. Cell landed behind her and waited for her to turn around. He knew she was aware of his presence, but she didn’t respond for a moment. “I’m sorry,” Tyra said softly. Cell stood next to her and looked straight ahead. “Why are you sorry?” “Because I ran away,” she said. Cell chuckled to himself and then said, “I know. You don’t have to be sorry. Those bratty brothers of yours were giving you a hard time again.” “I want to fly, Daddy.” Tyra tried to dry her moist face with her arm. “I know you do. But…” “But why not?” She interrupted. “You taught Seru how to fly when he was my age, and Mikau knows how to fly! Why won’t you teach me?” Cell sighed and knelt down in front of her. “Tyra look at me. I don’t want to see you get hurt. Once you learn how to fly, you’ll want to learn how to fight as well. It’ll go on and on, and you know it will too.” Tyra looked down. Cell dried her face with his thumb. “You know what’s funny?” “What?” “You cry just like your mother.” Tyra laughed at this. “There was a time that I wouldn’t have cared if someone got hurt. But you can thank your mother for changing me.” “Thanks Mom,” Tyra said. She smiled and stood up. “Can we go home?” “Of course.” Cell picked her up and they flew home. |