Written by Nevyn Slash at [email protected]

Fate

Chapter 2

 

~ Back to Present – Planet Vegeta ~

 

Vegeta came out of his thoughts by the sudden screech of a giant feathered, pterodactyl looking bird. “If I wasn’t so helpless at the moment, I’d fry you,” he said grumpily. Being weak was really wearing his pride thin. ‘This is that baka’s entire fault. It’s too bad that he is never coming back. Now I’ll never have a chance to fry him for doing this to me.’

Vegeta looked forward once more and then smirked as he finally saw what he had been looking for. ‘Soon, I’ll be walking the streets of my city and the halls of my castle again.’ With renewed energy, he started off again towards the faint towers in the distance.

 

~ Back on Earth Four Months Earlier ~

 

It had been three months since Vegeta left and although Bulma couldn’t say that she missed his condescension, sharp remarks, and rotten personality, she did miss his singing and his playing. So far he’d missed about 12 Fridays. ‘When he gets back, he owes me big time.’ In the month that Vegeta had played for her, he had gotten very good. She had at one point suggested that he play for money, but he refused. Then one time, she asked him where he learned to play and he had said, “Mind your own affairs, onna.”

 

Although his remarks were mean, she knew that he was sourer since the Cell Games and there was nothing she could do to change that. Other than just hope that he would snap out of it soon and now wait for him to come back.

 

Suddenly the phone range, making her drop the delicate microchip that she had been working on for four hours. Picking up the phone, she snarled into the receiver, “What is it?”
There was a pause on the other end, and then a voice hesitantly asked, {Are you okay Bulma?}

“No I am not okay, Yamcha! I just lost four hours of work. This had better be important.”

Yamcha chuckled, {Oh, it is. Turn on the news to Channel 7.}

“Why?”
{You’ll see. Better hurry if you want to catch the beginning of it.} There was a click and then silence.

 

Bulma hung up the phone and snorted disdainfully at her ruined work, ‘He’s gonna pay.’

She left the lab and went into the den, surprised to find the TV already on Channel 7, with her dad watching the screen. Just at that moment, she saw the screen flash with the message, Lead Breaking News, in orange.

Bulma quickly sat done and turned her full attention to the screen.

 

“This just in: Although, there have always been speculations as to the truth about what really happened during the Cell Games, there has never been solid proof. Until now. With me today, is a young lady by the name of Akina Kioko. She is a cashier at the store, Kaiser’s Toys, and she has proof of what really happened that day, two years ago.” The lady turned to the young lady, pointed the mike at her and asked, “So Akina, can you tell us all what you know?”
Akina blushed slightly as she turned to face the camera. “Well, it all started a year ago. I was working, when suddenly this man with very tall pointed hair said to me, just before leaving the store, that Mr. Satan was a fraud and that the young golden haired boy was the one to beat Cell. I had always had my suspicions, so I knew that I had to find out the truth.”

 

“And what did you find?”

“It took me a year, but I finally got something on him. A recording or him mumbling in his sleep about the fight that he had “won.” It wasn’t enough to get him, so I waited and collected my data and then when I thought I had enough, I sent it here.”

“Thank you, Akina. Do you want to explain some of the things that you found, or would you like us to just show the clips?”
“You can go ahead and show the clips. It might sound better.”
“Very well.” The lady turned back to the camera, “Take a look at the clips and listen to the recordings that this young lady has sent to us.”

 

**

 

The next ten minutes were full of sound and video clips. They showed Mr. Satan in all sorts of embarrassing situations. Ranging from refusals to fight, to sweating profusely before a match if cornered. Then there where the pictures of him in his room checking himself out before a mirror, while muttering how he hoped he looked strong enough to be convincing. The sound clips ranged from conversations to people over the phone and in person, to muttering to himself in his sleep. There were lots of refusals to fight, and lots of times when he would say to himself after seeing a challenger, how his chances of wining were slim to none. As the clips and the sounds proceeded, Bulma became more and more annoyed at his boasting and she knew that others watching were also, now that it looked as if everything they had believed in for so long, was turning out to be fake. 

 

Finally the clips stopped and the reporter turned back to Akina. “Is there anything that you would like to explain about your ultimate evidence before we show it?”

Akina nodded, “The next clip comes from the camera that was thought to have broken during the fight. In reality, the camera had simply lost the ability to play an image. It could still record however. It was very fortunate for me that they kept the tape. They must have been hoping that someday, the technology would be great enough to fix the damaged tape. Little did they know that technology already was that good. I took it to Dr. Briefs, head of Capsule Corps, and asked him if there was something he could do. And so now, I have the whole tape. All of the fight after the picture went blank, due to the fact that the news man hadn’t turned the camera off and thanks to the fact that Dr. Briefs is such a genius.”

 

**

 

Bulma looked over at her dad, “I didn’t know anything about that.”
Dr. Briefs shrugged, “Must have escaped my mind.” On his shoulder, Scratches mewed.

Bulma raised an eyebrow but dropped it for now and turned back to the screen.

 

**

 

“We are now going to show the tape.”

The tape was a miracle. It was clear, without any fuzz and it showed the whole fight. The newscasters played the whole tape, which took a long time, because no one had seen it before and this was the only news station to have the story. It even had sound, so they had to listen to more of Mr. Satan complaining, but they also got to hear the sounds of the battle and the fighters talking, thanks to the fact that the sound quality had also been improved.

 

Everyone in the world watched the fighters go up against Cell and against the Cell Juniors. They watched as Goku teleported the monster away and were horrified when Cell came back and killed Trunks, causing Vegeta to attack the monster with hardly any ki at all by that time. Although, no one knew that he couldn’t use much ki and that he really didn’t fly. He just jumped very high.

 

Everyone listened to the screams of pain Gohan made, as his arm was broken. For the first time everyone saw as Gohan blew up Cell and then they saw Earth’s real savors fly off. There was a time when nothing happened, and then they saw Mr. Satan come into view, and they saw him look around in disbelief.

 

Finally came the part they had all seen. Mr. Satan faced the camera and said that he had killed Cell. If there were some people that weren’t disgusted by his whole display earlier, then they were now. The camera went blank as a moment later it ran out of tape.

 

**

 

The lady turned back to Akina and said, “Surly it must have crossed you mind that the tape could be false.”

Akina shook her head and pulled a tape recorder out of her pocket. “It’s real. This is my last bit of evidence.” She pressed play and Mr. Satan’s weaseling voice sprang forth.

 

**

 

“Hello. Did you come for an autograph?”

“No, I came to tell you that I know you’re a fraud.”

“What do you mean that you know I’m a fraud? I’m Mr. Satan. I saved the world.”

“No you didn’t. The young boy, Gohan did.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I have it all here.”
“That tape? Is that all? Are you trying to scare me?”

“Fine, I thought you were going to be difficult. Sit down and watch it with me.”

 

There was a click and everything was silent, then another click and the conversation picked up again.

“Where did you get this? What are you going to go with it?”

“I’m going to show it to the world.”

“How much do you want in exchange for not telling?”
“I don’t want your money. I have what I came for. Enjoy your last moments of fame Mr. Satan. Good day.”

 

There was a click, and they all saw Akina press the stop button and put the recorder back in her pocket.

“Well,” said the reporter, shocked, “Have you ever thought of a becoming a journalist?”

 

**

 

The rest of the news report was about how all of the history and literature books which published the info that it was Mr. Satan that beat Cell, all had to reprinted with the truth and how the cartoon show with Mr. Satan as the Hero had to go off air. But above all, Mr. Satan had to pay all of the money that he had received due to his fame, to all the people that had been at the fight.

 

All in all, it estimated to about two million dollars for every person, and four million to Gohan for actually doing the deed. Everyone knew that Goku was dead, but then again, he had relatives, right? So Goku’s money went into an account that Yamcha set up for him, just in case he ever came back somehow. He even transferred all of the money from Goku’s old account and into the new one, because it had a higher interest rate.

 

Bulma took all the money that belonged to Vegeta and put it in an account along with the 1600 dollars that he had won playing Super Famicom, against the others and all the extra money that she found in his room also. She hoped that he would return and she knew that he would need the money if he left and went to live somewhere else other than Capsule Corps.

 

Over the next few weeks everyone became famous and didn’t care. Although Yamcha put his fame to good use and used it to sell more tickets to the baseball games that he played in. Bulma still missed Vegeta, but she finally allowed all of Yamcha’s advances to strike home and they started dating again.

 

It was four months after Vegeta left that there was a party get together at the Capsule building. Everyone attended, and everyone was having a good time, when an hour into the party, in walked someone that they hadn’t seen since the trial.

 

***

 

 

~ Back to Vegeta-sei – Present ~

 

Vegeta was still walking toward the city in the distance when it became too dark to see. “Kuso!” he cursed aloud as he stopped just in time to prevent himself from running into a tree. During the day, the land had started to gain trees and sparse grass the closer he got to the city. Vegeta sneered into the dark, and up at the moonless sky. He had been only five years old at the time he left with Frieza and so he knew hardly anything about his planet and even less about his species. Nappa had once told him that the full moon only lasted for one day and that it only came around once every eight years. Nappa had also said that the planet was barren in lots of places far from the cities, but Vegeta didn’t remember Nappa saying it was this bad.

 

Vegeta decided to camp out for the night, slowly settling himself down on the ground, careful of his stomach and his tail. Out of the bag that he had with him, he pulled forth one of the travel ration bars that Bulma had made. The bars were small and light, taking up hardly any room, making them a wonderful thing to have on long trips like this one.

 

They were two inches by two inches and were so concentrated that they were able to fill up a Saiya-jin right away. This product had been tested on Goku and he hadn’t eaten for a full day. It was a miracle and for this reason alone. The bars were also so full of vitamins and minerals, that eating them right before a battle was a good idea for they could keep fighters going all day.

 

The ones that he had packed with him, were ones that were improved upon by Bulma before he left so that he could stay heather in his condition. They were also the ones that she had made especially for Saiya-jin. The ones she made for humans were no good to a Saiya-jin and didn’t have the proper needed nutrients.

 

After he had finished the bar, he tossed the one-day biodegradable wrapper on the ground and then pulled out a large fluffy blanket. Soon after, he was asleep on a planet that was now foreign to him, part of his mind wide-awake for any possible threat.

 

**

 

The next day, Vegeta awoke and broke camp, briefly reflecting on using the dino caps that he had packed. Just like the day before though, he decided against it just in case that he needed them for an emergency later. Picking up his pack, he again began to walk in the direction of the far off towers.

 

Several hot and sweaty hours later, a tired and worn out Prince arrived at the gates to the imperial city. As he looked at the buildings, he was pleasantly shocked. All of the buildings were white, made out of marble. A substance, that on earth, was very expensive. The streets were clean, and there was no sewage or trash, even in the alleys. It had been a while since he had seen a Saiyan city, but now that he was finally seeing one again, he was speechless.

Vegeta smirked and headed into the streets, ‘Ha! Match this, Earth. I bet that your cities, although they come close sometimes, will never be as good as this one or any of the others.’

 

Vegeta looked about the city in appreciation as he headed in the direction of the palace. He met no resistance on his way there and none upon entry. Left to himself, he proceeded to explore the castle so that he could get used to it once more. ‘After all, this is going to be my home for the next five years,’ he thought with slight anticipation as he looked at the walls leading to the thrown room.

 

One side of the hall was covered with pictures of the direct royal family line starting with the very first Vegeta near the entrance of the hallway. As he walked and looked at all of the pictures he noticed two things: the figures in the pictures all had tall spiked hair; the facial features were very distinct all the way to the end, even as they changed a bit every now and then, hair becoming shorter, or the eyebrows more prominent; finally, most of the pictures were of males. The pictures that were of females still had the distinct royal features, including the tall flame hair, and they were still named ‘Vegeta’. Out of thirty-two portraits, only three were female. ‘Females must be very rare,’ he thought absent mindedly.

 

The other side of the wall was covered with what appeared to be the mates of the kings and queens. They all looked different and the strong main features came out in the kids only very rarely. The very last picture on the wall was of a kind faced man with Indian red hair, a firm chin and dark red eyes with silver flecks.

 

‘I wonder who that could be,’ Vegeta wondered, as he read the name, Ringo-sama, at the bottom of the portrait. Vegeta then looked directly across the hall to look at the face of his father. It was quite apparent where Vegeta got his looks. Right beside the picture there was more room for others, but there was nothing, and Vegeta knew that his picture would never be on the wall, or the rest of the future line. It made him slightly remorseful as he tore his eyes away and finally entered the thrown room.

 

The first thing that Vegeta saw when he entered the room was not the red carpet on the ground or the elaborate tapestries on the wall. He didn’t notice anything other than the throne on the dais. However he didn’t notice the throne because of what it represented and how important it was to his office. He noticed it first because of the figure sitting upon it.

 

“Hello Vegeta. Long time no see.”

 

***

 

~ Earth at that Moment in Time ~

 

All of the noise in the room stopped as Gohan walked in with Piccolo. Ever since the trial and the Cell games, no one had seen those two. It was like they too had disappeared off the face of the planet.

Gohan looked about at everyone and gave them all a nervous smile, “Umm… What are you all…”

Piccolo cut in and finished in a gruff, annoyed voice, “… looking at?”

Bulma, in an attempt to ease the tension in the room, walked to Gohan and held open her arms for a hug. Gohan, relived, went to her and allowed her to hug him.

“How have you been Gohan? No one has seen you in months! What have you been up to?”

Everyone in the room listened as Gohan, after being led to a seat, told them all about the training that he had been doing with Piccolo, and how much better he was.

 

“Of course, I have also been keeping up my studies. What would mom say if I didn’t?”

Everyone had to chuckle at that, which led Bulma to ask, “Gohan, have you visited your mother recently? She’s worried about you.”
Gohan sighed, “Well, if she wanted to see me that bad then she could’ve been here. I even heard of this get together, and I live in the woods in the middle of nowhere. There is no excuse and I refuse to play her games anymore. Besides, Piccolo is my guardian now. I don’t have to check in with her.”

Bulma glared at him until Gohan lowered his head. “Okay, I’ll call her tomorrow and see if she wants to see me.”

Bulma nodded, “Good, she’ll be happy to hear from you. Besides, you need to go and see your little brother.”
“That’s right! I forgot about Goten. I’ll see them both tomorrow.” Gohan looked about the room and smiled at all the people there. “Where’s Vegeta?”

“Oh, he went on a trip. I don’t know when he’ll be back. I sort of miss him.”
Yamcha shook his head, “I don’t. He was too arrogant, hostile and mean.” He crossed his arms and looked spiteful, “He even took…”

Bulma rolled her eyes, “Not that again. Besides, I am dating you now, not him.”

Yamcha grinned and wrapped his arms around her, giving her cheek a light peck. “And for that I am grateful,” he said.

Gohan looked confused, “So Vegeta is gone? How long?”
“Four months,” stated Tien.

“I see. It’s been four months, and you have already moved on to someone else?”

Bulma glared at him, “For your information, Gohan, Vegeta and I were never dating. I had a kid with him, so we made it look as if we were.”
“You tricked me?” asked Yamcha shocked.

“I had to. No hard feelings?”

Yamcha sighed and gave her a kiss, “I suppose not.”

“As much as this is touching, I believe we are not here to hear you two swoon over each other.” Piccolo said with a roll of his eyes.

“Man Piccolo, your such a wet blanket. You need to wring yourself out every once in a while,” Krillin replied looking alongside at him.

Piccolo grunted and just moved away to the food table to grab a glass of water.

“Bulma, do you think that Vegeta is okay?” Gohan asked.

Bulma smiled reassuringly at him, “I’m sure that he is doing just fine. Don’t you worry.”

 

***