It was now late in the evening and the sky had turned dark. A chilly night wind was blowing softly over the forest, brushing the mountain like a caress. Sat against the rock, Trunks shivered. He was thinking about how, four days ago, he had been right there with Goten and Pan, how they had so stupidly left to fight Miga, how he'd gotten that scar... Furious, he could barely stop himself from scratching his cheek, as if trying to rip that mark away. Not that he minded the scar itself, but he sure disliked the way he had gotten it...

With a heavy sigh, he thought about going back inside. But the idea of facing an angry Bulma, a mocking C-18, a bunch of worry cats and girls... And Goten...

He ran his hand through his hair, groaning quietly. He knew Goten would follow him on any battle field, even if he didn't approve it. But he hated to force him like that. "He won't be focused enough... It won't work... And Pan! She's so young, I can put her through this... Gohan would never forgive me if something happened to her..."

He chuckled bitterly at himself. "Like he could do anything to me now..."

~~~

Marron shivered violently. That dream again... She wiped the sweat from her forehead, repeating to herself it was not blood. With a quick glare she verified that her room mate was still asleep, then she ran her fingertips over the cat's soft fur to calm herself.

At least, the sensation of having thick blood all over her face didn't last this time... She remembered how, in her dream, her father's eyes had impossibly widened, empty, as floods of dark blood filled his throat... And that sound, horrible, desperate, that meant "go away" but didn't come out like that at all...

Sobbing quietly, she curled up into a ball. She missed her father... It was her fault if he was dead... Protecting her because she was weak, too weak... As she allowed cold tears to run freely on her cheeks, the black and blue cat opened its eyes and was rubbing its fury face against Marron's within two seconds, mewing worryingly. The young woman smiled sadly.

- I'm fine, Videl, she whispered, hugging the cat gently. I just had a nightmare...
- Meew...

Marron laid on her back, the cat on her stomach, and she lazily petted it as it fell asleep again. The blond woman, though, couldn't sleep.

On the other bed, Pan was now turning back to them.

~~~

They were fighting Miga. It was a cold day of winter, but in this area of the planet, there was no snow. Goten, Gohan and Trunks were fighting. They knew they would lose, but they couldn't give up yet. They had to try...

A big explosion scattered them for a moment. Trunks and Goten quickly got back together, but there was no trace of Gohan. It was impossible he had been killed so easily... Yet none of the saiyan hybrids could feel his ki.

Goten started trembling. Where was he?! Without Gohan, they could never win... They didn't have a chance against Miga, only him and Trunks, alone...

- GOHAN?!? Where are you?!?

There was no answer, only the bubbling of Miga somewhere and Trunks' sharp breathing. Goten felt his heart falling.

- GOHAAAN!!!

It had hit him that if his brother was not answering, if he couldn't feel the weakest hint of his ki, it simply was because Gohan was gone. Dead or just vanished, it didn't matter, he was gone.

Turning into Super Saiyan Two wouldn't bring his brother back, but it sure helped feeling better. Blasting the last buildings around them wouldn't kill Miga, but it sure helped feeling better. Screaming as if there was no tomorrow wouldn't make the pain go, but it helped easing it a little... Yet it felt so horrible to not even have the strong, confident presence of his older brother beside him anymore!

Finally, Trunks managed to pull him away... Far away... In safety...

And Goten was crying like a baby on the loss of his brother, on the hope he'd taken away with him... Wherever he was now...

~~~

Trunks had a little jump when he heard climbing noises, a little below the spot where he was sitting. It couldn't be Pan, Goten, C-18 or even Yamcha, because they would have flown. He doubt any cats would bother coming there... His eyes grew bigger when he saw Marron's blond head popping up, grimacing and panting. He helped her getting onto the flat surface, silent.

- You hadn't chosen the easiest place to get to! she complained, rubbing her hands.
- Why did you come here? soberly asked Trunks.
- Well I couldn't sleep and I guessed you'd be here... You mind?
- No...

With a little smile, she sat down beside him. A moment passed, silent.

- You're really gonna fight again? then asked Marron, softly.
- We have to.

She glared at him; he had locked his blue eyes on the dark firmament above.

- But, that soon? I think mom is right, you should...

- What do you know about fighting, Marron?! Seriously, your dad is dead because you have no skill at all, so don't tell me what I should do!

He clenched his teeth, silently cursing at himself. He knew she didn't mean to bother him, she was only worry and he... "You moron bastard!" She remained silent, a shadow before her eyes, her face impassable.

- I'm sorry, he finally said.

She didn't reply.

There had been another silent moment before he spoke again. His voice was low though, almost scared...

- Don't tell the others, Marron, but... I'm gonna fight alone, tomorrow.
- What?!
- Shh!! Listen, Goten isn't... He won't fight the way we need him to, so it's useless that he comes. And Pan... I can't put her through that...
- But you have no chances alone, Trunks!

He shivered as she grabbed his arm, forgetting she was upset at him a while ago. He was her friend and she couldn't let him go to his own death like that!

- I know I can do it... I'm the Prince of Saiyans, you know! I can do it... If there's no one else, I'll only worry about myself, you see. And I know how far I can go...
- How far is that? asked Marron with a low voice. I know how far your dad and Goku went... You're not thinking about that, huh?

Trunks didn't answer and she chewed on her bottom lip, worryingly.

- Trunks... You can't do that... We need you!
- Yeah, right. But if we don't try something major, Miga will win! That's the only way.
- But... No...
- I'm sorry...

He couldn't face her, so he only looked at the forest down there, so dark in the night... He could hear her quiet sobs and felt terrible for doing that to her. She was a very nice woman, caring a lot about others, and he was there, just ignoring her feelings...

- Let's go back inside, he whispered softly.

~~~

Goten mumbled something in his sleep, turning his head one side to the other frequently. Finally he shouted something like "Where are you?!" and woke up, little drops of sweat covering his forehead. As he waited for his heart to calm down, he gave a look to the alarm clock beside his bed and sighed as he read "4:16". He still had lots of sleep time...

As laying back under his blankets, he glanced at his friend's bed, wondering when he'd gotten back. Then he frowned. Had Trunks fallen asleep on their "thinking-spot", out there? Goten scanned the area with his mind, searching the familiar ki.

It wasn't anywhere near.


Chapter 5
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