Author's Note: <points to self> See this? This is a person who doesn't own DBZ. Really. I only have *way* too much fun playing around with the character's personalities. Anyway, this fic is a companion to Neko-chan's fic, "Never Pure and Innocent". <waves in a hyper way> Hiiiiiii, Neko-chan!!!

"Impossible"

      It had all started out innocently enough. Well, now that I think about it, it wasn't that innocent. We were fighting for Chikyuu, after all. But we were so used to fighting that it was innocent to us. Perhaps that was the reason it ended up this way. The dragonballs allowed a 'second chance' for those who had died for the first time. Even after death, I could still see the ones I loved. Maybe that made death seem like less of a barrier, and made fighting more of a game than a challenge.

     So there we were again, the three that offered the best protection for our planet, facing another enemy. We were cocky- we'd won battles harder than this before. We'd already made our way through a round of minions. It seemed so easy.

      But then it happened. We were all just standing there, waiting for Babidi to make his next move. Debora had retreated at least an hour ago. Now that I look back on it, I wonder why we were so naive, why we weren't on guard. We should have known something would go wrong. We should have known that Babidi would strike.

   The last thing I remember was asking how long it was going to take Debora to return, or something along the lines of that. The next thing we knew, Vegeta was on his knees, howling and clutching his head. His rough voice was screaming bloody murder as loud as he could, and curled up in a fetal position on the floor.

    Gohan and I, naturally, had no idea what was going on. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you want to think of it that way, the Supreme Kai knew all too well.

    "Babidi is trying to take over his mind," he told us. "He's trying to exploit Vegeta's dark past. He's the new recruit they were talking about."

        And there was nothing we could do.

      "Be pure and innocent, Vegeta!" the Kai called out to him, that being the only thing he could do.

       It might have been my imagination, but I thought he started convulsing a little more violently after that.

      Gohan and I immediately began doing the same thing, attempting to coax Vegeta away from the pain that he was feeling. It seemed to be the best way, the only way to help him. I remember the half-confused, half-worried look on Gohan's face as he did so, and I know that it was a mirror of my own expression. I won't pretend I fully knew what was going on. I most certainly didn't.

      But whatever it was, it scared me.

      It sounds stupid, doesn't it? Goku, the great hero who's saved the Earth countless times, scared? Impossible. But it's true, painfully true.

    Vegeta was, believe it or not, a sort of calming force in my life. As long as he was there, insulting me or challenging me, I knew everything would be okay. On the battlefield, Vegeta was a constant reminder of what I had to come back to, what I had to live for, and he wasn't going to let me forget it. Ever since our battle with Freeza, he was by my side. He had nowhere left to go, but he could have lived thousands of miles away from me. Instead, he chose to remain close, and even formed a bond with Bulma. There he remained, always near, and in his own way, he gave me his support.

     And then, within a few moments, that all ended.

We all saw his aura surge powerfully, and we all heard his final scream that sounded as if his heart was being torn from his body. It very well could have been.

        When the blinding light from his ki faded, we witnessed for the first time Babidi's power. Vegeta was no longer our ally.

       And now he stands in the middle of an arena, telling- no, commanding me to fight with him. To prove his point, he lets loose a ki blast that takes out a good bit of the stadium.

       He's already begun to kill innocent people.

     I glance at the part of the area that used to exist. My breath catches in my throat. Does he know how close that blast was to our families? If that blast had been a mere six inches closer to them, there wouldn't be anything left to say goodbye to.

My shock is forgotten instantly when I see the look on Bulma's face. I can't make out what she's saying, but the message is clear.

      Her heart is breaking.

  Can he see this? I don't think he can. I doubt that he could go on with this if he did. That expression is one of utter shock, disbelief, and horror- but also one of love.

     He's done the last thing she thought he would do. It's tearing her up inside, slowly and painfully, because the one she loves nearly killed her.

        And she doesn't even know why.

  I can feel a look of stony resolve come over my face. This is it. It's too much now. I just can't let this go on any longer. I- no, we all need Vegeta back.

    And so I utter the impossible words that I thought I'd never say, at least not for a long while. But then, everything about today has been seemingly impossible.

        "I'll fight you, Vegeta."

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