Sole
Survivors
By QueenSaiyajin
Disclaimer:
I do not own Dragonball Z or its characters, and am merely borrowing them for this
Alternate Universe story which begins during episode 71, “The End of Vegeta”.
This is a Bulma/Vegeta story. The rating is NC-17 for some nice, romantic
love-making. There are also, however, some references to torture and abuse in
Vegeta’s childhood, but they are extremely vague. If you are under 17 or would prefer not to
read anything with sexual situations, please do not go any further. By the way,
this is my first A/U story, and I think it may turn into an epic. Please send
comments/criticisms to [email protected].
I love feedback of any kind!
Chapter Five: Setting Things
Right
“All
right, Kakarot, are you ready to take on a power not
seen in a thousand years?”
The
fool’s eyes sparked with anticipation. “Bring it on, Vegeta.”
With
the thrill of battle singing in his blood, Vegeta pushed his ki to that limit that had once seemed impassable—and then
beyond. His body burned with the golden energy of a thousand suns as the ground
about the two Saiyans began to quake. The gasps of
those looking on—the Nameks and humans that had been
brought back to life with the dragonballs—told him that the change was
complete. Once again, he was a Super Saiyan.
“I’ve
never felt such energy!” he could hear Piccolo saying, as the others agreed,
dumbfounded.
Kakarot
merely stared at him with a grin of excitement. “Now that is cool,” he said simply. “You’ve gotta
show me how you do that.”
Vegeta
laughed. “What makes you think you could ever reach this level? It’s not in
your blood, Kakarot. I’m the Prince of all Saiyans.
This is my destiny.”
The
other man looked at him with an amusement that was beginning to irk him.
“Vegeta, Frieza was right about one thing. You talk too much.”
Vegeta
glared at him. “Then allow me to show you.” With that he threw the first punch
into the bigger man’s chest, knocking him fifty yards away. He smirked in
satisfaction as Kakarot slammed into the side of a cliff.
In
seconds, the clown seemed to bounce back, and it began, a dizzying onslaught of
punches and kicks as the two men matched each other blow for blow. He’s good, Vegeta thought to himself, but I’m better. Until now he had only
been sparring with Kakarot, knowing that unleashing his full power would most
likely kill him. Months ago, he would have relished doing just that. But there
was more to consider now. He needed this powerful man as his ally, his envoy to
his father to bring word of his ascension and his deeds. And perhaps just as
importantly, he knew how much the dumb oaf meant to Bulma. He’d promised her
this morning not to hurt him too seriously.
But
there was nothing wrong with a good, healthy training bout, he thought
wickedly.
An
hour passed, and his energy seemed boundless. But he could sense Kakarot
weakening, and decided a good energy blast would probably finish him off. To
his surprise, Kakarot launched his own attack, and their blasts seemed to meet
in the middle, vying for supremacy. With a growl Vegeta pushed it up just a
notch…
…and
Kakarot lay sprawled on the ground, unmoving.
Vegeta
landed before the prone man, just as he opened his eyes. “So, are you still certain you can match my
power level?” he asked smugly.
“Not
right now,” the other man replied as he got to his feet. “But give me a few
months,” he added, wiping the smirk off Vegeta’s face even as he wiped the
blood from his own. “I might even beat you next time.”
The audacity of this low born soldier!
“Consider yourself lucky that my woman thinks of you as kin, Kakarot,” he
replied curtly, “or you would live just long enough to regret that challenge.”
Kakarot
shook his head, knowing all too well it was an empty threat. “Lighten up,
Vegeta. Look at it this way. If I get stronger, it’ll be more of a challenge
for you. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Pushing our limits to meet every new
challenge?”
Vegeta
nodded slowly, surprised that Kakarot, in his simplicity, had restated
something that had been drummed into his own head as a child. “You may not have
forgotten everything about being a Saiyan after all,” he said quietly.
“Fighting to increase our power is in our blood.”
“So
is hunger,” Kakarot responded, a hand on his stomach. “Do you think we could
get some food before we fight again?”
Vegeta
smirked. Proving his superiority over Kakarot had given him an appetite as
well. “Come. Bulma will have prepared a dinner for us. And then, we have much
to discuss.”
She
greeted them at the door of their reconstructed capsule house, which she had
set up just outside the town where Rossdark and his family lived. Her eyes were
blazing with anger as she saw the bloodied state of her husband and her friend.
“You Saiyans are unbelievable! Don’t you have enough
enemies to fight without beating each other to a pulp?!”
“I
would hardly say that Kakarot beat me to a pulp,” Vegeta responded as she tried
to examine a wound on his arm. “Stop fussing, woman, I’m fine,” he said,
refusing to let her coddle him, especially in public.
“What
about you?” she asked the other man. “What happened to you?”
“Well,
he beat me,” he told her, without any trace of anger. “But I’m okay. Just really hungry.”
She
had to grin at that. “I guess some things never change,” she said, shaking her
head. But Vegeta could see that her anger had abated, and he was glad.
“The
others have gone back to Rossdark’s house,” he told
her. “Kakarot and I have some things to discuss. I thought it would be better
if we did so alone.”
“Good,”
she said, as she started to pile the table high with food. He knew that she
liked the idea of him and Kakarot as allies. Well, she’d actually suggested
they could be…friends, but he’d told her that was unlikely. As unlikely as you falling in love with a
human woman? she’d teased him. He’d growled
at that, and she’d laughed.
She
touched him lightly on the arm as she placed a plate in front of him. “When you
two are done stuffing your faces, I have a surprise for you.”
“I
hope…it’s dessert…” Kakarot mumbled as he chomped on a
steak.
“Kakarot,
could you please learn not to speak with your mouth full?” Vegeta said with an
air of royal disgust.
“Oh,
sorry…” he mumbled, with a look of guilt as he realized he was doing it again.
Vegeta
shook his head at his uncouth companion, then turned
to his mate. “What kind of surprise? Another one of your
inventions?”
“Yup. I just finished it,” she said mysteriously, as she sat down with them.
He marveled, as he always did, at the tiny portions of food on her plate.
“Are
you sure that’s enough, especially in your condition?” he asked. He realized he
must sound like a doting human, but Kakarot was too involved in his dinner to
notice.
“I
am eating more than I usually do,” she assured him. She took a few more bites
then pushed the plate away. “I’m full. Let me go get your surprise.”
He
watched her thoughtfully as she walked into the other room, wondering just how
difficult carrying and bearing a Saiyan child would be on her delicate body. A
pang of worry stabbed at him, and he fought to conceal it.
Kakarot,
however, was more clever than he sometimes let on.
“Don’t worry, Vegeta,” he said kindly, though his words were garbled by the
food in his mouth. “Chichi had a kind of rough delivery, but she and Gohan came
out of it just fine.”
He
turned sharply towards the bigger man, ready to tell him that he wasn’t worried
in the least, and that he should mind his own damned business—but he knew that
Kakarot meant well. The fool had no idea that he had overstepped the bounds of
propriety by speaking to him in such a manner. And he was continuing to do so!
“I
know it’s a little scary…becoming a daddy for the first time—“
“Kakarot!”
he yelled finally, his scowl deliberately covering his embarrassment. “I am
afraid of nothing! And would you please stop talking with your mouth full like
some barbarian! How can I send you to Vegeta-sei as my envoy when you don’t
even know the first thing about table manners!” He turned, flustered to see Bulma giggling
at him as she held some sort of device pointed at him. “What the hell are you
laughing at, woman?!”
She
sat down across from him, reaching for something on his shirt and then showing
it to him. “Well, for starters, this piece of spaghetti hanging on your shirt
while you were yelling at Goku about his table manners.”
His
face flushed as he realized that in his hunger he’d made a slob of himself in
his own way. “Anything else?” he asked tersely as she fidgeted with the
controls on her device.
“I
was just proud of myself for capturing a real Kodak moment,” she said, trying
to suppress her grin. “Now maybe you can see for yourself how obnoxious you get
sometimes.” He had no clue what this
woman was talking about, and opened his mouth to speak, silenced as she pointed
to something on the table.
It
was…him. Or rather, a three dimensional holographic image of
himself. Suspended as if in air, he realized it was coming from the
device in her hand.
…would you please stop
talking with your mouth full like some barbarian! How can I send you to
Vegeta-sei as my envoy when you don’t even know the first thing about table
manners!
Even
in the hologram he could see the spaghetti fall from his mouth and onto his
shirt as he spoke. There was a pause, and then the smaller version of himself was looking straight at the camera. He could hear
her soft laughter in the background, as he shouted,
What the hell are you
laughing at, woman?!
She
was right. He did look and sound pretty damned obnoxious. But he wouldn’t admit
that to her, at least not in front of this imbecile. “What is this, exactly?”
he asked quietly.
“A
holographic video camera and projector,” she said proudly. “Poppa had been
working on something like this, and I thought that if I could modify it, it
would be a great way for you to speak to your father without actually going to
Vegeta-sei. You could even show him your transformation to Super Saiyan, in
case anyone questions it.”
He
grinned at her openly. “This is unbelievable! Woman, you never will cease to
amaze me.”
“Yes,
I know,” she said with a smile. “I told you—beauty and brains in one package…”
He
had the sudden urge to take that package into his arms right now, stopping
himself only as Kakarot’s voice reminded him of his
presence. “All the more reason why you should be a little
nicer to her, Vegeta. If I ever talked to Chichi that way, she’d kill
me!”
“Kakarot!!!”
he boomed with warning.
“Calm
down, Vegeta. You and Goku have plans to make. I need to get some rest. Do you
think you two can keep from killing each other while I go lie down in the other
room?”
Vegeta
grunted, but there was worry in his eyes as she left the room. He watched her
pensively then turned to the other man. “You said your woman…had a difficult
time.” It was humiliating to think that he was about to confide his concerns to
this lower-class soldier. Yet no one else in the entire Universe could possibly
have Kakarot’s insight as to the dangers of a human
woman carrying, and delivering, a Saiyan baby.
“She
wanted to have the baby at home. But when the time came, the last few weeks
were really bad for her. I made her go to a hospital. It was the best thing.
She lost a lot of blood. If the doctors hadn’t been there, she might have—“ Kakarot’s voice trailed off,
both at the undesirable memory and the look of panic that must have come into
Vegeta’s eyes.
“This
blasted planet doesn’t have advanced medical care! They’ve barely begun their
Industrial Age! Saiyan babies aren’t meant to be carried full term! That’s why
they’re removed to be grown in Incubators—“
“They
must have been born naturally at one time,” Kakarot said. “Saiyans
couldn’t have always had advanced technology.”
“They
were,” he said darkly. “But only the strongest women survived the birth
process. And Bulma is not a Saiyan woman. That baby could—” He couldn't even
voice the horrific possibilities that had come to his mind, of his son literally
ripping through Bulma's body... He closed his eyes,
breathing deeply to contain the emotion that had swelled within him. Only Kakarot's voice brought him from his silent fear.
"Dende. "
"What?"
His eyes lit up as it hit him. "His healing power!"
Then he frowned. "But the brat won't be born for months. Isn't the Namek boy going back to Earth with Piccolo?"
"I'm
sure he'll stay
for a while if you ask him to. After all, if it weren't for you and Bulma, none
of us would have been wished back to life."
Vegeta
just grunted. He wasn't sure if Kakarot knew that Dende
had already healed him from the brink of death once, after having refused to do
so at first. The boy remembered how Vegeta had been responsible for the deaths
of countless Nameks. Why would he go out of his way
to safeguard Vegeta's wife and child?
"I'll
ask him to stay if you want," Kakarot told him, sensing his doubts.
"We all will. No one wants to see anything bad happen to Bulma. And with Dende here
to heal her if something goes wrong, she'll be fine.”
Vegeta
wished he shared the other man’s optimism. “I should have taken full
responsibility for the wishes,” he murmured, cursing himself. “Then at least Bulma could have gone back to
Earth and gotten the proper care.”
Kakarot
grinned at him dubiously. “Do you really think we would have gotten her to go
back without you? We’d have to drag her off cursing and screaming, and believe
me, it would not be a pleasant ride home!”
Vegeta
had to smirk at that. He could hear his woman now, and could imagine her
knocking them all out and taking control of the ship herself. In truth, he
would not have been able to let her go. He wouldn’t trust anyone to protect her
and the child. Kakarot’s intentions were sincere, but
he’d seen today that the other Saiyan could not match him in power.
“She’s
strong, Vegeta,” Kakarot told him seriously. “She’ll be fine.”
He
nodded silently. He knew she was strong. The strongest woman he had ever known.
“All right then, we’ll ask the Namek boy to stay.
Now, there are other things you and I have to discuss.”
“Yes,”
Kakarot agreed. “You have to tell me what to expect when I go to Vegeta-sei.”
Kakarot
had voiced the question so succinctly, but the answer would be much more
difficult to put into words. “With Bulma’s device, I will record a message to my father. Your
job will be to make sure it gets to him personally, and that he watches it.”
Kakarot
looked at him slyly. “Something tells me that’s not
going to be as easy as that.”
“You
are the son of a low-born soldier. An audience with the King would normally be
nearly impossible. But your father, Bardock, gained a
great deal of respect in the years before the destruction of our world. He was not an Elite, yet he fought like one. You will seek him out,
and he will gain you access to my father.” Perhaps that in itself
would not be a simple task. But Kakarot’s next
question left him utterly at a loss for words.
“And
what can I expect when I get to your father?”
Twenty
five years ago, Vegeta would have known the answer to that. But the man he had
known, feared and respected, had betrayed him. He had sold him into bondage to
Frieza out of…what? Fear? Weakness?
Desperation? “I—I’m not sure,” he said simply. “I was
only a child when I last saw him.”
“How
old were you when Frieza took you from him?” Kakarot asked gently.
Anger
welled in him, at the audacity of this low-class soldier to ask him something
that was so…personal. The pity in the bigger man’s eyes was humiliating, and
served only to exacerbate the rage that so delicate a subject still engendered.
“My personal history is none of your business, Kakarot!” he said sharply.
“I’m
sorry. I know it must have been bad—“
“Bad?!”
he roared. “You know nothing, Kakarot! You could not in your worst nightmares
conjure the hell that I have lived through, and if you value your life, you
will never speak of these things to me again!”
The
other man nodded, though it irked Vegeta to see no fear in his eyes.
“I do
not know how my father will receive you,” Vegeta said after a calming pause.
“It has been over twenty years since our planet’s destruction, yet they will
have returned to life as they were back then. They might not even know how they
were brought back. It will be your task to tell them.” He breathed deeply, his
pride swelling with a multitude of other emotions as he said, “I want you to
tell my father that I was the one to kill Frieza. I want him to know that I was
able to do what he could not.” What he
was afraid to do.
“I
will,” Kakarot said solemnly.
“And
tell him that in a year’s time…I will be back to take my rightful place.”
Bulma
wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. Take his rightful place. As Prince? As King?
They
had never discussed their life beyond the year that they were bound to this
planet. The thought of never seeing Earth again, her parents, her friends,
was…disturbing to say the least. Yet the thought that he might go off to
Vegeta-sei alone was even worse.
These
thoughts drew her into a troubled sleep that ended when she felt him slip under
the sheets. He kissed her lightly on the
forehead as he wrapped his arms around her. He was warm and naked against her,
and she wished she could forget the things she had heard tonight. She sighed
against his chest, snuggling against him. For a long while they lay like that,
until the burden on her mind compelled her to break the silence. “Vegeta…” she
whispered, looking up at his face.
His
eyes were already open, and she could see that his own thoughts had kept him
from peaceful sleep. “What is it?” he asked softly, though she could see in his
eyes that he probably knew.
“What…do
you plan on doing…when our year here is over?”
His
face grew dark, defensive. “What do I
plan on doing?”
She
realized at once that her slip of using you
instead of we
had unintentionally hurt his feelings. At least she knew he wasn’t planning on
going alone. That was good. “I couldn’t help but hear you telling Goku that you
would be taking your rightful place. I was just wondering how I fit into your
plans.”
His
eyes softened as he realized that he had misunderstood her. “Bulma, I have a
destiny to fulfill. A duty. My people need me to lead
them. And I…” He paused, the expression of sentiment still difficult for him.
“I need you, woman,” he said in barely a whisper. “You are my mate, and you
will be my queen. I can not imagine going to Vegeta-sei or anywhere in the
universe without you.”
“That’s
good,” she said, smiling as she laced her fingers around his neck. “Because I wouldn’t let you.”
His
eyes shone with a relief as she brought her lips to his for a sweet kiss. Yet
even as he held her in the darkness she could feel the apprehension that nagged
at his subconscious, marring what should otherwise have been a perfect
contentment. Please tell me what’s still bothering you… she
sent him through their bond.
He
tightened his hold on her as a child clutching a toy for comfort. It will not be easy. For
either of us. Vegeta-sei is as an alien world to me. Now
more than ever. I am not the nine-year old boy who was taken away. But
nor am I the monster Frieza created. You have changed me yet again, Bulma. And
I don’t know if the man I have become will be readily accepted as the Saiyan no
Ouji.
Bulma
closed her eyes, resisting the urge to respond verbally, knowing that the fears
he had confided in her were things he would never discuss aloud. You are the Saiyan no Ouji, she assured him
through her thoughts. And
the Legendary Super Saiyan.
You brought your world and your race back to life with the dragonballs. No one
would dare defy you.
She
could feel the doubts he could not even put into thoughts, as he breathed
deeply. And she knew that the warnings of the Namek
Payson and the dragon had begun to plague him now that
the
rebirth of his race had become a reality. The Saiyans
would trust him to rule as his father had before him. But to change their way
of life, to challenge their tradition of bloodthirsty destruction and
domination… perhaps it was a task even beyond the power of a Super Saiyan.
Another thought struck her, and she tried to push it down, before it could
further complicate things. But he’d already caught it, and responded by kissing
her lightly on the hair.
“No
one will question my choice of queen,” he promised her softly, then vowed,
“Anyone who does will have no place in my Kingdom.”
“You
will be the best King your people have ever known,” she said, snuggling against
his chest. And she knew that his confidence had begun to come back to him as
she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
“Okay,
whenever you’re ready.” Bulma gave him a smile of encouragement, and he drew a
deep breath.
He
was standing in full armor on a mountain outside of town, a spot that
overlooked the land below but was distant enough to prevent his energy from
causing any damage. He had a show to put on, one which was meant to impress not
only his father but the countless advisors and Elites who might see it.
Kakarot
had gone back to Frieza’s ship with a holographic
message in which Vegeta had demonstrated his new strength, and claimed his
victory over Frieza. In a way it had been a dress rehearsal of sorts, for the
real thing, the transmission that would be placed into his father’s hands. The
fact that the news had been so well received by Frieza’s
troops had been encouraging to say the least. Vegeta had proven himself in a
short time to be strong but merciful. The men who had attacked Bulma, or
threatened to do so, were the only ones who had suffered his wrath. Kakarot had
told him that the general consensus, upon hearing the news of Frieza’s defeat, had been that Vegeta would be a far better
master to serve than the Tsisu-jin lord had been.
Vegeta’s announcement— that the slaves on the ship would be returned to their
home worlds, and that any soldier who did not wish to serve the Saiyan King on
Vegeta-sei would be free to leave with his share of Frieza’s
spoils—had given Vegeta virtual hero status. Dozens of warriors had already
pledged their loyalty to Vegeta and the Saiyan Crown, while overjoyed former
slaves had already begun the murmurs that Vegeta knew would reach the farthest
ends of the known galaxy when they returned home to tell the tale of Saiyan
strength and benevolence.
Perhaps
it would even begin to silence the tales of horror that the Saiyans
had left in their wake, all in the name of Frieza.
Kakarot
had found him the best Saiyan armor available on the ship, and shuttled it down
along with Bulma’s wish list of tools, devices and
medical supplies. With a foresight that surprised Vegeta, Kakarot had even had
the good sense to encapsulate a regeneration tank that he’d found in the ship’s
medical center. Bulma had nearly shrieked in delight, having heard about the
device but never actually having seen one. It had taken her less than an hour
to figure out its workings and reconfigure it to adapt to human, Saiyan, or Korwal-sei-jin DNA. Vegeta couldn’t even begin to imagine
what advances she might bring to this backwards world in the span of a
year.
“Um,
any time now!” she called impatiently, bringing him back to the present, and
the task at hand. He breathed deeply and nodded to her to begin as he
straightened his back and faced the tiny camera.
“Father.” He bowed his head in respect, feeling awkwardly like the nine year old
boy he had been when he’d last met his father’s eyes. “It has been a long time,
Ottousama,” he said, making an effort to remain as
emotionless as his father would expect.
“No
doubt you have met Kakarot, son of Bardock, whom I
send as my emissary. He will have explained to you the details of how I brought
life to our planet and our people once more. It was I who made the wish on the Korwal-sei-jin dragonballs to restore Vegeta-sei in all its
glory. And I therefore am bound to remain on this planet for one full
revolution. I dare not leave, for to do so would be a death sentence to our
race and our world. I have fought too hard and too long to save our people. I
will fulfill my obligation, and return to you in one year’s time to take my
place at your side.” He glanced into Bulma’s eyes as
he added, “And with me, I will bring my future queen, and my heir. As you will
learn, she played an instrumental role in the restoration of the Saiyan race,
and as such has proven herself more than worthy of the respect of our people.”
He knew his pride in her showed itself in his eyes, and he fought diligently to
keep the emotion from spreading to the rest of his face.
“I
am sending this message that you may see for yourself what your son has become.
I have fulfilled my destiny, Ottousama.” He paused
before uttering the words he had waited a lifetime to proclaim.
“I
am the Legendary reborn. I am a Super Saiyan.”
Drawing
on the well of emotion and need that had brought him to this point, he screamed
out in victory as his power surged. The power that had
surfaced when his woman had needed him. The power that had kept Frieza
from defiling the most precious treasure he had ever possessed. It burned in
him now with the memory of his rage, his golden aura of strength and pride,
blazing in his emerald eyes…
The
ground was quaking beneath him as his ki crackled
like an electrical storm. He smirked in satisfaction as his woman’s broad smile
told him that he’d definitely made his point.
“Frieza
is dead, Ottoussama! Dead at my hands, in Hell for
all that he inflicted upon us. I have avenged the Saiyan race, avenged you, my
Father…avenged myself. I give my vow to you as Prince of Vegeta-sei that I will
use this power to defend our people and restore the Empire to its former glory.
All I ask is that you have faith in me to do so, and await my return before
forging new Alliances such as the one we had with the Tsiru-jin.
The Saiyans must not continue on the destructive path
that led to our own demise. We must take full advantage of our second chance to
achieve greatness without tyranny. The blood on our hands was of Frieza’s doing, and we must not allow it to stain our
history from this moment on. We will be respected for our strength and our benevolence towards those we
rule. Much has happened in the twenty-two years since Vegeta-sei fell. I
implore you to heed my counsel, and trust my insight into this until we meet
again, and I tell you all that can not be said in so public a fashion as this.”
He
breathed deeply as he powered down to his normal state. “I wish you well, Ottousama.” He bowed his head once more as Bulma stopped
the recording.
The
mask he had upheld dropped as she ran to him and threw her arms around his
neck. “That was great!” she told him as she hugged him tightly.
He
sighed, closing his eyes as he held her close. He was glad to have it over
with.
“Do
you want to see it?” she asked.
“No.”
It had been difficult enough the first time. He didn’t think he had it in him
to do it over. “I’ll take your word for it that it was sufficient.”
She
looked into his eyes. “It was more than that. Your father will be very proud of
you.”
She
couldn’t imagine how much those words meant to him, or how deep was his desire
for them to be true. “You think so?” he asked softly.
“Yes!”
she assured him, sensing his doubts. “You were incredible. Powerful and regal,
but wise. An Enlightened Monarch, they used to call them in school.”
“Enlightened.” He repeated the word dubiously. “On Vegeta-sei, what you call
enlightenment could be considered a weakness.”
“Compassion
is a strength,” she told him with certainty. “Look at
how the men on Frieza’s ship have reacted to your new
policies.”
“My
father would say I wasted a healthy shipload of slaves by setting them free,” he
said grimly.
“And
is that what you think?” she challenged him.
He
thought of Rossdark, his joy of returning to his family, and the unquestioned
loyalty he had pledged to Vegeta in exchange for his kindness. He’d won a loyal
retainer, and a friend. Vegeta couldn’t remember his father having had any true
friends at all. But then his father had never shown a hint of compassion, not
even towards his own son.
“I
regret nothing,” he said, though there were a great many regrets he had in his
life. His face softened as he qualified
that statement. “Nothing since the night I made you mine.” He kissed her
smiling lips, thinking that everything had gone right since she had come into
his life. Between them, their son’s ki burned
brightly. “Come,” he said scooping her into his arms to take flight. “The
sooner Kakarot gets this to my Father, the better.”
It
was with mixed emotions that Bulma watched her friends from Earth prepare for
their departure to the ship that had been Frieza’s.
The last few days had been wonderful, spending time with the people she had
known for more than half her life. Friends she had thought lost forever. Once
more, the dragonballs had helped to set things right. But everything from this
moment on would be uncharted territory. Her life with Vegeta, the birth of
their child, and their eventual voyage to Vegeta-sei, were exciting and
frightening prospects at once. She had no doubts about the decisions she had
made. But the utter separation from all she had loved and known was a big step that
she wasn’t sure she could face alone.
But
as Vegeta came to stand beside her, his spirit weaving its way into hers to
embrace her in a way that he could never physically do in public, she was
reminded that she was not alone. Neither of them would ever face another day,
another challenge, alone.
“You’ll
see them all again,” he promised her quietly, sensing her sadness at their
departure. “When all is settled on Vegeta-sei, we will journey to Earth to show
our son the other part of his heritage.” He’d already promised her that they
would visit her parents from time to time. Saiyan starships could span the
distance between their worlds in weeks.
“I
talked to Momma and Poppa again today,” she told him. “They want to come visit in time for the baby’s birth.”
She
watched his face for a reaction, but saw none. She wasn’t quite sure how Vegeta
would react to his in-laws. He would probably respect Poppa for all his genius,
but Momma could be a little—
“That
is good,” he replied, breaking into her thoughts. “I know it will mean a lot to
you to have them here when your time comes.” She could see that it would put
him at ease as well. Dende had agreed to stay in case
his healing powers were needed, but she had sensed from time to time that
Vegeta was still a nervous wreck at the thought of her giving birth in the
natural way. On his planet, it just wasn’t done.
“Hey, Bulma!” Gohan called as they approached her for their final good byes. “Did
you talk to my Mom? She must be really worried.”
“I
told her you’re all fine. She can’t wait to see you.”
“I’m
afraid she’d gonna have to wait just a little
longer,” Goku said coming to stand before them.
“What
do you mean?” Vegeta asked with a frown, impatient to see his message delivered
as soon as possible.
“Well—“ Goku began hesitantly, as if he were afraid of Bulma going
off at him. “I was going to head back to Earth first, but these guys had other
plans.”
“What
he means is that we’re not going to let him go to Vegeta-sei alone,” Piccolo
announced.
“Are
you all out of your minds?” she yelled at them. “Chichi will murder you all
when she sees you! Goku, you said you’d take Gohan home first.”
“I
wanted to, Bulma, but the little guy is just as curious to see the Saiyan homeworld as I am.” He shrugged helplessly. “And the other
guys all came to me after they voted on it. They want to come along.”
“We’ve
been in this together for too long,” Tien said.
“We’re all agreed. Goku might need our help.”
“You
fools,” Vegeta grumbled, despite the fact that his
errand would be carried out even sooner now. “Kakarot can take care of himself,
and even his kid is stronger than some Saiyans. But
your fighting powers are nowhere near theirs.”
“Will
they be in danger?” Bulma asked her husband. She could see the frustration on
his face of not knowing for certain what they would find. What he would find,
when he eventually made that journey.
“I
don’t know. It’s difficult to say—“
“Even
more reason why we should go,” Piccolo responded.
Bulma
shook her head. “Chichi is going to have a fit. I don’t envy you having to tell
her.”
They
all stared at her wordlessly, a sheepish grin on Goku’s face.
“Oh no, Goku. You’re not going to make me do it—“
“Come
on, Bulma, please?” he begged.
“Maybe
you could tell your dad,” Gohan suggested, “And he could tell her—“
“You
could always get Master Roshi to do it,” Krillin said thoughtfully.
“What
kind of cowards are you that you’re all so afraid of a woman?!” Vegeta broke in
in disbelief.
“You
don’t know my Mom,” Gohan confided. “She’s really strong—“
“That’s
for sure,” Krillin added. “When she’s mad, she can be
even scarier than Bul—“
Bulma
shot him an icy glare, and his face reddened.
“That
is frightening,” Vegeta said dryly,
and the laughter that ensued all around seemed to break the tension.
Finally
it had been decided. Goku would command the ship back to Vegeta-sei first,
stopping briefly on the way at the two or three slave worlds to fulfill
Vegeta’s promise to Frieza’s captives. He would then
make a present of the ship to the King, deliver his message into the king’s
hands, and use a Saiyan ship to shuttle his friends back to Earth. Goku seemed
pretty certain of his ability to protect his friends, but Vegeta recorded a
message of introduction for them all anyway, providing them with whatever
security codes he remembered to allow them access through the planetary
defenses.
Bulma
was watching from a distance as Vegeta privately gave some last minute advice
to Goku, when suddenly Yamcha stood next to her. She
felt guilty for the way she’d been avoiding him. The last time they’d spoken
had not gone well. She had let out years of frustration with him at a time when
he was really the one who was hurting. After all they had shared, that hadn’t
been the way to end things.
“Yamcha, I’m sorry,” she said simply.
He
nodded. “Me too. You know, as much as it hurt to hear
it, and to see you with him—you were right. I didn’t treat you like I should
have. But I always loved you. I still do. I just want you to know that.”
“And
I loved you, Yamcha. I still care about you. But—it’s
different now.”
He
was looking into her eyes, and she felt she would cry. He was being totally
honest. He had loved her—the best he knew how. He would never understand that
it hadn’t been enough. That she had needed more. That she had found more.
“Bulma, just tell me one thing. Do you really love him? I know how hard it must
have been for you to be alone, but now that Earth is restored—“
“Yes,”
she told him with certainty. She didn’t want him to go on, to try to
rationalize or analyze something that was an immutable fact.
“Okay,
then,” he replied, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “I guess there’s nothing
else to say, then. I hope…you’re happy, Bulma.”
“You too, Yamcha.” She reached up tentatively
to kiss him on the cheek, and for a brief moment he hugged her, the sum of all
they had meant to each other passing through them in that last farewell
embrace. And she knew that they had come to a mutual forgiveness, and understanding.
“I’ll
always be there for you, Bulma. I’ll always be your friend,” he said softly as
he released her.
“So
will I, Yamcha.” And she
meant it just as much as he had. Until this moment she hadn’t even realized
that she’d needed some real closure on her relationship with him. But now that
they had it, she felt truly at peace.
She
knew even then that Vegeta would not understand what she’d needed to do, and as
she had anticipated, he was silent as they went back to their little capsule
house after the others had departed. She’d known that no matter how engrossed
he had been in his discussion with Goku, he wouldn’t have missed her brief
exchange with her ex-boyfriend. She had to admit, though it made her feel
foolish, that she found his jealousy sweet. Though jealousy, like all other
emotions, was something he had trouble admitting out loud. He’d still spoken
little when after dinner he announced that he was going to the gravity chamber
to train.
“Do
you want to talk first?” she asked.
“I
have nothing to talk about, woman,” he said abruptly, then left.
She
found him brooding silently outside, looking into the night sky as if searching
for some familiar speck. He started as she came up behind him, slipping her
arms around his waist.
“Woman,
I told you there was nothing to talk about,” he snapped.
“Come
on, Vegeta,” she purred,
“This is silly. I know what you’re upset about, but you shouldn’t
be—“
Gently
but firmly he detached her hands from his body. “I said leave me alone!” he
growled.
The
tone in his voice startled her into a realization that perhaps she should not
have taken his jealousy so lightly. When
he turned to her, there was a wild rage in his eyes that he had never directed
at her before. “Vegeta, it was really nothing,” she began.
“Don’t
tell me it was nothing! I saw you kiss him—“
“On the cheek!”
“He
laid his hands on you!!”
“It
was just a hug!” she cried. “No more or less than I gave Goku, or Krillin—“
“And
you think that’s acceptable behavior for a future queen?!” he roared. “How am I
to convince my people of your worthiness to be their queen if you allow every
man to touch you as if you were a common—”
“Stop
it!” she cried angrily. “Finish that sentence and you won’t have to worry about
whether or not your people find me worthy—you’ll
be going back alone!”
If
her anger didn’t startle him, her words did. For a moment, hurt flashed in his
eyes, but it quickly turned to fury. “Why, did your boyfriend convince you that
you’d be better off going back to Earth?!” he sneered.
“He’s
not my boyfriend, you baka! And I had every intention
of going to Vegeta-sei until you said that I might not be ‘worthy’ to be your
wife!”
“That’s
not what I meant,” he growled, seething. “You seem to think nothing of
dishonoring me in front of others by allowing that human to touch you. Do you
enjoy this, Bulma? Seeing me lose all rational thinking in a jealous rage? Is
this some way of testing my feelings for you?”
“N-no,”
she said, shocked at what he had just admitted, and even worse, what he had
accused her of doing. She cursed herself for ever finding his jealousy in the
least bit sweet. She’d taken it all too
lightly because she knew she would never betray him. But the intense emotions
that were so new to him would not allow him to differentiate between a harmless
gesture and something more. She stepped up to him, touching his cheek with her
fingertips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t take your being angry seriously because… I
didn’t do anything. It was just a good bye. I hadn’t handled things well with Yamcha. No matter what he’d done to me in the past, that was no way for him to find out about you and me.
He and I have known each other for years, and we’ll always be friends. We just
had to clear the air before he left. The hug, the kiss on the cheek—was
nothing. Just a good bye. Just an
ending. The way it should have been done in the first place.”
His
hand covered hers, and he closed his eyes with a deep sigh as she brought her
lips to his. She kissed him tenderly, relieved when he responded, running his
fingers through her hair.
“I
love you,” she whispered between kisses.
He
didn’t need to speak his love aloud. She could feel it reaching out to her,
wrapping itself around her in all its intensity. The unconditional love and
incredible joy she brought him walked hand in hand with a desperate fear that
something so beautiful and pure could be taken from him as easily as it had
become his. All the evil I have done…I
don’t deserve such happiness. The gods will take it from me as swiftly as it
enveloped my soul. And I will be lost…
No… she thought, and she could
feel his embarrassment that she had heard his thoughts. That she had felt the
nagging fear that had plagued him from the moment he had realized what she
meant to him, a fear born of loss of everything that he’d ever given a damn
about in his life. The rage he had felt over her embrace with Yamcha had played upon his own insecurities, his fear that
now that they were safe from Frieza and their worlds had been restored, she
would yearn to return to all those she loved…That their time alone had been an
idle fantasy that would not stand up to the reality of the galaxy around them…
She
looked into his eyes, seeing the same swirl of emotions that had flowed from
his being into hers. “Do you still love me as you did on Namek?”
she asked softly.
“Why
do you ask the obvious, woman?” he said in a hushed whisper, his love burning
brightly in his gaze. She said nothing, waiting for an answer, watching his
expression turn to one almost of anguish as he bared himself to her, voicing
the thing that made him both the strongest and most vulnerable being in the
universe at once. “Yes, I love you!” he rasped. So much so that I would go insane if I ever
lost you…
“Oh,
Vegeta,” she sighed, tears in her eyes for the unnecessary torment that his
newfound feelings brought him. “You’ll never lose me. Never! I love you more than my own life,” she
said, her voice choked with emotion she wasn’t sure was his or her own. She
took his hand and placed it gently on her abdomen, where the physical proof of
their love lay sleeping. “Every time you look at him…just remember this is what
our love made.”
She
could feel his relief intermingled with pure wonder as he looked from her eyes
to the place where their son lay nestled. Then he was holding her, his face
buried in her hair as he clung to her for safety from his own internal storm of
emotions. His fear for her, for the baby, on this backwards world…A Saiyan
child should never be carried full term! Saiyan women had died giving birth…how
could he be sure she would survive? What could he possibly do to safeguard her?
And what would happen when Kakarot delivered his message to his father? Would
his people accept an alien queen? Would Vegeta-ou?
Was he endangering her and the child by bringing them into a situation that was
fraught with so much uncertainty?
Bulma’s head began to spin from the onslaught of his concerns and fears,
anxiety mixed with indignant despair that no matter how strong he had become,
there were some things still completely beyond his power to control. He had
everything he had worked a lifetime to achieve, and so much more that he had
never even imagined possible…but it could all be lost in more ways than he
dared contemplate. She held him tightly, trying to soothe him with her caress,
comfort him with her thoughts. But it occurred to her suddenly that rational
thought was slowly slipping away from him, just as his precarious control of
his emotions had been failing…
“Vegeta,
let’s go inside,” she said softly in his ear, his embrace seeming to tighten at
the suggestion. “Come on, let’s lie down together, and—”
She
gasped as the hand that had been stroking his back gently came to his tailbone,
and felt the undeniable protrusion that had not been there before.
His
tail was growing back.
Images
of Goku as a boy when he’d made his transformation into the Oozaru
flashed through her mind, and with them a stab of
sudden fear. She’d never seen Vegeta transform, but had heard the stories from Krillin and Gohan. Uncontrolled, he could easily wreak
havoc on the planet. Even his hold on her now, innocent and begotten of his
love for her, had begun to feel uncomfortably tight. He might crush her without
even realizing it. But why was this happening, why?!
The
answer lay over his shoulder, in the rising full moon that had begun to ascend
while they had been on this hillside. Kami, they have a
moon!! Why hadn’t they realized it, why hadn’t they done something to
prevent—
A
low growl began to grow in his throat, and she knew they had to avoid the one
thing that would send him over the edge. “Vegeta, listen to me! You’ve got to
let go of me! We have to get inside! Now!”
The
alarm in her voice shocked him from the spell that had begun to fall over him.
She could feel him snap back to lucidity as he realized himself what was
happening to his body. With real fear in his eyes he released her, growling,
“Go!”
“Vegeta, what about you?! I can’t leave you alone out here!”
“Go,
Bulma!” he hissed, gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain. She could
feel his anguish, both physical and emotional, as his eyes burned into her with
a primal desire that the last remnants of his rational mind were struggling to
repress in fear of what he might do to her if she came too close. But she
couldn’t leave him like this, not in this pain. She had to help him…
“Vegeta,
listen to me!” she said in a commanding voice. “You have to come into the
house. As long as you don’t look up at the moon, you won’t transform. When Goku
was a child he only
transformed when he looked directly at the moon!”
“It’s
different, woman!” he cried in exasperation. “I’m a man, and I’m bonded to you.
The moon awakens uncontrollable need…desire…”
A disobedient hand reached out towards her of its own accord, and he
pulled it back before it could touch her face. “Bulma, please!” he begged her.
“I don’t want to hurt—aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
He
collapsed in pain, writhing on the ground as his tail burst through his skin, a
horrendous explosion of blood, sinew and fur. She ran to him, heedless of his
warnings, knowing only that he needed her. He wouldn’t hurt her. Of that she
was certain. She knelt by him as he gasped for air, drawing ragged breaths as
the agony subsided. “Bulma…” he whispered in a gravelly voice.
“It’s okay, Vegeta. It’s okay,” she soothed him, running her
fingers through his hair. She fought the instinct to examine the wound where his
tail had broken through, remembering his sensitivity there. Slowly his
breathing eased and his efforts to push himself up gave way to exhaustion.
“Rest,” she said softly. And he did.
His dreams were a violent blur
of blood and war, as he slew Frieza with his bare hands. And with the evil
lizard’s death, the rage that had burned him into a mindless killing frenzy
seemed to dissipate in the glorious glow of freedom. He was powerful, the most
powerful being in the Universe, and no one would ever control him, command him,
ever again…
She floated before him, his
beautiful blue-haired angel, her smile warming the heart he’d thought cold and
dead. And he wanted her, all of her, with such a
desperate desire that he thought his heart would burst from his need. Then she
was in his arms, soft, warm, inviting, her bare flesh melding with his even as
the very essence of her soul surrounded him with its unconditional love…
The
blinding light of day pervaded his blissful dreams and drew him regretfully to
the waking world. The
He
turned his head and breathed deeply as he saw her lying on the ground beside
him, sleeping peacefully. Only then did he realize that her tiny hand was on
his arm, still clutching at him protectively even in her sleep.
She’d
begun to stir as she’d sensed his movement, and looked at him now with sleepy
eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked with
worry. She looked exhausted, and he was sure she’d had very little sleep as
she’d kept her vigil over him.
“Foolish
woman,” he said softly, but with such tenderness that she could not possibly
mistake. “You should not have stayed here all night. It’s cold and the ground
is damp.”
“I
told you to come inside, but no—“ she complained as
she sat up with effort. He stood up and scooped her into his arms, raising his ki slightly to warm her in its glow. She leaned against his
chest tiredly, closing her eyes. “I told you once before that I can’t sleep
unless you’re next to me,” she yawned.
He
carried her inside, placing her gently on the bed,
then sat watching her for a long moment. She opened her eyes. “What?”
He
paused, trying to put into words what he had been thinking. “I…I could have
hurt you. Or—“
The
thought was too horrible to even voice.
“You
wouldn’t have,” she said softly, with utter certainty. “I just wanted to make
sure you didn’t look directly at the moon. I think the trauma of having your
tail break through like that probably just knocked you out. Luckily you didn’t
wake up until after the moon had set.”
There
was so much she didn’t understand about what the moon could do to him, but for
now the mad urges that had come over him were under control. He lay down beside
her, taking her into his arms and hugging her to him. Just her touch seemed to calm
him. Perhaps it had been his link to her that had kept him from total madness.
“I’ll
check out the moon’s orbital data later,” she said sleepily. “Then we
can…figure out…” She was asleep before she could finish her thought.
He
wasn’t tired. His mind was racing with thoughts and questions as he wondered
just how the growth of his tail would affect his power levels. It had occurred
to him from time to time that his people might see him as less than Saiyan
without the appendage that identified their race. It was good to have it back.
He wondered idly if the genetic mixture of Saiyan and Human would result in
their son’s having his features, his strength. He remembered that Kakarot’s son had had a tail before Vegeta himself had cut
it off in battle…
The
touch of his woman’s body, pressing more closely against his, pulled him from
his reverie. He smirked as he realized the reason. His tail had unconsciously
wrapped itself around her, cradling her against him, as if it knew better than
he what he really wanted right now. There would be time to test his powers. A year, in fact. He kissed her forehead gently, and closed
his eyes.
It
would be a very interesting year indeed.
{{Coming
in Chapter Six: A few surprise visitors to Korwal-sei,
and a new Saiyan no ouji—or two? PLEASE send
comments—a work in progress needs feedback of any kind! }}