Unlikely Romance

 

 

Chapter 1

The Prince of Saiyans sat alone at the top of the hill overlooking the Capsule Corp. compound. He stared at the stars above him, his thoughts on the events which brought him here.

It had been almost a year since the ordeal on Namek. He had died at the hands of Freiza, and brought back to life by the same Eternal Dragon he sought to grant him immortality. He thought of his arrival on earth with his bodyguard and partner, Nappa. How he battled Kakkarot and lost. So much had happened to him in that time...

And now he was here, on a planet full of weak humans. How had he, the Proud Prince Of The Saiyans, ended up on such a worthless hunk of rock?

He thought back to the words of his father. He knew he would someday become a Super Saiyan, come hell or high water. But Kakkarot had already beaten him to it.

What was left?

The androids were coming. That was certain. That lavender-haired kid had told them some months ago, the day Kakkarot came back from wherever he was. His thoughts turned to the kid again. He had gone Super Saiyan right before his eyes, yet he knew that he and Kakkarot were the only Saiyans left in the universe. Kakkarot's brat was half Saiyan, but other than that, they were all that remained of his once mighty race

Lost in his thoughts, Vegeta fell asleep on the hill. That night, he dreamed that he had finally acheived his goal...



Bulma spent the morning in the kitchen, making herself some eggs and bacon. The night before, she was down in her laboratory, fixing the training drones Vegeta had demolished. Again. How many more times would she have to fix things for that brute?

Dr. Breif walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Bulma! Late night again?"

"Yes, Dad. I swear, if Vegeta keeps trashing those drones, I'll never have time to work on anything else."

"He he. Don't sweat it, Bulma. It's for a good cause in the end, if the androids even show up, that is." Dr. Brief rummaged through the fridge and pulled out some ham to make himself a sandwhich. "Speaking of Vegeta, where is he? He went out last night and didn't come back."

"I have no clue, dad. And frankly, I really don't care..."

Before she could finish her sentance, Vegeta came in through the door.

"What are you two staring at?" he bellowed after a moment, when he noticed the two humans staring at him. "Humph."

"Hello to you, too, grumpy..." Bulma said half under her breath.

"What?!? What did you just call me?"

"Oh get over yourself, Vegeta. The least you could do is learn how to say hello like a normal person. At least Goku has that kind of decency in him."

"Fine. Hello. Now out of my way, I'm starving." With that, Vegeta made his way to the refridgerator.

"Well," said Dr. Brief after an awkward silence, "I've got to get to the lab and get to
work on a few things. Talk to ya later." He looked at Vegeta, still hunched over in front of the fridge, and made his way out the door.

Bulma watched her father walk out the door, and sighed. 'How could he leave me here with this cocky lug?' she thought. She looked over at Vegeta, who had found what he wanted and seated himself at the table. She stood in silence, looking over the warrior who a few years before had been a threat to her very existance. Back then, she feared him like any other rival Goku and the others faced. But now, she saw him differently. It wasn't so much fear as it was annoyance. His cocky, self serving attitude and cold, mocking tone of voice. He was a big, whiney kid to her now.

Vegeta snapped his head up and looked at her with his usual cold stare. "Is something wrong, woman?"

Bulma caught herself. She had been staring at him the whole time, and didn't realize it as she lost herself in her thoughts. "What does it matter to you, you moron? You're sitting there, eating us out of house and home, and with what thanks? None, that's what. You know, Vegeta, if it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have a place to stay and train, chasing after your silly, arrogant dream of becoming like Goku..."

Vegeta stood up abruptly and turned to Bulma in anger. "Listen to me, woman. I am the Prince of Saiyans. I'm stronger than Kakkarot, and I'll prove it to all of you soon. So just leave me be!"

"Whatever, your royal pain-in-the-ass. You're obviously a prince. Only royalty would have an attitude problem like yours. And as far as Goku is concerned, if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't even be here right now to chase your ambitions. So LAY OFF ME, YOU STUPID JERK!!!" Bulma turned and stormed out of the room.

"Humph. Stupid woman." He returned to his meal, but his thoughts began to lean towards her. She didn't fear him any longer. She actually stood up to HIM! Why? He couldn't understand it. All these humans SHOULD fear him! But this one, she didn't anymore. And he let out a little grin. He liked her attitude. There was something about her that was... almost... Saiyan...



Bulma and her father had moved the Gravitational Trainer into the room accross the hall from her lab some months ago. Vegeta kept blowing it up, and it would cause a scene with the locals. This didn't make Bulma very happy, since he kept blowing it up there, too. And today was no different.

The explosion knocked Bulma out of her chair, and scattered her tools all over the floor of the lab. She picked herself up and dusted herself off. 'Jerk' she thought. As she bent over to pick up her tools, Vegeta stormed into the room.

"Get over there and fix that blasted thing, woman. How can I possibly make myself stronger if your machines can't handle what I'm doing?" He was being as cold and matter-of-factual as usual.

"What do I look like, Vegeta? Your personal pit crew? I'll fix it when I'm done with these other drones you so graciously obliterated yesterday."

"How dare you speak to me in that tone of voice, woman? Have you forgotten so soon who I am and what I could do to you if I..."

"IF YOU WHAT? Think about it, Mr. Princey Pants. If you didn't have me around to keep fixing that thing every time you send it to the scrap heap, you'ld never get stronger than Goku, though I doubt you ever could be. So you can just sit and wait for me to finish! Now get out of here before I really get mad!"

Vegeta was stunned. The look on his face was of total shock.

"Are you deaf? I said GET OUT OF HERE!"

Vegeta stood for a few more seconds, staring at the human female before him. Her face was beet red with anger. For a moment, he almost was afraid. Almost. He managed to compose himself and turned to leave.

"Vegeta..."

He stopped in his tracks, halfway out the door.

"Vegeta, I'm sorry. I've been frustrated lately. I know you're training so you can help the others beat those androids that are supposed to be coming. It's just that I've been working really hard to try to keep everything together, and I'm afraid that it just won't be enough. With you overloading the GT every other week, and all the other work I have to do, I've been stressed out. I'm sorry I got cross with you."

Vegeta stood, his back still to her. As he listened to the words she spoke, something inside him began to relax him. But how? Nothing made him relax. He was always high strung, it was part of what made him the warrior he was. But hearing the tone in her voice, hearing how despaired she must be.

"I'm... ss... ss.. sorry, Bulma..." With that, Vegeta left the lab and closed the door behind him.

Bulma herself was in shock. Vegeta, just said he was, sorry? She couldn't understand it. He'd never appologized for anything before. Not to mention he had never called her by her first name before. He had always referred to her as "woman" or "earth girl". But he had actually called her Bulma. She dropped the tools she had just picked up and continued to stare at the door...



Vegeta walked out the front door of Capsule Corp. and immediately took off. He had no particular destination, but he knew he had to get out for a while. As he flew, his thoughts raced over what had just happened. "What's wrong with me?" He didn't have the answer. Something in that woman's voice had made him feel... different, than he had always felt. It was almost as if she had shattered the warrior's soul that flowed within him. And all she had to do was speak. "Why did I say I was sorry? I'm never sorry for anything! I don't have to be!"

He flew northward and landed on a solitary mountaintop in the wilderness. There he sat beneath a large oak tree and pondered the situation. What was it that made him say what he had said to her? He stared up at the sky for a time, thinking all the while. He watched the clouds overhead, moving gently in time with the planet's rotation. 'How silly' he thought. 'There's no way a simple human female can disarm me, the Prince of Saiyans. I'm the strongest fighter in the universe! And yet, she had some sort of effect on me.' He couldn't comprehend it.

The clouds started to take on shapes as he sat. One reminded him of the pod that brought him here in the first place. Another reminded him of his old companion, Nappa. Still another seemed to take the shape of Kakkarot, with that wild hairdo of his. And then, he came to a realization. He had spent all his life destroying things, laying waste to planets, all in the name of Freiza. He had never taken time to really experience them, though. Not like he was this day. The silence around him made him relax a bit. He wondered if his home planet of Vegeta would have ever been like this. As he remembered it, Vegeta had a black sky, nearly an eternal nightfall. But this planet, it's sky was blue, just like her eyes...

Her eyes. He was thinking of Bulma again. 'Ooooo, why does she invade my every thought now? It's like a virus that doesn't go away! Am I getting weak like Kakkarot? But still, there's something about her...' No matter how he tried to play it off, he kept thinking back to her. That woman. And as he did, the feeling he felt when she said those things to him came back to him in a rush. Annoyed at this new feeling, he took off again and began to fly back towards the town.

As he flew over the quiet town Capsule Corp. called home, Vegeta looked down at the humans walking around, talking, going about their insignificant little lives. They didn't seem to notice him. Noone ever did unless he was attracting attention in battle. There were all these little humans, yet only himself and Kakkarot remained of the once mighty Saiyan race. Deep down, this upset him. Here he was, the prince of a race that had only two full blood members left. Yet these humans were plentiful. This was an emotion that he, in all his pride and Saiyan glory, could not escape: Lonliness.

As he flew over the area that the humans called "Downtown", something caught his eye. It was that other human, the one they called Yamcha. And he wasn't alone. Vegeta flew down closer to see what he was up to.



Yamcha and a blonde girl sat at a local coffee shop, laughing and holding hands. "So, anyway, this alien guy shows up, right, and starts demanding to know where the Dragonballs are so he can wish to be immortal. But we weren't having any of that, and we all started whooping up on this dude. When we were done with him, he went running back to space crying. He learned not to mess with me and my crew!"

"Oh, Yamcha, you're so brave!" The girl said.

"Yeah, but it's all part of the job, really." He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. They sat there, staring at each other. He didn't even notice the Saiyan Prince landing nearby, watching them with interest...

'Well well well' Vegeta thought to himself. 'Isn't that the one who's supposed to be that woman's mate? What's he doing out with another woman?' It's known throughout the universe that Saiyans have very acute hearing, and Vegeta heard every word Yamcha spoke to the girl. He was talking about his fight with Kakkarot and making it sound as if he were the hero and the Saiyan was nothing more than a coward. This made him very angry...

"So, anyway," Yamcha stood up from the table and motioned for his lady friend to do the same, "Where do you wanna go now, baby?"

By this time, Vegeta stood behind Yamcha, hiding his power level so the human wouldn't sense his presence. "Why don't you start by sitting that woman back down and telling her what REALLLLLLY happened that day, you worthless little insect."

Yamcha felt a chill run up and down his spine as he realized who's voice it was. "V.. v... ve... Vegeta! What are you doing here?" He turned to see his former foe standing against the wall of the coffee shop, his arms crossed in his usual, defiant pose, sporting an evil grin he had become all too familiar with.

"Why don't you begin at the part where you and your 'crew' sent me crying back to outer space. Or should I tell her about how I nearly destroyed you if Kakkarot hadn't been there to save your sorry hide?"

"Awww, come on, Vegeta. Ha ha! I was just kidding. Really..."

Vegeta wouldn't let him finish. "And besides, don't you already have a woman, that one called Bulma? What are you doing here with this one, eh, Yamcha?"

Yamcha froze in fear. Of all the people to catch him moonlighting with other girls, it had to be Vegeta. "Uhhh, you'll have to excuse me, I got, uhhh, some training to catch up on, yeah! Heh heh." He took off running like a bat out of hell down the street. His lady friend remained, staring with wonder at Vegeta.

"What are you looking at? Shows over, little girl. Why don't you go home and do your nails or something." And with that, he took off and headed back to the Capsule Compound to see how things were going with his GT. The girl, still as awestruck as she was when Yamcha had told him that phoney story, simply fainted.

As Vegeta flew away from the scene, his smile turned to a serious scowl. After hearing what Bulma had said to him earlier, he thought how this would add to her hardships. And then he caught himself. Why did he care? What made him so overly involved with how this woman felt? What was happening to him?



The rest of that week was pretty much the same as any other week. Bulma had repaired the GT, and Vegeta went right back to his training. They hadn't spoken to each other at all. But in the back of his mind, Vegeta was thinking about the other day when he caught Yamcha with that other woman. He had felt like telling her on several occasions, but something kept him from doing it. To take his mind off of the whole matter, he devoted himself to his training. But as he worked his body to it's limits, the thought of how that would affect the woman ate away at his concentration.

He kept his silence until that Saturday night. Bulma had been out all day doing her weekly shopping, and Vegeta spent the day as usual, training. It wasn't until after dark that he came out of the GT and made his way into the house. His first stop was the refridgerator. Training always made him extra hungry, and turned Bulma's shopping trips into grocery convoys like no other. Deep down, he felt himself appreciate what she was doing for the first time. But he quickly squashed those feelings and sat down to a large meal, even for his appetite.

After he finished eating, he headed to his room. For some reason, the humans had placed him in the room directly next door to Bulma's. As he walked by, he heard her screaming. She was the only one in the room, so he figured she must be on the device they called the "telephone". Curious as to why she was so angry, he stood by her door and listened as she shouted obscenities to whoever was on the other end. He managed a smile. 'The woman deffinately has some spark in her. She's a real firecracker' he laughed as he thought. But then, suddenly, he heard her scream "YOU ASSHOLE!" and slam the phone down on the hook. What he heard next again made those unknown feelings swell up inside him: she began to cry.

As he lay in his bed, Vegeta could hear Bulma in the next room, crying to no end. Normally, he would have ignored it, playing it off as human weakness, the same kind Kakkarot was prone to at times. But tonight, his thoughts were not of how weak and pathetic humans were. They were on the woman. Something must have really hurt her to make her this upset. He listened quietly for some time, until there was no sound coming from her room. 'Must have cried herself to sleep' he thought. As he drifted off to sleep, a single tear made it's way down his cheek.



The next day, Vegeta trained with a renewed sense of urgency. The thoughts of the previous night were with him, and he struggled to comprehend why. This only made him fight harder. As he laid waste to one drone after another, he wrestled with the feelings he had been experiencing over the last week. 'I am the Prince of Saiyans, the strongest fighter in the universe! What's wrong with me? Why am I allowing myself to get weak-hearted like Kakkarot does? I'm stronger than he is! His feelings are his weakness!'

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!?" He let out a blast like no other, and blew the GT's drones to bits. He stood there, breathing heavily. The computer in the trainer chattered that it was ending the gravity simulation, which was set at 350 times the earth's normal gravity. All he could do was stare at the monitor. His every thought should be on training, not the petty squabbles of the humans. Yet, that's exactly where they were. And this scared him.

Vegeta walked out of the room which housed the GT, and made his way down the hall. He paused as he heard Bulma working in her lab, and stepped back to the door. From behind it, he could hear her muttering something about Yamcha. Had she found out about the other day? Did she know? He had to find out. Slowly, he opened the lab door...

"Stupid Yamcha. Why does he have to do that sort of thing when he knows things are as bad as they are? I should have known a long time ago I couldn't trust him. Why did I go back out with him? 'Oh Bulma, I'm sorry, it'll never happen again, I promise', yeah, right. How could I be so stupid?" She was hunched over a series of gadgets, working furiously. She didn't notice that Vegeta was behind her. "That jerk. Going out with all these bimbos all the time, never thinking about what he's doing to me. He should be training to fight these androids, not sewing his wild oats." In her frustration, a knife she was working with slipped from her hand, and cut her palm rather badly. "Oooooh, DAMNIT!" she yelled, and clasped her hand. She bagan to cry.

Vegeta stood there. He didn't know what to do or say. Seeing her sitting there, crying over what that stupid human man had done to her, he felt the rush of those feelings coming over him again. But he supressed them again, and spoke.

"What's the matter with you, woman? Why are you crying?" He said in his usual tone.

"What does it matter to you?" She yelled at him without turning around. Vegeta said nothing. "Well, if you must know, Mr. High and Mighty, I've cut my hand, not to mention Yamcha has been nothing short of a moron lately." She was still sobbing slightly, trying to hide her feelings as well.

"Let me see the cut woman. It can't be all that bad." He stepped towards her, but she swung at him with her uninjured hand.

"Back off, Captain Ego. I don't need your help. Besides, it's not like you care anyway..."

"I said let me see the cut, you crazy woman!" He took her hand and examined the wound. And it hit him. He couldn't supress it any longer. Touching her hand made him overflow with that feeling that had been haunting him all week. "It's not very bad at all. Just get some bandages on it and it will be fine."

Bulma, still crying a bit, turned to look at the Saiyan now holding her hand. "Wha... What did you say?"

"Did I stutter? I said get some bandages on it and it will be alright. Are you deaf, woman?"

Bulma could only stare at him. Had he really said that? Had he actually shown some concern over her injury? Vegeta? She couldn't believe it. She just stared at him, speachless.

Vegeta's eyes moved and met hers. There they were. Those eyes. The ones he was reminded of that day on the mountain. He found himself helpless. He couldn't tear himself away from her gaze. For some reason, he was frozen. And, in that instant, his cold, Saiyan heart seemed to melt. He felt warm, a feeling he had never felt before in his life. Was this woman getting to him? Yes, he thought, but couldn't do anything to stop what he felt. He was powerless...

"Vegeta..." Bulma was almost smiling now, though tears were still running down her cheeks. Vegeta reached up with his other hand and wiped them away. 'Is this the same Vegeta?' Bulma thought. 'But why is he acting like this?' As she looked into his black eyes, she noticed that they didn't look as distant as they had before. Her heart began to race like it never had before. A feeling of comfort and trust overcame her. But, around Vegeta?

The Saiyan Prince was equally as speachless. He was totally disarmed now, unable to tear his gaze from hers. It was though they were locked in a moment in time. He felt his heart begin to beat furiously, and he had no clue why. This woman was getting to him, and for some reason, he didn't care. All he could do was stare at those big blue eyes of hers...

"Vegeta, I should go get some bandages on this cut..." Bulma spoke in a near whisper, but still she didn't move. The blood from her cut ran down onto Vegeta's white glove, but neither of them seemed to pay it any mind. Finally, Bulma was able to regain her senses. "Really, I've got to go take care of this." She pulled her hand away from his, still staring into his eyes. There was something different about him now, almost human. She made her way out of the lab, and as she left, a smile crossed her lips as she looked back at Vegeta, who was still staring off into space...



That night, Vegeta sat on top of the main housing building of the Capsule Corp. compound, staring up at the stars. For the first time in a long time, he was at ease. Kakkarot wasn't around, and he felt that he could let his pride go for a bit. His thoughts were on Bulma. She was the only person, Saiyan or otherwise, to ever see him as he was earlier in the lab. And yet, for some reason, he was OK with it. He didn't understand why he felt this way, but he reasoned that it can't be all that bad.

What harm could she cause? And in all his years, he had felt so alone. But now he had some sort of bond with her, and that void was slowly being filled. He stared at the night sky, wondering at which ones had planets which he destroyed. All those systems, countless civilizations, obliterated at his hand. Yet this one, this one remained. And on it, he had found someone who made him feel different, like he never had felt before.

Was he becoming soft like Kakkarot? Was this place starting to affect him as it did his rival? No, he thought. He was, after all, the Prince of the Saiyans. But what did that matter? Being that there were only two left, he and Kakkarot, he had no people over which to rule as he rightfully should. There was no point in it.

All he ever had was taken away by Freiza, and now he was gone, dead at the hands of that mysterious young Super Saiyan. Even his father, King Cold, fell at the hands of that strange youth. How could that boy be a Saiyan? And so powerful a Saiyan, at that? He felt himself start to drift off to sleep, when he heard a sound behind him.

"Vegeta?" It was Bulma. She had climed up onto the roof after him.

"What do you want, woman?"

"What are you doing up here this late?"

"It's none of your business, now leave me alone."

"Listen to you. Always with that pompus attitude. The big loner, Mr. I'm The Prince of Saiyans. What is your major malfunction?"

Vegeta heard the demeanor in her voice, and for some reason, he let his guard down a bit. "If you must know, I'm thinking about what all has happened. My home planet, Freiza, and that kid that did him in. It all doesn't make any sense."

"It must be hard for you, knowing that you're one of the last of your kind."

"You have no idea how it feels, woman. You wouldn't know, because Kakkarot got lucky and kept me from doing the same to your kind and this pitiful rock."

"Hey, look, you don't have to get testy with me. I didn't come up here to take that kind of abuse from you."

"Then why did you come up here? Why are you so concerned with me?"

"Vegeta, earlier, when I cut my hand, I noticed something. Something different. It was almost like you actually cared about me..."

"Well, don't get too used to it. You caught me at a moment when I wasn't feeling like myself."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't get used to it. No matter what, you'll always be the same Vegeta we all know and hate."

"Glad to see that you feel the same way I do. Now then, if you don't mind, I'd like to be..."

Vegeta was cut off by Bulma, who laid down next to him, stairing up at the sky along with him.

"So, how many of them have you been to? I was only to two of them, that weird planet we thought was Namek and Namek itself. You must have been to hundreds..."

Vegeta couldn't say a word. He was in shock that she totally ignored him telling her to go away. He looked over at her for a moment, then looked back up to the sky above. "I never kept track of how many planets I went to. It didn't matter when I was working for that scum bag Freiza. And most of them, I destroyed. So it's not like I took the time to care, either."

"Oh, come on, Vegeta, drop the attitude and talk to me! You don't know how lonely it gets having everyone thinking you're just a mechanical genious tomboy. Or a meaningless ex like that idiot Yamcha."

Vegeta felt his heart growing warm again. So she did feel like he did. He wasn't alone in his lonliness. Though he had lost nearly all of his kind, here was another being in the universe that felt the way he did. Alone.

"I don't know why he has to keep doing that. Hell, I don't even know why I keep giving him another chance. He can be such an ass. It's guys like him that make me think there isn't a man in the universe that understands what love is."

Love. Was that what was taking over his mind, his body? Was it that emotion the humans called love? He had seen it when Kakkarot and his wife were together. They fought alot, but in the end, they remained true to each other. And their son, that brat Gohan. When they were wished back from Namek, he fiercely defended his father though things seemed impossible. Was that love? Was that what he was feeling now?

Bulma, in a bold move, moved her head and rested it on Vegeta's shoulder. "You must feel alone, Vegeta. You and Goku are the only Saiyans left. That's gotta make you feel so lonely. Well, you're not the only one. Sure, there are a bunch of other humans around, yeah. But in the end, I feel like I'm an outcast. They all think I'm Mrs. Fixit. They don't seem to know how I feel..."

How she feels. These words struck a chord in Vegeta's soul. She understood him. In a way, she understood what made him who he was. The anger, the feelings of vengance he had against Freiza. She felt them too, on her own level. He felt the urge to yell at her and tell her to stop her mindless drivel, how her emotions made her weak. But then he'd be exposing himself in the process.

"Bulma..."

He had said it again. He had said her name. She tilted her head in his shoulder to look at him as he spoke. "Yes, Vegeta?"

"I... I... I understand how you feel..."

It was all he had to say. It wasn't much, but it got the point accross. She raised her head and looked at him as he stared at the vast expanse of starlit heavens above them. He seemed to be like a child to her, a scared, lonesome boy. He had opened up to her. The cold, murdurous Saiyan seemed more human than ever before to her. She smiled. This was a side of Vegeta noone had ever seen before. So, there was a light shining in his dark heart.

A chill breeze blew accross the two, and Bulma began to shiver. She threw her arm around the Saiyan Prince and pulled herself closer to him. Vegeta was in a small state of shock. He felt her shivering up against his body. But, he didn't yell. How could he? This woman was the only one who seemed to understand him, even if it was only some small part of his being. One that noone ever knew about, not even Nappa. But she had figured it out without effort. He put his arm around her and pulled her close.

The breeze kept going, and she continued to shiver. Without a second thought, Vegeta pulled her closer and powered up his ki, generating a small warm glow around them. She stopped shivering and snuggled close to him, and was soon fast asleep. He looked down at her. She was so peaceful. And at that moment, he realized that he too, for the first time in his life, was feeling rather peaceful himself. He smiled and drifted off to sleep himself...

 

Chapter 2

 

 

 

"For as long as I can remember, even when I was a little girl, I had this vision in my mind. One time, my father had read me the story of Cinderella. How a Prince was looking for the girl of his dreams. A fairy godmother came and gave Cinderella her wish. She then got to dance the night away with her love, the handsome Prince. But, at midnight, it was all taken away from her, and she ran off, thinking she'd be alone forever.

"But, a few days later, her Prince came for her. The glass slipper he had with him fit her, and she magically regained all that made her more than just a step sister. In the end, she had found her Prince, and lived Happily Ever After...

"And then there's me. In fairy tales, the Prince always comes to take the maiden away and ride off into the sunset, totally in love. That'll never happen to me at this rate. Yamcha has been acting totally weird, being a total jerk. Why doesn't he even try to see what's going on with me? I don't think he'll ever understand. He's coming over tonight to talk to me. I can only hope that I can make him see. If he can't, I guess I'll have to stay lost and alone for the rest of my life. I might never find my Prince at this rate..."

Bulma closed her journal and sighed. It seemed like she was writing this same story over and over again. Yamcha could be such a moron. Acting all sneaky and never being able to give her a straight answer about anything he had been doing while he was gone. She had long ago settled on the probable cause: He was out with other girls. But she never had the proof she needed. Tonight, she would confront him about it and settle it once and for all. She couldn't take much more heartbreak...

An explosion rocked the house. 'Vegeta again. I'll bet he trashed his trainer for the millionth time.' There was no end to the cycle. Vegeta would overload the gravitational trainer, she would fix it. He would be good for a week or so, then he would blow it up again. It went on and on like that. And it made her mad...

She stormed down to the lab and got her tool belt strapped on. She then made her way to the trainer room, and was given a bad surprise when she opened the door. Amid the debris and smoke of the ruined trainer she found Vegeta, buried underneath a pile of rubble. All she could see was his right hand laying limp on what was left of the control panel.

"Oh my god! Vegeta!" She ran to his aid, digging through what was left of the former ceiling of the trainer. Deep inside her, her heart raced. She was moving with a determination she had never before shown. "Vegeta, say something, give me a sign. Oh god, Vegeta..."

As she uncovered him, she found him to be unconcious and unresponsive. She cradled him on her lap immediately, and began to try anything she could to bring the Saiyan warrior back to reality. "Vegeta, speak to me! Oh, this isn't good, SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Vegeta awoke to find himself in new surroundings. His vision was blurry, and he couldn't make out anything. All he saw above him was what he thought to be a white ceiling. 'Where... where am I? How did I get here? Oooohhh, my whole body hurts like crazy! What the hell happened to me?' His thoughts were racing. He tried to piece together the details of the recent past. 'I remember working out in the GT. The gravity was set at 375, and things were going alright, arrrgh! It's still a blur...'

He closed his eyes and opened them again, half hoping that the world would clear itself up a bit. There was some improvement, but not much. He turned his head to one side, hoping to get some clue as to his surroundings. He barely made out the outline of someone sitting on a chair. From what he could tell in his weak state, that person was face down on what looked like a desk of some kind. Their face was turned away from him, all he could really see was a bluish blur. He could only think of one person he knew with that color hair...

"Bul... m... ma..." His voice was barely a whisper, his strength wasn't even enough to give it much of a tone at all. With that, he passed back out, too weak to even stay awake.

Bulma stirred a bit, she had heard something. She opened her eyes and looked around, her mind still groggy from the nap she had apparently been taking. "Hmm, I must have dozed off. Oh! Vegeta!" She turned to her patient, who lay on his bed, still out cold. "Hmm, no change. Oh Vegeta, why do you have to push yourself so hard? You've really got me worried."

She looked at him for a little while. It all seemed so strange, seeing him here like this. The proud Saiyan now unconcious and bedridden. He looked like a child to her. A hurt little boy too proud to think about getting help. But this time, he was too hurt to have the choice. He looked so helpless. 'I wish I knew what made him so driven. Is it because of the androids? Or is it because of his lonliness? Please, Vegeta, get better. You've got to.' As she thought, a single tear formed and ran down her cheek. She got up from the desk and made her way out of his room. As she closed the door, she paused to look at him one more time. 'You've got to get better, Vegeta. Don't leave me alone again...'



Vegeta awoke again, his head still ringing a bit from the blast that had knocked him out. "Arrrrgh. My head is exploding! I guess I lost a rough battle with that machine of theirs. Oooo." He sat up slowly and looked around. He was in his room, in his own bed. "They must have brought me up here after the explosion. I don't see why, they know I'd be fine, even after a jolt like that one." He swung his legs around to the side of the bed and tried to get up, but he couldn't make it very far.

He brought his hand down onto the desk next to his bed to right himself as he fell back, and he felt something on the top, under his hand. After he shook some cobwebs out of his mind, he picked the object up from the desk and looked at it. It was an earring. "How did this worthless bobble get in here? Oh, wait, it must belong to... Bulma..."

Amid the pain and anguish his body was going through, it came again. It overtook the pain he was feeling. That same feeling he had experienced that night on the roof when he talked to her. It was happening again, and again, it made him scared. He could only stare at the earring, wide eyed from the emotions swirling through him. 'Why does simply picking up a meaningless nick nack make me feel this way? How can something as stupid as this little rock do this to me? Bulma... What is this power that you seem to have over me?' Suddenly, he heard shouting coming from the next room.

"What? What's going on over there?" Vegeta slowly got up and limped his way towards the wall that seperated his room from Bulma's. He stumbled and fell to one knee, his body wincing from the pain. But he sucked it all up and got back to his feet, and continued on untill he reached his destination. He pressed his ear up to the wall and listened...

"Yamcha, what the hell is your problem?" It was Bulma. That pathetic human Yamcha must be in there with her...

"Look, Bulma, you know I can't help myself. I mean, I get it from Master Roshi, really..."

"I don't care where you get it from. You shouldn't get it at all. You were supposed to have quit this nonsense a long time ago. And now I find out that you were with another girl. Hell, Yajirobi even told me that Vegeta gave you a good earful."

"That little snake in the grass! When I get my hands on him, I'll..."

"You'll what, Yamcha? Beat him up because he caught you with one of your little bimbos? That's pretty pathetic, Yamcha. Blaming Yajirobi when you know full well that you're the guilty party. You're such a jack ass, you know."

Vegeta squeezed tighter on the earing in his hand and lifted it up. He looked at the tiny piece of jewelry and smiled. 'She really is almost Saiyan. She's got some serious fire burning inside of her.' He pressed his ear back to the wall and listened some more.

"Come on, Yamcha, get over it. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but even Vegeta has more sense in him than you do. You must be doing something wrong if HE even says you're in the wrong. You're such an idiot..."

"Vegeta? There's no way he could ever be a better man than me! That bastard doesn't even have a sympathetic bone in his whole chimpanzee body! I'm 10 times the man he is..."

"More like 10 times the simian. Face it, Yamcha. You're a womanizing loser. Now get out of my face and don't ever come near me again, not while you still think you can convince me that there's a good reason why I should ever go out with you again. There is no good reason."

"Yes there is, Bulma. Give me one more chance, I can change, I swear it! You don't know how sorry I really am..."

Vegeta was growing sick and tired of hearing Yamcha's lies. Such a coward, trying to talk his way out of a hole instead of taking his punishment like a man. He wasn't anywhere near the warrior he was.

"Yamcha, there is nothing you can say to me that would make me give you another chance. Now I believe I told you to leave..."

Yamcha reached out in desperation and grabbed Bulma by the arm. "Bulma, you've got to listen to me..."

"Yamcha, let go. You're hurting me..."

"I swear, Bulma, this is the last time. I'm done with all the other women!"

"Yamcha, LET GO OF ME!!!"

Vegeta couldn't take anymore. A shot of adrenaline coarsed through his veins, and he powered up his ki as much as he could in his injured state. "NO MORE!" He screamed and blasted his way through the wall. He now stood in Bulma's room, staring Yamcha down with his icy glare. He didn't speak a word, he just stared at the man before him. Bulma stood in shock. She looked at the hole in her wall, then back to who had come through it.

Almost as suddenly as he broke in, Vegeta took off straight for Yamcha. He grabbed him and plowed him through the wall by the door leading out to Bulma's balcony, and flew up into the sky over the compound. There, he hung Yamcha in midair, staring into his eyes with hatred. But this hatred was different, and had different origins...

Bulma ran out onto her balcony and looked up at the two men floating above her home. What had made Vegeta pull a stunt like this? All she could do was look as Vegeta seemed to be saying something to her former beau. After a few moments, she was even more surprised to see Vegeta let Yamcha go. Normally, when Vegeta was angered by something or someone, he wouldn't stop until he had demolished them. But he actually let Yamcha go. As Yamcha flew away, Bulma turned her stare to Vegeta, who was now flying back to her room.

Vegeta landed next to her, and immediately collapsed to his knees. Bulma hurriedly came to his aid again. "What are you doing out of bed, Vegeta? You know you're too weak yet to do much of anything, let alone this. What the hell possessed you to do that, anyway?"

"He... he was... hurting... you..."

"What?" She couldn't believe it. The mighty Saiyan, who she always looked at as a brutal murderer, was now showing compassion for someone else. And, to make things more interesting, he was showing compassion for her. "Vegeta, you've got to get back into bed. You're going to kill yourself if you don't rest."

"I'm alright, woman. And I don't need your..." He fell onto his side, clutching his body in severe pain.

"Whatever, Vegeta. I'm taking you to bed, right now." She picked him up and helped him through the new entrance to his room and into his bed. After she got him situated, she sat down at the desk and turned to him. "What the heck did you say to Yamcha out there? And weirder still, why did you let him go?"

Still weak from his outburst, Vegeta resolved to speak softly. "I told him that I didn't want to see him around you for a very long time. You don't deserve to be treated like that by apathetic person like him. And I let him go because killing him would have only made you hurt worse that you do now."

"My God. What's gotten into you, Vegeta? Since when did you care about me so much? You must have been eavesdropping while he and I were fighting. What the heck am I going to do about those holes you put in the walls? What were you thinking, Vegeta?"

There was no answer.

"Vegeta?" She looked over to see the Saiyan Prince, asleep. She smiled. He looked so vulnerable lying there. She looked down to his hand, which still held her earring. "There it is. I wonder how he got it?" And then she remembered her nap. It must have fallen out while she was sleeping at the desk, and he found it when he woke up. But he had held onto it the whole time? Her heart skipped a beat, and she sighed. "Get some rest, Vegeta." She ran her hand down his cheek, and he stirred a bit. 'Maybe I shouldn't give up on finding my Prince.' she thought to herself, and layed her head down on the desk. She looked at him for a time, and drifted off to sleep.

Vegeta awoke and looked around. He wasn't in as much pain as he had been the night before. The vague memories of the incident with Yamcha began to flow back into his memory. He remembered taking him through the wall and chewing his ear off about the way he was hurting Bulma, and how he told him to never come near her again. Humans could be so pathetic sometimes.

He rolled his head towards the desk, where he saw Bulma sitting in the chair, her head laid down in her arms, fast asleep. 'What is she doing here? Did she sit there with me all night? Why?' He couldn't figure out what she was thinking. As he stared at her, the new feelings gushed up inside of him. He was getting all too familiar with them, but at the same time he was getting used to them. As long as noone but her saw them, he could retain his pride.

Slowly, he sat up and put his hand to his head. He still had one serious headache. Must have come from going through the wall in his weakened condition. He made his way to his feet, but doubled over from the pain. As he hit the floor, the noise woke Bulma up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the bed, only to find Vegeta not in it. She looked behind her and saw him laying on the floor, cringing in pain.

"Vegeta? What are you doing?"

Vegeta looked up at her with something of an annoyed look on his face. "I... I'm starving. I need... something to eat..."

"Oh, well you're never going to get to the kitchen like that, silly. Here, let me help you."

"No! I don't need your help. I can make it there on my own, even if it kills me to do so."

"Come on, Vegeta. Drop the attitude and let me help you."

There was no way he could resist. He couldn't move very well under his own power, and she was being as adamant as ever. He only hoped that noone else would see him being assisted by a human, let alone a human female. If Kakkarot knew that this was happening to him, it would be a serious blow to his pride...



"It's all clear, Vegeta, come on. You big baby..." Bulma tugged on Vegeta's arm to get him moving. The Saiyan warrior had told her to make absolutely sure that noone was watching him while he moved from his room upstairs to the kitchen on the first level. They were at long last there. He kept pushing her ahead of him, just to make sure, and she was getting tired of being yelled at. Deep down, though, she found it rather amusing to see him like this.

She sat him down at the table and began to rummage through the fridge for a
breakfast fit for a prince. Vegeta sat staring at the table top. The Mighty Prince of Saiyans, reduced to getting aid from a human female. He was actually releived to know that noone else had seen him in this state.

"What do you want, Vegeta? We have eggs in here, and sausage, yummy! There's bacon, and orange juice..." Bulma was calling off options to him with her head still nose first in the ice box. Vegeta turned to look in her direction and answer, but his answer never came. His gaze instead met with squarely with the seat of Bulma's pants. 'There it is again! What is it about this woman? Although, I haven't really seen a good female in some time, and she... is... rather attractive, I suppose... Oooooh, what am I thinking, I'm becoming more and more like..."

"Vegeta? Vegeta, hello..." Bulma was still calling to him, waiting for his breakfast order. "Come on, Vegeta, it's cold in here. Tell me what you want to eat already!"

Quickly realizing that he'd been staring the whole time, lost in his thoughts, Vegeta snapped his attention back to the tabletop quickly and answered. "Whatever you like, Bulma, I'm sure it will do fine..." He turned slightly to look at her again. And when he saw her, she was looking at him as though she were suddenly awestruck...

Bulma couldn't believe it. She stood there, staring at Vegeta, unable to speak much at all. The mighty Saiyan, Mr. Take No Prisoners, had suddenly shown a true moment of calm. She couldn't understand it. And then, as it came to Vegeta, it came to her. That unrelenting feeling. In her state of shock, she was powerless against it. He turned to look at her fully now, and she was immediately overcome with with a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time. Her knees felt like rubber, her heart was in Indy 500 mode. She took short, desperate breaths as if she had the wind knocked out of her. Without realizing it, she dropped the still unopened milk carton, which landed upright, unharmed. But still, she stared...

'Hello, Vegeta...'

Vegeta totally ignored the milk carton. He was fixated on her gaze. He watched as she stood there, seemingly unable to move. His mind raced as he tried to piece together the jigsaw that were his feelings and thoughts, scrambled inside his head. 'She, she's looking at me. Why is she looking at me that way? Could it be that I have the effect on her she has on me? Did I actually do this?' Like a giant tsunami, Vegeta was completely overtaken by the new emotion he had been feeling these past few weeks. It was then he realized that it all had come together in a flash. That was it. That was the emotion that eluded him all his life, the one that was ripped away from him by that tyrant. He had found the part of him that was missing...

'Hello, Bulma...'

"HEY KIDS!" Vegeta and Bulma both jumped a mile high as Dr. Breif entered the kitchen from outside. "What's going on with you two this fine morning, eh? Whatcha got good cookin, eh, Bulma? Ha haaaaa! And how about you, Vegeta, feeling any better, son? Thaaaaat's good..."

"I'm not your son, old man, and for you're information I feel perfectly fine. I'm merely taking a repreive from my training. Now, if your satisfied, get the hell out of my face, I'm really not in the mood right now..."

"Gee wiz, Vegeta. Heh heh. No need to get all cranky now..."

Vegeta turned his head to the old scientist and shot him an icy glare. "You want to see me get cranky, gadget man?"

Dr. Breif realized that he was setting Vegeta off on one of his ego trips again. He knew better, but he just couldn't help himself. "Well, I think I'll be heading off to the Lab. Gotta work on that enhancement you want for the trainer to send it to 450 times Earth's normal gravity. Lord knows why you wanna train at that ungodly level. I think it'll rip you in two..."

"It doesn't matter what you think old man, just make the changes. I'll become a Super Saiyan even if it kills me..."

"Well, you don't have to go that far. Anyway, ta ta! I'll get breakfast somewhere in town." Dr. Breif turned, and muttered something under his breath that Vegeta couldn't quite make out. At this point, he didn't really care what the old man had said. He wasn't feeling up to hearing more pointless gibberish from that senile human.

"Well, I'd better start cooking. The way you eat this could take till an hour after lunch..." And Bulma began to prepare their food. Neither spoke a word to each other for the remainder of the morning.



Vegeta's Saiyan biology caused him to heal quicker than humans, but it still took a good amount of time. That evening, Vegeta had regained enough strength to move around without too much trouble. His muscles still ached as he moved, but he put the pain in the back of his mind. He had to, otherwise he'd dwell on it and make himself feel worse. He stood at his window, looking out over the compound.

He looked up to the skyline. The sun had gone down a few minutes ago, and all that remained held his attention. It was a mixture of bright red, fading down to violet and ultimately the black of night as he went up. Above the colorful skyline was a single star, the first one of the young night. Since he was here on earth, he had heard a silly legend. According to it, if you wished on the first star of the evening with some silly little rhyme, your wish would come true. Nothing compared to the Dragonballs, which could actually grant wishes, but he pondered it for a time. He decided, since noone was looking, that he would recite the poem out of sheer curiosity.

"Now, how did Bulma say it went again? Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight... I..." He searched for the words carefully, not wanting to put a hex on the whole crazy process. "I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might..." How did she finish it again? His head was still acheing from his injuries, and thinking made it hurt a little more. "Have... this wish... I wish tonight..." He sighed as he lowered his head to make his wish.

"All my life I wished for immortality. To be the strongest fighter in the entire universe. But tonight, that's not even close to what I want. I wish I could understand what was happening to me. What makes me feel the way I do around her? What is it that makes me go soft when she's around? This has been gnawing at my soul for weeks now. All I want is to know why..."

Vegeta hadn't heard the door opening behind him. Bulma was standing in the archway, looking at him with quiet wonder. "Vegeta?"

Vegeta didn't jump like he normally did. He didn't snap at her and tell her to leave him alone. The truth was, he didn't want her to leave him alone. He just turned his head and looked at her. He even managed a smile. "Hello, Bulma."

"I thought I'd check in on you, see what you were up to. You feeling better?"

"Yes, I am. But I still hurt somewhat. It's no matter, though. Soon I'll be back to my old self."

"Why am I afraid of that notion? He he he! Just kidding. What are you looking at over there?" She walked accross the room to the window where Vegeta stood, and looked out. "It's lovely, isn't it, Vegeta?" Without thinking, she leaned back into him, laying her head between his arm and shoulder.

"Bulma..." Vegeta couldn't speak. Those feelings were as strong as ever. He searched for the words he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure about any of them. Not yet, at least. "Yes. Yes, it is quite lovely. I never really stoped to notice it before."

He looked out at the star he had just wished on, and looked down at her. The evening sky was reflecting in her eyes. The shades of color danced and played with the blue in her eyes. Vegeta was transfixed. 'How do I explain it all to her? And how will she take it? She knows me as a tyrant, an arrogant snob. How could she understand what's going through my mind?' At that moment, he made his decision. He reached down, opened the window, and then took Bulma into his arms around her waist.

"Vegeta, what are you doing?" She was surprised by his bold move.

"I want you to come somewhere with me, right now."

"Right now? Are you sure you're strong enough to fly? I mean, you're still hurt and all, and..." She didn't have a chance to finish. The next thing she knew, she was floating high above the town. She threw her arms around his neck in a panic, and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened them to find herself flying over a tranquil wilderness, the woods to the north of town. "Where are we going, Vegeta?"

"You'll see soon enough." He flew on for a few more moments before beginning to decend at a very quick rate. Bulma tightened her grip on the Saiyan, afraid she was going to crash. To her surprise, she felt herself slow to a near stop in an instant. Vegeta set her onto the ground. "This is the mountain top where I first began to think about what this planet meant to me. It was here that I first sat back and just... looked at the world around me. I had never done that before, no matter how many planets I've been to. And as I took in everything, my thoughts kept drifting back to one thing. The one thing that seems to make being stranded on this rock worthwhile..."

"Wow. Vegeta, this spot is so lovely! No wonder you were able to relax and look around. There isn't anything else here to distract you."

"No, there isn't. It was here that I began to come to terms with something. A change that's been taking place inside of me. At first I was afraid of it. But now, I only want to understand why it happens." He turned away from her and started to walk towards the edge of the mountain top. "Every time I was around that something, these... feelings... began to swell up inside of me. It clouded my judgement, and even made me feel as if I was becoming soft like Kakkarot. But at the same time, it made me feel at ease. That's something I haven't felt my entire life."

"Vegeta, I don't think I understand..."

"That something is..." He turned back to her and looked her straight in the eyes. "You, Bulma."

"What?"

"It's you. Everytime I look at the sky, I'm reminded of your eyes. Everytime you touch me, I become helpless. Everytime I hear your voice, the raging fire that burns in my soul is doused. My heart beats like it's never beaten, not even like when I battled Freiza or Kakkarot. It's you, you're the cause of all this."

"Me? Vegeta..." She didn't know what to say. Vegeta had just poured his heart out to her. She couldn't move, couldn't tear her gaze away from his. They were standing mearly 5 feet apart, yet she felt so close to him. He had touched her heart like noone had ever done before. She tried to speak. "Vegeta... I don't know what... what to say..."

"I don't want you to say anything. I only want one thing. Help me understand what's happening to me. Help me figure out how to..." He walked to her and took her face in his hand. "How... to love..." And with that, he pulled her close to him and looked in her eyes. The star, the same one he had wished on, shone brightly in them. Possessed by a demon he did not understand, he closed his eyes, brought his lips to hers, and gently kissed her...

That moment, to them, seemed like an eternity. Two beings, as different as can be, brought together by fate. Was it really fate? Neither of them knew for sure, but neither cared. They were caught in the moment, frozen in time. It was just them, the rest of the world seemed so far away. When it was over, Vegeta opened his eyes and looked at the woman standing before him. Her eyes were closed as well, she was still reeling from the kiss. She slowly opened them, their gaze focused squarely on him.

"Bulma," he said, "Earlier, when you said the night was lovely. It cannot compare to how lovely you look tonight..."

Bulma threw her arms around Vegeta's neck again, and laid her head on his chest. "Vegeta..."

"Yes, Bulma?"

"Thank you..."

They didn't speak another word for some time. They didn't have to. Above them, the star which Vegeta had wished on shone brightly, pulsating with it's white light, as if to signal the begining of something magical...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

Bulma was working in her lab late one night. Though it was around 2 AM, she was full of energy. She danced around her gadgets and tables, singing to herself. Her moment with Vegeta only two nights before had left her feeling like she was reborn. Her Prince had finally come for her.

Accross the hall, Vegeta sat in the GT. He had been training exceptionally hard that day, and had finally ended the 390 times gravity simulation. Sweat seemed to gush out of his pores as he sat, winded. His newfound energy was all owed to Bulma. The time he had spent with her somehow rejuvinated him, adding to his already speedy Saiyan healing ability. It also gave him a reason other than Kakkarot to train his hardest.

He shut down the GT for the night and made his way into the hall. Before he was going to go upstairs, though, he resolved to discuss something with Bulma. He knocked on the door to her lab, and opened it slightly...

"Um... Bulma?"

Bulma spun around happily to see her Saiyan Prince standing in the doorway.
"Vegeta! Are you finally done training? You've been in there all day..."

"I could say the same for you. You've been in here since breakfast."

"Oh, I know. I've been busy all day. I couldn't seem to figure out the upgrades for the Dragon Radar, and didn't get it right till about an hour ago. But I didn't even get mad. And it's all thanks to you." She smiled and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Bulma, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

"Well, silly, go ahead! You've got my attention..."

"Bulma... It's about... it's about us..."

Suddenly, Bulma's smile turned into a look of despair.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like you would think. I still want to continue spending time with you and all, but something is bothering me..."

Bulma sighed in releif. "What's on your mind, Vegeta?"

"Well, you know how I am around everyone but you. To them, all I seem to have is my pride. They don't know about the way I am around you. And, if you don't mind, I would like to keep it that way. If Kakkarot found out that I had a soft spot, he'd look at me like I was no longer a challenge..."

"Goku would not look at you that way, Vegeta. Get a grip! Goku is an understanding person. If anything, he'd be happy for us!"

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I would like to keep our... relationship... under wraps for a while, while I get myself ready for this android battle. This is all I ask of you, Bulma. Please, grant me this one request..." He lowered his head, expecting a harsh response from her. He had pictured it in his mind all day. How she would think he didn't want to be seen with her, that something was wrong with her, when to him, there wasn't anything more he'd rather do than be with her.

"Oh... OK, Vegeta. I suppose we can keep it from Goku and the others for a little while. If it makes you happy..."

Vegeta cut her short by taking her in his arms and giving her a small kiss. "Being with you makes me happy, Bulma-Chan." He looked into her sky blue eyes and smiled.

Neither of them were aware that Goku already knew that they would be together. After all, that mysterious boy from the future was none other than their son, Trunks. He had told Goku that they were his parents, much to the chagrin of the Super Saiyan warrior. But since he was out in the wilderness, training with Gohan and Piccolo, there was no need for him to think about it.

The hole in the wall between Vegeta's and Bulma's rooms was replaced with a door at the request of Bulma. She figured that she could keep an eye on him easier if he overworked himself again. This turned out to be their primary means of meeting most nights. After her mother and father had gone to bed, she would open the door to Vegeta's room and invite him over to her room to chat out on the balcony.

Tonight, they stood on the balcony as usual. Bulma leaned over the railing, looking up at the starlit sky. Vegeta stood with his arms crossed against the sliding glass door that led out from her room, also looking up. They hadn't talked much at all.

"Vegeta?" Bulma was still looking up at the stars, almost as if she were daydreaming at night.

"Yes, Bulma-Chan?"

"When this whole thing is over, the androids and everything, where will you go?"

"I..." Vegeta was caught off guard at the question. He hadn't even given a thought to where he'd go once he'd beaten Kakkarot and finished his other business here on Earth. "I really don't know. My home planet is gone, and I'm sure I wouldn't be welcome on very many after what I did working for Freiza."

"Yeah. But, Vegeta, after this is all over, would you ever consider taking me out there with you? I want to see what you've seen, what's out there among the stars. I didn't have much of a chance to stop and look while we were going to Namek..."

Vegeta walked up behinder and put his arms around her waist. "Bulma-Chan, when this is all over, I promise that I will take you into outer space, just you and I, and we will do all the exploring you want to."

"Really? You seriously will?"

"Why wouldn't I? Since I've been here, I've had the chance to actually sit back and look at where I was. There must be hundreds of planets more asthetically pleasing than Earth, though they all could not compare to what I've found here. I could teach you about the universe, and perhaps you could teach me a few things about... about being with someone you... you..."

He couldn't say it. But again, he didn't have to. Bulma turned around in his arms and placed her hands on his shoulders. She looked up at him with quiet awe. Her smile, the glow and glint in her eyes from the starlight above, and the way the moonlight played on her face. He was completely stunned by her beauty yet again.

Bulma wanted things to be like this forever. She knew that in two years, the androids were coming, and Vegeta would have to go and put his life on the line against them. But two years seemed like an eternity to her. And in that time, she hoped to have her Saiyan Prince by her side as much as she possibly could. He had changed so much in the past few weeks, a side that only she could bring out in him. As she thought, she felt herself lift off the ground.

"Vegeta, where are we going?"

He didn't speak a word to her. He only flew upward, higher and higher, never once his gaze strayed from her eyes. She tightend her grip on him a bit, fearful of being up so high without a vehicle's assistance. But, in his arms, she felt safe from any harm. Her nerves were calmed by his strong, yet loving arms wrapped around her waist.

They continued to float upward into the night sky. When they stopped, they were nearly 200 feet off of the ground. But Bulma didn't seem to mind. She was at ease, and Vegeta sensed it. He looked into her eyes and smiled at her. She was so very beautiful this night. He felt happier than he had ever felt in his long and hard lifetime.

"Bulma-Chan..."

"Vegeta..."

They embraced in a passionate kiss, and began to float downward again, slowly spinning as they went. Two people, in love without ever expressing it in words. They didn't have to. They knew each loved the other very much, there was no denying that. The moment seemed to be frozen in time yet again as they floated back towards the balcony below, spiraling ever so slowly, locked in love's gentle embrace. This was a moment that neither of them would soon forget, if ever..

They landed softly on the balcony and broke the kiss. They stared into each other's eyes for some time, silent. Speaking would have ruined their moment. They turned and walked through the door to Bulma's room. As they crossed into the house, Vegeta picked Bulma up into his arms, carried her over to the bed, and laid her down on it.

"Bulma-Chan, it's late. We should be getting some sleep."

"Vegeta..."

He kissed her lightly on her forehead and made his way to the door to his room. He opened it and began to walk through.

"Vegeta..."

He stopped halfway through and turned back to her. "Yes, Bulma-Chan?"

"Stay with me tonight..."

The request stunned him a bit, but how could he resist the request of his princess. He returned to her bedside and sat down. She reached out and put her hand on his leg, gently rubbing it. He in turn reached out and placed his hand on her cheek, doing the same. They stayed like this for a few moments, and then Vegeta spun himself around and laid next to her. Laying there, they stared at each other for a time.

"Goodnight, my Saiyan Prince..."

"Goodnight, Bulma-Chan..."

With that, they snuggled closely together, enjoying each other's company after many nights alone in their respective beds. There weren't any sparks flying tonight, though. Tonight was for togetherness, for the quiet love that they shared, for being with each other. They drifted off to sleep, each smiling until the peace of slumber overcame them.


"Where... where am I? Why can't I see anything? What is this, some sort of illusion?" Vegeta stood in a large, black void. Though his feet seemed to be on solid ground, he could see nothing but himself. "What's going on here?" He looked around, but still saw nothing. "What kind of trick is this?"

Suddenly, before him, stood his father, King Vegeta. "Father?" The elder Saiyan said nothing. He merely stood there, looking at his son. "Father, what's going on here? And what the hell are you doing here? You died years ago..." He didn't get a chance to finish the thought. The image of his father began to fade out. "Father? Don't go, father! FAAAAATHERRRRRR!" Vegeta reached out, but it was too late. The image was gone. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm getting sick and tired of it." He began to run.

As he ran, the image of Goku appeared before him. "Kakkarot? What the hell kind of sick joke is this? I don't find it very amusing..." Suddenly, the image of the boy from the future appeared before him as well. "You? This is madness! Where am I? One of you two had better tell me before I get really angry..." He powered up his ki and fired at the two Saiyans, but when the blast reached them, they vanished. "Everyone's leaving before I can get a simple answer. What the hell does this all mean?" From behind him, he heard footsteps.

"Who's there?" He turned to look, but saw nothing. The footsteps were coming toward him, that was for sure. "Come on, show yourself!" The footsteps got faster and closer. "WHO'S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF ALREADY!" Closer, closer the footsteps came...

"Vegeta?"

"That voice... It's..." He looked in the direction of the voice, but still saw nothing. "But, it can't be..."

"Vegeta, where are you?"

It was. It was Bulma's voice. "Bulma?" He called out to her. "Bulma, where are you?"

"Vegeta? I can hear you, but I can't see you. Where are you, Vegeta?"

"I'm here, Bulma! Follow my voice!"

"Vegeta, I'm scared..."

"Don't be scared. Just listen to my voice, Bulma. I'm right here..." From the darkness, Vegeta saw the feint outline of a human emerge. As it got closer, he saw that it was indeed Bulma. She was running towards him, almost in tears.

"Vegeta! VEGETA!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Vegeta, is it really you?"

"Yes, Bulma, it's me. But where did you come from?"

When she was sure that it was him, she buried her face in his chest and began to cry. "Oh, Vegeta, I was so frightened. I was in this, this black sort of... nothing. I was all alone, and then Yamcha just appeared out of nowhere. I tried to talk to him, but he just vanished. So I started running. That's when I heard you yelling. I tried to find you, but I just couldn't. I was so scared, Vegeta..."

"It's alright, Bulma-Chan. I'm here now." He placed his arms around her and held her close. "I won't leave you." He lowered his head to hers and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were standing on the shore of the ocean. He looked up, and saw a moonless, starlit sky above them. "Bulma, it's OK. You can open your eyes..."

When she did, she breathed a sigh of releif. She heard the break of the waves
crashing softly onto the beach they were standing on. She looked up, and saw the same beautiful sky her companion had seen. "How... How did we get here?"

"I don't really know."

"Vegeta, what do you think this all means?"

The Saiyan Prince closed his eyes again and thought. "It all seems like a dream, really. It was as though we were seeing people who were leaving us, only to find each other. But when we did, things became right. I wonder if this is a sign..."

"It has to be, Vegeta. When you said you wouldn't leave me, somehow we were brought here..."

"I think you might be right. Are we dreaming?"

"Well..." She looked up at the mighty Saiyan warrior and smiled. "If we are, then I never want to wake up. I want to stay here with you forever."

"As do I, my dear Bulma-Chan." He looked into her sky blue eyes. It was just like their first night together. The stars were dancing in them. He let the feelings he had feared flow from within him. He no longer had to fear them. He knew the cause, and it was her "Well, if this truely is a dream, then there is something I must do before we wake up..." He took her chin with his hand and lifted her lips to his. With a gentleness unbecoming of the Saiyan race, he kissed her, and felt his heart race like it never had before.

Bulma herself felt the swelling of emotions within her. Could it be that her Saiyan Prince would stay with her? Would he be the one person in her life to show her the love and desire she always wished for? She wasn't sure, and she didn't care. This moment, with Vegeta, was the closest thing to perfect she could ever hope for. He wasn't dressed like royalty, and he hadn't ridden up to her on a horse, but she was sure her Prince had finally come for her...

They both awoke as the sun rose, sending rays of light dancing through the glass door and into the room. Bulma opened her eyes to see Vegeta, smiling at her. "Vegeta, you didn't leave me..." She thought she was still within the dream she was having.

"No, Bulma-Chan. I said I would not leave you."

"Then, you had the same dream I did?"

"I think so, Bulma-Chan. But if I have to share a dream with someone, I wouldn't want it to be with anyone else but you."



The woods outside of town made a great spot for people to go to when they wanted to be alone and think about things. At least once a day, you could always find someone walking around, looking off into space, deep in their thoughts about one matter or the other. This particular day found Bulma walking amidst the trees and wildlife.

It had been nearly a month since she and Vegeta first sat together atop her father's house, looking at the stars and opening up to each other like they had. She wanted to think of something special for him, something that would remind him of that first night out there. Their first night together.

'I wonder what would be good to give him? It has to be something special, that's for sure. But what? It'd have to be something he could keep to himself, too, since he doesn't want anyone knowing he has a soft side yet.' She looked up through the trees at the blue sky above. Around her, birds were chirping merrily, and squirrels lept from branch to branch. Things were so peaceful out here. She wished Vegeta were here to share it with her...

Vegeta was where he usually was, in the GT back at Capsule Corp. The gravity simulator was set at 415 times Earth's gravity, and he was again pushing his body to its limits in persuit of his ultimate goal: to become a Super Saiyan. The drones fired off shots at him from every angle, but he always managed to dodge and deflect at the right time. For hours, he kept up a frantic pace, determined to get as strong as possible. Leaping and dodging, blasting and bounding. As he trained, his mind was on his Bulma. He had a new reason to make himself more powerful: he had someone who needed him. Someone who wanted him to be with them. He had his Bulma-Chan.

He decided he should take a break, so he shut down the simulator and left the room, making his way up to the shower. After working out all day, a shower would do him good. He removed his sweat soaked tights and stepped under the lukewarm water. As he showered, he thought again about his little lady. It had been nearly a month since they had first spent time with her, and he wanted to give her something special for their anniversary. But what?

Vegeta stepped out of the shower and toweled off. His thoughts turned to figuring out what he should get Bulma, but he couldn't think of anything off hand. 'I need to get her something special, something she'd hold very dear to her. But what should I get her?' He knew he wanted to keep his relationship with her secret from Kakkarot, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to figure out what to get her without some help...



Bulma came home from her walk in the woods to find her mother hard at work in the kitchen, cooking dinner for the family and their guest. "Hey mom, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing dear. You're father's been out of town all day doing lordy knows what, and Vegeta's been training hard, as usual, so I thought I'd make myself busy by cooking dinner. Here, try this, tell me what you think..." She held a spoonfull of the concoction she had whipped up to her daughter's mouth, prompting her to take a taste.

"Um, thanks mom, but I think I'll wait till it's ready. I'm sure it's fine, though. Actually, mom, I wanted to ask for your advice on something."

"What's that dear?"

"Well, first of all, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Goku."

"I don't think that'd be a problem, honey. Now, what's on your mind?"

"Well, you see, there's someone I've been seeing lately, and our aniversary is coming up. I wanted your opinion on what I should get him."

"Oh, my goodness! You have a boyfirend and you haven't even told me? Is it that Yamcha boy again?"

"Oh, HELL no, mom. Yamcha's history. He made his last mistake with me, that's for sure."

"Well, then who is it, honey?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but..."

"Oh, come on, tell me dear. There's no need to explain anything."

"OK, mom. It's... It's Vegeta."

"Oh dear..." This caught Bulma's mother off guard. She really didn't know what to think. Vegeta? The same Vegeta who only a few years before had come to destroy them all, and was now living in their home, training to defeat the androids? That Vegeta?

"I knew you'ld flip out, mom, but trust me, everything's alright with us."

"Oh dear..."

"Mom?" Bulma waved her hand in front of her mother's face, but she continued to stare off into space, shocked that her daughter was seeing a vicious killer. "Hello, mom?"

"Well, Bulma, if you say it's OK, I suppose it's OK. My goodness, Vegeta..."

"OK, mom, now, what do you think I should get him? I want to get him something special, to remind him of me, but it has to be something that isn't easily seen. You see, Vegeta has this thing about Goku finding out about us. If you ask me, it's his silly Saiyan pride, but if it makes him happy, I'm willing to go along with it."

"Well, I can understand why, Bulma. All he wants is to get stronger than Goku. His pride comes from being one of the only Saiyans left, besides Gohan and his father. And after hearing about what happened to his home planet and his family, his pride is all he has left."

"Yeah, that's it, mom. So, what do you think I should get him?"

They sat and discussed the matter for several minutes, throwing ideas back and forth. Shopping for a Saiyan, especially one with the personality of Vegeta, was going to be difficult, that was for sure. Minutes turned into hours, and the two kept going back and forth with trinkets, clothes, and several other bobbles. This continued untill Vegeta came up from the lab area and into the kitchen. He walked straight up to Bulma's mother.

"Where is Dr. Breif?"

"I think he's over in the Space Research lab."

"Thank you." And with that, Vegeta walked out the door.

Bulma turned to look at her mother, who shared the look of slight shock she had.

"Woah. That was different..."

Dr. Breif was working on his latest space vehicle when Vegeta barged in and came up to him. "I need a spaceship, and I need it now."

"Well, this is a bit of a surprise, Vegeta. I don't know what all's ready to go just yet. Give me a..."

"I'll give you nothing. Just get me a ship. I have something very important to do, and I don't have time to be waiting around while you take care of other matters."

"Well, OK, Vegeta. Let me see what's ready to go on the computer."

"Good. And make it snappy."

Dr. Brief went over to his laptop on his desk and started punching keys, looking for a ready ship for Vegeta. As he typed, he tried to make conversation. "So, what are you going to outer space for, Vegeta?"

"It's really none of your business, old man, but if you must know, I need to get something for your daughter."

"Bulma? Why are you going to get something for her?"

"Ugh, do you need to know my life story, too? Well, I'll tell you, but you must promise me that you won't tell anyone, especially Kakkarot."

"Kakka-who? Oh, oh, you mean Goku. Can't get used to his Saiyan name. But if it makes you happy, I won't tell him."

"Good, cause if you did, I'd be forced to cut your career short." The Saiyan Prince gathered up his pride and spoke. "You're daughter and I have developed a relationship. Soon, it will be a month since we started spending time together. She's sentimental about anniversaries, and I wanted to get her something unique. So I need a ship to go into outer space and get it for her."

"Well, you and Bulma are getting close, eh? Well, that's just fine. Just make sure you don't upset her, Vegeta. Lord knows she's been hurt enough by that Yamcha boy..."

"Don't worry, doctor. I have no intention of upsetting Bulma."

"That's good to hear, Vegeta. Now then, I think I have a ship ready to go that should serve your purpose. It's over in hanger 4. She's all yours, Vegeta..." As he turned to look at the Saiyan, he felt a slight breeze. Vegeta was gone, as fast as he had come. The next thing Dr. Breif knew, there was the sound of engines powering up in a nearby hangar, and the booming rush of a liftoff. "My, that boy does work quickly..." He returned to his work, thinking of what Vegeta might find out in the vast reaches of space.



The ship's alarm started to wail, alerting Vegeta that he had reached the coordinates he had programed in on takeoff. "Well, this is it. Kind of strange, really. The last time I was here, I was just a boy..." Vegeta looked out the window of his ship, and saw a vast field of rock, floating in an awkward rotation. The debris field was all that was left of his home planet, Vegeta.

A flood of memories poured into his mind. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he was last here. He thought of his father, of Nappa, and how Freiza took it all away from him. But that was his past, it was all behind him now. He sighed, and set about what he came to do. He manned the controls for the robotic arm, and maneuvered it into a cloud of smaller rocks. He chose one carefully, and moved it to the research airlock, where it was decontaminated pressurized with the atmosphere in the ship.

He opened the airlock from within when the pressuization was completed, and took the rock from it. He held it in his hand. "Strange. Such a tiny piece of my history. It's odd, thinking of what this little chunk of rock meant to me all those years ago. Oh well, it's time to get to work." He set the controls for his return to Earth. Since it would take him the same two hours it took for him to get here, he sat down and looked at the piece of his former home. "Now, what to shape it into. Think, Vegeta, think..."

He mulled it over for a few minutes, and decided he would form it into two intertwined hearts. This would be a fitting gift for her, he knew that for sure...

Bulma lay in her bed, thinking about Vegeta. She wondered where he had gone earlier, he hadn't come back to the house since he left to find her father. At first, she feared that Vegeta had run out on her like Yamcha had, and left her all alone again. But she had quickly given up on that thought. After all, Vegeta had given his word that he would in fact not leave her. But still, she wondered where he had gone.

In her hand, she clutched a small gold neckchain with a miniature Dragonball charm on it, her gift for her Saiyan Prince. She held it up and looked at it. It had one tiny star etched into it, her way of saying that he was the one she wished for. Deep down, she hoped that this would be enough to keep his desire for secrecy intact, while still having something to remind him of her. After some time, she heard someone coming up the stairs, and then heard the door to Vegeta's room open. He was home.

She ran up to her jewelry box and placed the necklace inside, hidden untill the day she would give it to him. After finishing with that, she went over to the door leading to his room, and knocked.

Vegeta quickly hid the necklace with the double heart-shaped piece of his past home in his drawer when he heard Bulma knocking. Satisfied that it would remain out of sight untill he wanted to give it to her, he turned to the door. "Come in, Bulma-Chan."

The door slowly opened, and Bulma stepped into his room. "Hey, Vegeta. Where did you take off to earlier?"

"I... I went out to get some air and think about a few things. I'm sorry I missed dinner, but I had alot on my mind, and didn't want to worry you with it all."

"Oh, that's OK." She walked up to him and gave him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "So, how did training go today? I see you didn't overload the GT. In fact, you haven't for a few weeks now. I'm almost starting to think that you're slacking off."

"That's one thing I will never do. The goal of becoming a Super Saiyan is worth too much to me to simply slack off. I assure you, I'm giving it everything I have."

"Well, it's good to hear that you won't give up. Someday, you'll be a Super Saiyan, I'm willing to bet on that for sure."

They sat down on his bed and held each other's hands. Bulma looked at him and smiled. How silly she had been to think that he had left her earlier. As he said, here he was. She quickly pushed any thought of his leaving her out of her mind. Here he was, one of the most ruthless people in the entire universe, and somehow she had managed to tame his wild heart. She was falling in love with him, and quickly.

Vegeta returned her gaze with one of his own. Something had changed inside of him. When he was with her, he no longer felt the need to have absolute power, or even immortality. He was content to be in her presence, to be in her company. This simple Earth girl had somehow filled the void he had inside of him all his life. He didn't know before, but now he was sure. He was falling in love with her, a feeling he had never experienced before.



The day had finally come. It was Vegeta and Bulma's one month aniversary. Today, Vegeta would take his Bulma-Chan somewhere special and give her the trinket he had made for her while he was in outer space. He held it in his hand, looking at it, wondering what she would think of it. "I hope it's enough for her. I hope she sees it as more than just a fancy shaped piece of some deceased world." He sighed, and got up from his bed. "Well, it's time to go."

He walked downstairs to where Bulma was, in the kitchen. "Good morning, Vegeta!" Her mother was in a particularly good mood this morning, for she knew what was going on.

"Humph. Yes, I suppose it is a good morning." Vegeta, though his heart was melted by Bulma, still kept some of his pompus tone around other people. It was his way of letting people know that he was who he was, and everyone had gotten used to it.

"Well, I think I'll go see what my husband is doing. You two enjoy your breakfast! Ta ta!" She skipped out of the room, leaving Vegeta and Bulma there alone.

"Bulma-Chan..."

"Yes, Vegeta?"

"There's somewhere I want to take you later tonight, for our anniversary."

"Sounds like fun! Where are we going to go?"

"Well, I want it to be something of a surprise. Please meet me on your balcony just after dark."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."



As darkness fell, Bulma went out onto her balcony. The sun was setting in the western sky, and shades of red and violet danced accross the landscape below her. It was turely a beutiful night, and to be sharing a day like this with Vegeta! For years she wished her prince would come for her, and now he was here. He certainly wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but his heart was true enough to her.

In her hand she held the chain with the Dragonball charm, her gift for her beloved Saiyan Prince. She rolled the ball in her hand with her thumb, hoping that she had made the right decision for a gift. Vegeta might blow his top if it was too much, but she had to chance it. She was hoping he'd see that she wanted it to be special. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. It had to be Vegeta. She turned and called out.

"Come In..."

But the door didn't open. There wasn't a sound coming from it. "That's odd. Who'd just knock and run off like that?" Bulma took a chill as a strong breeze blew up behind her. She adjusted her overcoat, and turned to look out at the stars again. And there he was.

Vegeta, a soft glow of blue ki surrounding him, was floating level with the balcony. He startled her, and she jumped back just a little, surprised by Vegeta's spontanaity. "Good evening, Bulma-Chan."

"You know, Vegeta, you have a habit of startling me. We've deffinatly gotta work on that."

"Work on it? You mean I can't have a little fun with you every now and again?" Vegeta had a cocky but genuine smile on his face. "Bulma-Chan, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, but where are we going? You still haven't told me..."

Vegeta simply held out his hand. She looked at him a little funny, but soon reached out and took his hand. He lifted her into his arms and pulled her close. "Are you ready, Bulma-Chan?"

"As ready as I could ever be." Vegeta took off, but he wasn't going that fast at all. They were rising at a very slow pace, and curving up over the dome of the house. "Vegeta, where are you taking me?" As she was asking, Vegeta was already descending onto the roof of the house. Bulma looked around, and suddenly she remembered. This was the spot where they had spent their first night really getting to know each other. The first night he had opened his heart to anyone his entire life. The first time they had their first moment together.

They touched down lightly, and Vegeta let her go. "This was the place where I first felt like I wasn't alone." Vegeta turned and sat down, looking up at the stars just coming out above the horizon, his back to Bulma. "This was the first place I discovered that you had this power over me, to awaken feelings I had thought were long dead within me."

She walked up to him and sat down by his side. She laid her head on his shoulders and brought her hand to his lap, still clutching the pendant tucked away from his view. "I know you don't want anyone finding out about us and the way you feel, but I still wanted to get you something special. I think it's a decent compromise, really, cause it's small and can be tucked under your shirt..."

"Bulma-Chan, whatever it is, I'm sure it is fine..." She nervously opened her hand, revealing the chain curled around the shiny gold Dragonball replica.

"Look. You've always had your wish, to become a Super Saiyan and be immortal and all that. That's sorta why I chose a little Dragonball. I guess it reminded me of my wish. You know, Vegeta, ever since I was a little girl, I wished that a Prince would come for me, that we'd fall in love and live happily ever after. I waited and waited for him. And now, he's here. Vegeta, It reminds me of how you've made my wish come true. That wish I've kept secret all my life. You're the only other one who knows."

Vegeta took the tiny charm from her hand and held it up to look at it. He couldn't help but notice how wonderful it was. The little star in the middle. "It's wonderful, Bulma-Chan." She grabbed the chain and placed it around his neck, locking it behind him, and let it hang down. "Thank you, Bulma." He smiled and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you like it. I was all nervous that you'ld say it violates the whole agreement thing, and..."

Vegeta held his finger up to her lips, and she calmed down with a sigh. "I have something for you as well, dear Bulma-Chan. I wanted to give you something that noone on Earth could give you. So I took one of your father's fastest spaceships and flew out into space." He reached out his hand, a fist clenched around the double heart pendant, hiding it. "The coordinates I arrived at were those of my former home planet, Vegeta. Out of the rubble that remained, I found a suitable stone for this..." He opened his hand, and reached up to place the leather cord around her neck. She picked it up and looked with awe.

"This is a piece of my history, a piece of who I am. I shaped it like that to show what you have done for me, Bulma. You have touched my heart. We're millions of miles apart, yet so close together. So different, yet exactly the same. Thank you for showing me this part of life."

She stared at the pendant for some time, and turned her gaze to Vegeta. She was holding a piece of the home planet Freiza had laid to waste, the last remanents of his true home. And he had given this to her. "Vegeta... I don't really know what to say... This is... This has to be so important to you..."

"Yes, Bulma-Chan, it's very important to me. But so are you. That's why I went through the trouble. I think of it as my way of moving on. And having you there to help me make that transition is more than I could have wished for." He reached out to her, took her cheek in his hand and kissed her gently.

"So, that's where you went that day, isn't it. And to think, I actually thought you had left me. I was silly to think that at all."

"Yes, Bulma, you kind of were. But, I said it in our dreams, and I'll say it while we're awake. I will never leave you, Bulma-Chan. Never."

Under the moonlight, Bulma took her Saiyan Prince and held him close to her. He wish had come true. And his had, too, thanks to her. She felt like, for once in her life, the whole world was right. This moment was perfect for the both of them, nothing could ruin it.

Far away, in a city south of the Kami House, in an underground laboratory, evil was on its way to being born. There, a strange old man was working like a mad man, boosting energy into his monsterous metal creations. From inside their holding cells, he could see their eyes flicker with life, only to die out. This time, it failed. But he would try again. He must get them perfected if he was to destroy those Saiyans and their allies..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

The air was begining to take on a slight chill as the breezes blew. Winds picked up a bit, and birds began to fly overhead in droves. The bright green of the leaves was turning pale. Soon, they would change color and fall. All of this could mean only one thing: Summer was coming to and end.

Bulma stood in the front yard, looking at the scenery around her. A summer that had seen her rescued from Garlic Jr. and the Black Water Mist, the end all beat all with Yamcha, and the most surprising thing of all, her relationship with Vegeta. It had all gone by so quickly, it seemed. But now, the sun began to dip lower in the evening sky, and autumn winds were beginning to blow.

She looked around the yard and at the compound. Soon, the green tone of happiness and warmth would give way to a blanket of cold, white snow. 'Good reason to cuddle up to Vegeta' she thought to herself. Chuckeling, she decided to head back into the house. Vegeta would be coming out of the GT for lunch soon. Her parents had gone out for the day, so she thought she'd do something special for her Saiyan beau.

She bustled around the kitchen for an entire hour before she declared success on the meal she had prepared. Just as she lit the candles she had added for that romantic touch, Vegeta appeared in the doorway. He was drenched in sweat, obviously working overtime again. "He he! Hey, Vegeta! Lunch is ready!"

"Good. I'm starving." He looked around to see if anyone else was about. When he was satisfied that they were alone, he loosened up a bit. "You know, at times, I wonder if I'll ever become a Super Saiyan."

"Oh, Vegeta, of course you'll make it. You're working as hard as Goku ever did. You'll get there, I'm sure."

"You don't know how much I hope you're right."

She walked around behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. She got up on her toes to reach his ear, and whispered. "You'll always be my Super Saiyan. Now sit down and eat something."

Hearing that made the proud warrior smile. She always had a way of making him feel better about everything. In their 2 months together, she had become the light of his life, a new reason for him to train to defeat the androids. He had been unable to defend himself or his home planet against Freiza, and now he had something to defend. His Bulma. He made his way over to the table and sat down. Once he had situated himself, Bulma began to baby him with his meal.

"OK, Vegeta, come on, down the hatch!"

"Bulma, what are you doing?"

"Come on, silly. Airplane needs to fly into the hangar!" She began swinging the spoon around through the air. "Pilot to hangar, open up!"

"Bulma...ulp!!" She took advantage of his mistake and shoved the spoon into his mouth.

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh Vegeta!"

He was a little bit angry, but that soon gave way to enjoyment. It was a funny moment. And, for the first time, he laughed at himself. And boy, did he laugh. He and Bulma were nearly rolling on the floor. They came to some time later, and their eyes met. They stared into each other for a time, this was something they did alot as of late. When they were alone, they would share moments like this one. Totally taken by one another, lost in each other's eyes, almost on another astral plane in their own right.

"Are you going to help me eat this, Bulma-Chan, or do I have to make myself look like Kakkarot?"

She looked at him oddly. Like Kakkarot? She knew that he meant Goku, but... Goku, food. And then, it hit her, and she roared with laughter. Yes! He had! Vegeta made a funny! She calmed down after a while, and looked at him adoringly. He was becoming more and more human each day to her. And everything like the Prince of her dreams. And then, she got a naughty idea...

Vegeta was too distracted by her gaze, and didn't expect what came next. His jaw, slack in a smile to his companion, suddenly became full. In surprise he bit down to find a roll of ham protruding from his mouth. He nearly spit it halfway accross the kitchen, and managed to pull the remainder of the meat away from his mouth as Bulma broke out laughing. His surprise turned to a scowl as he chewed his unexpected second course.

"Come on, Vegeta, eat up! Mom and dad will be home soon, and I don't want this place a mess. Mom will have a fit and you know it."

 

Bulma had just finished washing the dishes when her parents walked into the house. The whole kitchen was a mess from her and Vegeta eating, and playing with, lunch, and she worked overtime to clean it. Vegeta himself had gone back to the GT to continue his training. A little winded from her cleaning, Bulma sat down and sighed.

"He he. Looks like you were working overtime there, Bulma. Do we have some welcome news for you, in that case."  Dr. Breif spoke with an upbeat tone. Bulma couldn't quite place why. She knew they had been out all day, but why they seemed this happy was beyond her.

"What's this wonderful news, dad?"

"Your father and I thought we've all been working too hard lately, so we went out and planned a vacation! And even better, we've invited Krillin and his new girlfriend to come with us! Isn't that wonderful? We'll all get to spend some time off and go to the beach, away from all this work and talk of androids and such! Just the six of us!"

"Um, mom, six of us?"

"Well, yes dear! Your father and I, Krillin and his girlfriend, you and Vegeta."

Vegeta? They wanted to bring Vegeta? Bulma couldn't believe it. They wanted to take him on vacation! When Vegeta was around her alone, he was perfectly capable of relaxing and enjoying a moment. But, around everyone else he was still the same Vegeta they all knew: cocky, unmanageable, headstrong and down right rude.

"Why don't you go down and tell Vegeta, dear?"

"Yeah." Bulma was still unsure of what she had just heard, and had a spaced out look on her face. "I'll go down and tell Vegeta. Sure." Any excuse to get away from them was good, even going to give this happy news to the Prince of all Narcisists. She could see it as she got up from the table. She'd tell Vegeta 'Yeah, we're all going on vacation.' and he'd explode with a speach about training to become a Super Saiyan, and not wanting to be around Krillin cause he might find out that she and he were an item. She made her way out of the kitchen.

As she walked down to the training room, Bulma thought the situation over. Maybe vacation time was something they all needed. But how would Vegeta handle it? Her concern was obvious as she gingerly reached out to open the training room door. She walked through and looked at the GT pod. From the dome shaped windows around the side, she could see a deep red glow coming from within. Every now and again, she could see bright flashes of blue and yellow, Vegeta's blasts. He was hard at work as usual.

She walked over to the laptop on the desk her father used to monitor the GTs status. It was set at 420 times Earth's gravity. 'Pushing himself again' she thought. She clicked a few keys, and the simulator's motors began to power down. The lights inside the pods returned to normal. 'Well, here he comes, and he's not gonna be happy.'

The door opened on the GT, and out stepped a sweat soaked Vegeta, obviously angry at having his training session interupted. "This had better be good, Bulma. I'm not very keen on having my training cut off for any reason."

"Vegeta, I need to talk to you about something."

"Well, make it fast, please. I have alot of work to do."

"Alright. Well, my mom and dad went out today, and it turns out that they've gone and planned a week-long vacation for all of us."

"I don't see why that should be any cause for concern."

"Well, she wants you to go, too."

The Saiyan lowered his head, as if considering the notion. After a moment, he raised his head again. "Alright, I could use a break, honestly, and a vacation somewhere sounds rather refreshing."

"But that's not all, Vegeta. They've invited some... Guests."

"Guests? Such as?"

"Krillin and his girlfriend."

"The little bald guy, eh? Well, as long as he doesn't make my business his, I suppose we could all go and get along for a week. Is there anything else you need, Bulma-Chan?"

She was surprised. He hadn't blown up at her, he hadn't really even complained. And he was agreeing to the vacation? Unreal. "Um, no, Vegeta. That's about it. I'll... just... get over to the lab and... work on... something... yeah. See ya later!" She hurried out of the door and accross the hall.

Vegeta looked on with some jest in his heart. She was an interesting female, this was certain. He thought about the coming trip for a second. He hoped that Krillin wouldn't be too much of an annoyance. He chuckled a bit, and headed back into the GT to continue his training.

 

Nearly a week later, the day came for the Breif family and their 3 guests to leave for their vacation. Bulma was in her room, gathering her things. Vegeta, who had done the same the night before, was hard at work in the GT early. He wanted to get some training in before they were to go. Dr. Breif was with his wife at the supermarket, getting a few snacks and some other food to cook for everyone. Krillin was at the Kame House, waiting for his girlfriend, Mizuki, to arrive. 

"Hey, Krillin! Come over here and have a look at this!" Master Roshi was sitting on his couch as usual, looking through the pages of the gentleman's magazines he was so fond of. "I bet you'ld like to take a girl like that to the beach with ya, eh?"

Krillin walked up behind the couch and looked over Master Roshi's shoulder. His eyes bugged as he looked at the images on the page. "Honestly, yeah, I wouldn't mind. But I'm with Mizuki now, so I really can't be thinking that sorta stuff, ya know."

"Awww, come on, Krillin. This girl Mizuki got you tied to a short leash, eh? Can't have a little fun lookin' over the menu?" For a man his age, Master Roshi had the energy and hormones of someone closer to Krillin's age. Though he was a great martial artist and teacher, he was also one of the biggest old letches in the known universe. He turned the page of the magazine and continued to gawk at the ladies inside.

Krillin shook his head and turned to walk into the kitchen. "Man, I hope she gets here soon. Dr. Brief and his family are expecting us at the Capsule Corp. in two hours, and it's gonna take at least half that to get there. Hey, Oolong!"

Oolong was sitting on the couch next to Master Roshi, quietly playing video games. He paused the game and turned around. "Yeah?"

"Where the heck did you put the cooler, Oolong? I can't find it anywhere, and I need it to keep this soda cold."

"Heck if I know. Last person to use it was Master Roshi yesterday while he was outside."

Master Roshi still had his nose buried in the pages of his magazine, drooling over the women on the inside. Krillin walked up to him and snatched the magazine from him, holding it over his head. "OK, Master Roshi. Take a break and tell me where the cooler is."

"Oh, come on, Krillin, give me back my magazine! I was reading a good article in there on women's health. Give it back, Krillin, give it back!"

"First you tell me where the cooler is. Then you can go back to your article, though I highly doubt that's what you're paying attention to in this thing..."

At that moment, Mizuki came into the house. She saw Krillin holding up Master Roshi's adult magazine, and immediately started berating him. After he got his ear chewed off, Krillin got his things together, and the two got into the car and headed for Capsule Corp.
 

Dr. Brief and his wife had just returned to the house as Vegeta came up from the GT room. They had armloads of things to take with them on vacation.

"Hey, Vegeta. Could you give us a hand with this stuff? There's more out in the car."

Vegeta looked at Dr. Brief oddly for a moment, and then spoke. "Ugh. I suppose I could assist you." He was reluctant to help out, but since this was going to be a week where he could spend time with Bulma, he decided that it would be a good idea. After all, they were her parents.

After they had brought everything into the house, Vegeta went to his room to get his bags. After he got his things together, he knocked on the door seperating his and Bulma's rooms.

"Come in, Vegeta." She called from behind it.

Vegeta opened the door and stepped in. When he looked at her, he saw that she was wearing a rather skimpy bikini. It showed off her feminine features quite well, and Vegeta felt himself swell with emotion. This was the first time he had seen her without a full outfit, and he was quite stunned.

Bulma noticed him staring at her and blushed. "He he! Guess you haven't seen me in a two-piece before. What do you think? Does it look alright?"

He couldn't speak at first, he was too choked up. After a moment, he regained his composure and finally answered. "Bulma-Chan, it looks... beautiful on you." He wasn't paying attention to the bikini, however. His eyes were rivited to her in general. She was indeed an attractive woman, and Vegeta felt his heart melt as he looked her over.

"So, would you give me a hand with getting my bags downstairs? I have to get some clothes on over this so we can go."

"Uh... Oh. Certainly, Bulma-Chan." He managed to break his staring long enough to focus his attention in her request. As he picked up her bags, Bulma was throwing on a T-shirt and some shorts. The picture of her in that swimsuit had frozen itself in his memory, and it dominated his thoughts as he carried her things downstairs. After he had done so, he returned to his room and retrieved his things.

Bulma met Vegeta halfway down the hall as he was carrying his bags downstairs. She herself had two other bags in her hands. 'These females always seem to take more than they need,' he thought to himself. 'It's so pointless. She'll never use all of this junk in only a week.'

"You know, Vegeta, I hear this island we're going to has a pretty sweet dance club. I think we should check it out. What do you think? Or don't Saiyans dance?"

A dance club? Dancing? Vegeta mulled it over for a moment. Dancing? He had never danced before in his entire life, and wondered what all it entailed. "Well, we'll see when we get there, but I cannot make any promises."

"Good enough for me. Now come on. Mom and dad will want to leave soon. It takes about two hours to get there, or so they tell me. I wonder if Krillin and Mizuki are here yet." The two headed downstairs and into the kitchen. When they got there, Dr. Brief and her mother were packing the food into coolers and picnic baskets. After they had set their bags down, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey hey! Ready to hit the sand and surf, everyone?" Krillin had a huge smile on his face. He was deffinately ready to go to the beach. Mizuki followed him in, equally all smiles.

"Hey you guys! Yep, we're just about ready to go. Just give me a minute to go to the lab and make sure everything's off." Bulma skipped out of the kitchen and down the hall to the basement stairs.

Vegeta pulled Krillin aside and into the living room. "OK, baldy, listen up. Now, don't speak a word of this to anyone, you understand?"

"Sure, Vegeta. What's up?"

"Bulma wants to go to a dance club while we're at this place. And I know nothing about dancing. I'm going to ask you to help me learn a few things about it so I don't make a fool out of myself. Do you think you can handle that?" Krillin let a small smirk cross his lips. 'So, Vegeta wants me to teach him how to dance. This is funny. I'd better help him, though. Who knows what he'll do to me if I don't.'

"Well? Are you going to help me or not?" Vegeta was looking rather cross now, and it made Krillin squirm a bit.

"OK, Vegeta, I'll show you a few moves. It's the least I can do, I guess."

"Good. And remember, don't speak a word of this to anyone, especially Kakkarot. If he knew about this..."

"I know, Vegeta. Not a word, I promise." The two headed back to the kitchen. Everyone was finished packing, and Bulma had returned from her dummy check of the lab. They all loaded up the car, there was barely enough room to pack everything. But they managed to get it to fit, and took off for the island paradise that awaited them.

 

The trip to the island was the same as any trip the family had taken in the past. Noone spoke much, except for Bulma, of course. Then again, it wasn't possible for her to stop, either. Vegeta sat near the window in the back, staring out at the seascape below him. Krillin was half asleep, as Mizuki massaged his bald head. He loved that sort of thing.

As Vegeta stared out of the window, he caught glimpses of Bulma's reflection in the glass. From time to time, she struck a pose that made him smile slightly, but it was short lived. In all reality, he wanted to be back at the compound training. He felt as if taking a week off to enjoy themselves was a waste of time. But as strong as his urge to train and fight was, the thoughts he had of Bulma kept overpowering it. He allowed himself to daydream a bit, and lost himself in those visions for a little while.

He was brought back to reality after a little while by the reflected image of Mizuki and Krillin, snuggled together in the seat in front of him. 'Look at them. Will Bulma and I become like them? I wonder what she sees in that bald freak, anyway. He's nowhere near as strong as I am. But then again, what if I'm becoming weak like him, allowing my feelings for Bulma to overpower me?' He mulled it over for a little bit, then went back to his daydreaming. 'Honestly, I don't care. Bulma means too much to me. I only wish I could let my pride down long enough to experience it fully...'

"Hey Vegeta. What are you thinking about over there? You're awefully quiet."

He turned to see Bulma smiling at him, as she did so many times before. "Oh, nothing, really. Just looking forward to some time off. I could honestly use the break from all my training."

"Well, it's good to see you're taking it easy for once instead of trying to kill yourself. Don't worry, you'll be having fun and won't even think of fighting, training, or any of that. And I'm going to see to that personally."

He knew in his mind that he didn't want to forget, but seeing her smile at him like that eased his mind out of that thought process. He allowed himself to smile slightly at her. "You're right, Bulma."

"There, see? Now, we'll be there shortly, so try to get yourself in a more relaxed mode. Remember, this trip is all about fun and relaxation." She turned back to the front and continued to babble as he turned back to the window. In the distance he could see the feint outline of an island begin to emerge from the horizon.

About a half hour later, the Brief family and company arrived on the island of Key South. It was a fairly large island set far to the south along the Earth's equator. There was one dominant city along the eastern coast, and a volcano closer to the western coast. The majority of it's surface consisted of dense jungle and remote costal areas, perfect for getting away from the hustle and bustle of the resort areas of the city.

They set up camp along the east coast, a few miles north of the city. After everything was unloaded, they all sat down to discuss their agenda for the day and the remainder of the trip.

"Well, kids. Mrs. Brief and I are going to stay here for the rest of the day, what are you all going to do?" Dr. Brief, his kitten always perched on his shoulder, was setting up the campsite power source close to the treeline, so it would be sheltered from most of the inclimate weather that often pounded the island.

"Krillin and I are going to go for a swim, then we'll probably just stay here, too." Mizuki called out from her hut as she was in the process of getting her swimsuit on. When she emerged, everyone glanced at her. It was a two piece, small and purple with black zeebra stripes. Krillin, much the man that he was, could do nothing but stare and smile dopishly.

"That sounds like fun!" Mrs. Brief was always the happy go lucky type. "What about you, Bulma? Do you and Vegeta have anything planned for the day?"

Bulma was watching Vegeta, who was down the shore line a bit. He was crouched down, looking out over the ocean with a blank stare.

"Bulma?"

Hearing her mother call to her, Bulma turned around. "What mom?"

"I said do you and Vegeta have anything planned for later? Krillin and Mizuki are going swimming, why don't you two join them? Your father and I are just going to stay here for the day and get everything running smoothly."

"Oh. Well, I'm not sure yet. I'll go ask Vegeta. Be back in a bit." With that, she began to walk down the beach, towards the Saiyan still looking out to the vast ocean.

"OK, dear, have fun! Now, where did I put that cooking capsule?"



Bulma walked along the coastline slowly, all the while her gaze focused on Vegeta. He'd gone quite a ways down from where they were camping. As she walked, she thought about what could possibly be on Vegeta's mind. There he was, not more than 200 yards from her, staring off into the distance over the ocean. 'I wonder why he has to do this sort of thing' she thought. 'He's always been a loner, but this is supposed to be his vacation time. The least he could do is put that whole rebel business out of his head for one week.'

She walked on for a few more minutes before finally reaching the spot where her Saiyan Prince was. "Hey, Vegeta. What are you thinking about all the way down here?"

Vegeta broke his gaze and turned to look at her. "Oh, hello, Bulma-Chan. I didn't see you coming."

She sat down next to him and looked out over the ocean. "What brought you the whole way down here, Vegeta?"

"Oh, nothing, really. I guess I just wanted some time to myself, so I came down here and just, well, thought."

She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. "About what?"

  "It's the Andriods, mostly. Whether or not I'll be ready to take them on, and what they'll do to us all if we don't defeat them. What will happen to you..."

  This was totally unlike Vegeta, worrying about someone other than himself. In the years since his arrival, he's always been about looking out for number one, the Prince Of All Saiyans, as he'd say. But this time, he was actually thinking of someone else. And to Bulma, it came as no surprise that it was her.

  Suddenly, Vegeta arose from his crouched position and looked down at Bulma. "Bulma, please. Come with me." He extended his hand and helped her up from the sand.

  "Where are we going, Vegeta?"

  He didn't reply. Instead he took her in his arms and lifted off, flying out over the ocean. Bulma had become accustomed to Vegeta's flying, and she just looked down at the water below with awe. She then looked back at him, and smiled. Despite his super strength and violent nature, he'd learned to become quite gentle with her.

Sometime later they landed on a small deserted island. As they touched down, Vegeta released Bulma and took her by the hand. "I saw this small island shortly before we arrived at our destination. I thought it would be perfect if we wanted to be alone for a while, and I wanted to show it to you." He lead her inland, where there was a magnificent pond with a waterfall cascading down from a small mountaintop.

Bulma could only look on in delight. "Vegeta, it's beautiful! I can't believe I didn't see it on the way to the camp site." She ran to the edge of the pond and looked down into it. The water was clear and pure, and she could see her reflection in it perfectly. She reached down and put her hand into it. The water was lukewarm. "This must be a volcanic island. The water is so warm. Probably heated by..."

She was cut off mid sentance by Vegeta's hand, which now rested on her shoulder. She stood up and turned to face him, and placed her arms around him. "You know, Vegeta. Maybe you're not as cold hearted as everyone thinks you are. This place is wonderful." She couldn't wait to come back with him some night soon and just be with him, alone in this miniature Eden he had found.

"We should be getting back, Bulma-Chan. Your parents are probably wondering where we are. And besides, I need to talk to the bald guy. He owes me a small favor. Shall we, my dear?"

"Without a word, Bulma attached herself to the mighty Saiyan and they lifted off, heading back to the campsite.

That night, the group gathered around the campfire and started to shoot the breeze. Krillin told stories of their trip to Namek, the battle with the Ginyu Force and Freiza. They, with the exceptions of Bulma and Vegeta, looked on in awe as Krillin spoke. Mizuki seemed especially interested. Never before had she met someone who had been to another planet. Whenever he spoke about Vegeta, she looked over at the Saiyan Prince with wonder. For a normal girl, this was all very wild stuff.

After a while, Vegeta got up without saying a word and went over to where Dr. Brief had set up the small camping huts. He crawled inside his and laid down on his bedroll. He closed his eyes and thought back to Namek. What crossed his mind most was when Frieza had dealt him that final blow, and he poured his heart out to Kakkarot. He replayed the events in his mind over and over again. He thoughts drifted from there to his father, and to how Frieza had stolen himself, Raditz and Nappa away, then destroyed his entire race. 

It seemed like so long ago that he went through the ordeal on Namek. It had been nearly 2 years since then. He realized how much he had changed in that time. He had gone from heartless Saiyan killing machine, to ally of the Z fighters, to finding his heart and allowing himself to fall in love. Sure, on the outside, he kept his pride intact. But deep down, he knew that he was not the same Prince Vegeta he was when he first came to this tiny rock called Earth.

He had almost drifted off to sleep amidst his thoughts when he heard a knock at the entrance to his little hut. "Come in." he called out quietly. In through the door came his Bulma-Chan.

"What are you doing in here, Vegeta?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just thinking. You know, Bulma-Chan. It's amazing to think what kind of changes I've been through since I first arrived here. And, in large part, I owe that to you."

"How do you mean?

"Yes, in part, as I said. Seeing how Kakkarot always looked out for his friends. I always saw it as a weakness. But now I see that it's much different. Because I have you to look out for, it gives me a new purpose. Preparing for these Androids, if they ever come. I'm doing it because I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Vegeta..." She crawled over and laid down next to him, snuggeling close to his muscular body. "Knowing that puts a new spin on things. Sure, you're brash and cocky. But since these changes have started in you, I don't feel as afraid as I did when that guy first told us about these things."

Vegeta pulled her in close to him and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you, Bulma-Chan. You mean too much to me."

Bulma was growing accustomed to Vegeta's newfound sensitivity. Each time he showed emotion like this, she was less and less shocked. She thought about how lucky she was to be the only one who noticed this change in him. Wouldn't the others flip out if they knew that Vegeta had a soft side to him. She smiled and allowed herself to let out a small chuckle at the thought.

It was late, and the others had gone off to sleep. Vegeta and Bulma just laid there for a little while, enjoying the quiet moment together. Around them, wildlife was making it's usual symphony, adding to the atmosphere. Slowly, they both drifted off to sleep...

 

Bulma awoke sometime later. A noise from the forest nearby had jostled her from the wonderful dream she was having. She listened for a moment, and heard it again. There was a rustling sound coming from the woods, alright. "Hey, Vegeta..." She shook the Saiyan a little bit, hoping to wake him up without setting him off. "Vegeta, wake up."

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes as Bulma shook him. "Wha... What is it, Bulma?" He was groggy, but awake none the less.

"Vegeta, there's something outside in the woods. I'm scared."

He listened, and then heard what made Bulma so frightened. It was moving around just outside the camp site in the trees. And whatever it was, it was certainly large. "If it will make you feel better, Bulma-Chan, I'll go check it out. Then we can both get back to sleep."

"Alright. But be careful, Vegeta. Who knows what the heck that thing could be."

"Don't worry, Bulma-Chan. Whatever it is, I'm sure that it'd be no match for the Prince of Saiyans." He laughed a bit, making light of his attitude to try and cheer her up. She was always getting upset over what he thought were trifles. He did his best to calm her down and get her to smile again.

Vegeta opened the door to the hut and crawled out into the open. He heard the rustling again, and stood perfectly still. He was trying to determine where exactly it was coming from. He closed his eyes and listened carefully. And he heard it again. He turned in the direction of the noise, opened his eyes and smiled his usual sadistic smile. "So that's where you are. Well, it's time for you to move so some of us can get some sleep around here."

He walked over to the spot where the sound was coming from. He tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to scare it off, so he could confirm what it was. That would help him calm Bulma down when he got back to the hut. As he neared the source of the noise, he noticed the bushes at the tree line shaking slightly. "Come to daddy, you little neusance."

The bushes began to shake violently now, and Vegeta stood ready to take out whatever was coming out of them. In an instant, it happened. A small boar jumped from out of the underbrush, starteling Vegeta and causing him to fall backwards in shock. The little wild pig squealed in fright as it ran as fast as it's little legs could carry it.

Vegeta, lying on his back, looked on as the animal headed for the hills. He laughed after a moment. The Prince of Saiyans, put down in a flash by a tiny little pig. He picked himself up off the ground and headed back to his hut to tell Bulma what he had found.

In the underbrush not far away, a solitary being watched Vegeta as he walked back to his encampment. "Enjoy your little holiday while it lasts, Saiyan. It's going to be your last...

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

 

Morning came to the remote resort island, birds came to life and began singing their happy songs as the world awoke. The surf, at low tide, rolled softly to the sand and crashed gently on the shore. All of this was enough to wake Bulma from her slumber. She yawned quietly and looked down at the Saiyan Prince next to her, still asleep. She smiled. Vegeta was so peaceful looking when he was asleep, the exact opposite of how he was when he was awake.

"Hey, Vegeta. Come on, sleepy head, wake up! It's morning. Come on, Vegeta, get up!" Vegeta stirred a bit, unwilling to wake up. "Oh, if it isn't one thing with him, it's another. Always the rouge, I guess." She shook him a little, trying to get him up. He finally opened his eyes after a few moments.

"Wha... what? Oh, Bulma-Chan." Any other time, if he had been bothered, he would have devestated whoever disturbed him, or at least given them a huge scare. But Bulma was a different story. "Is it morning already?"

"Duh, Vegeta. Of course it is. Now come on, get out of bed. We have alot to do today."

"Alot to do? I thought this was supposed to be a vacation."

"It is, silly. we're going to go into town in a little while. I want to see what all this place has as far as stores and stuff, plus we'll get to see the night club we'll be going to tomorrow night. Now come on, lazy boy. Get up!"

Vegeta sat up looking a little annoyed. But that soon gave way to amusement as he looked at the smile on Bulma's face. "Alright. I'm getting up. But before we go anywhere, I'd like to go for a swim and get something to eat."

"No problem. You go ahead and hit the water, and I'll cook you up something fit for a Prince."

Bulma crawled out of the hut and went to get started on something to eat. Vegeta threw on some shorts and a tank top, left the hut and headed down to the beach. When he got there, he looked out over the water. "I never thought something this quiet and peaceful could get my attention. Oh well." With that, he ran out into the surf and dove head first into the water.

He had swam out some distance, enjoying the water on his tired body. He had been training for such a long time without a break, and taking the time off was doing him good. Taking a deep breath, he dove under the surface to explore the aquatic world below. Nearing the bottom, he saw that the ocean floor was teeming with life. Coral grew out from rock outcroppings, and within them swam numerous types of tropical fish and other sea going creatures. A crab went running by, snapping its claws as it went. Vegeta smiled. 'Isn't this interesting. I wonder if these creatures have any clue as to what could happen to them when those Androids arrive...'

Surfacing again, Vegeta came up just as a wave was forming. He had seen Krillin doing something he called body surfing the day before, and thought he himself would try it. As the wave began to swell closer, Vegeta turned himself towards the shoreline and straightened his body. The wave caught him and carried him forward at a rate that surprised the Saiyan. 'The water holds tremendous power, more than I give it credit for. So this is how Kakkarot gets his energy for that Spirit Bomb of his. He gathers it from all these things.' His thoughts trailed off as the wave carried him faster and faster...

Vegeta lifted his head and looked towards the shore, which was growing closer and closer each second. A rush came over him as his speed increased, and he let out a large cry that could have been heard for miles had it not been garbled by the rushing water churning around him. He continued his bellowing scream as he reached the shore line and came to a screeching halt in the sand. When he finally stopped screaming, he rolled over on his back and started laughing uncontrolably. Never before had he had so much fun while not destroying anything.

Bulma ran up to him. She had heard him screaming and wanted to know what was going on. "Hey, Vegeta, are you alright? What the heck were you screaming for?" The mighty Saiyan continued to laugh his head off, unaware that she was standing over him. "Vegeta? Hey, are you going to answer me? What the heck is so funny? VEGETA!"

His laugh subsided enough for him to open his eyes and see his beloved lady standing over him, looking at him with a puzzled gaze. He caught his breath for a moment, chuckeling lightly. And then, a slightly evil thought crossed his mind. He reached up and grabbed Bulma's arm. "Vegeta? What the... Ooooh!" He pulled her down on top of him, and began rolling in the sand with her, laughing the whole time. When they finally stopped, Bulma looked at him crossly. "What in the heck are you doing, Vegeta? What'd you do that for?" She looked at him lying there next to her, laughing, and began to laugh herself. After a moment, they stopped laughing and just stayed there, together on the sand.

"Bulma-Chan, I really want to thank you for bringing me with you. This time away from training is something that I've needed for a long time."

"Oh, Vegeta. We couldn't just leave you at home. You would have gone nuts! I mean, you would have broken the trainer, and noone would have been there to fix it for you. Then you would have destroyed the entire compound or something."

The Saiyan Prince thought for a second. She was probably right. His temper always had a short fuse. He would have gone on a rampage, that or tracked Bulma down and drug her back to fix what he had broken. "But I'm not there. I'm not angry because something has interrupted my training. I'm here, with you, and I'm actually enjoying myself for the first time in my life. Thank you, Bulma-Chan."

"Well, you're very wel..." She never got to finish her sentance. Vegeta pulled her in close and gave her a wonderful kiss. She was always stunned when he kissed her like this. It was as if she were in some alternate universe, alone with her Prince. She lived for these moments, since she had never felt like this with that moron, Yamcha.

When it was over, Vegeta smiled at his little lady. "I think I've had enough fun for right now, Bulma-Chan. Let's get back to camp and get something to eat. What do you think?"

"Good idea. Your food's almost ready anyway." Vegeta got to his feet first, and helped her up. Hand in hand, the walked back to the camp site, smiling the whole way.

 

They finished eating some time later and began to get ready to head into town. Dr. and Mrs. Brief were going to stay behind so the good doctor could do some fishing in the nearby river, and the Mrs. could just enjoy some sun. Bulma got her things together quite quickly for once, and she and Mizuki headed for the restroom hut to do up their faces.

Vegeta stood with Krillin by the car. "You know, Vegeta, time and again I ask myself why women go through that whole makeup ritual. What do you think?"

The Saiyan seemed to pay Krillin no mind. He was leaning against the car, his head down and his eyes closed as if he were deep in thought.

"Vegeta? You awake over there?"

"No, Krillin. I do not understand why these females go through that whole process. It's a waste of time, if you ask me. I honestly believe that it's a good thing we warriors don't have to go through that phase. What's the point of it all?"

"Oh, you know women, Vegeta. They always gotta look their best when they go out. For some reason, they think that the look horrible otherwise. I don't know why. I think Mizuki looks great no matter what."

"Sometimes, Krillin, I'm inclined to agree on that point."

Krillin was taken aback by that statement. Vegeta? Thinking that women looked good sometimes? What was up with that? 'I wonder what's going on in that overinflated head of his. It's not like him to worry about much more than training and combat.' A droplet of sweat ran down his brow as he looked with enigmatic wonder at Vegeta.

"Hey. Here they come. It's about time."

Vegeta opened his eyes to see Bulma and Mizuki walking towards them. And then, it caught his eye. For some reason, Bulma was looking exceptionally lovely, and it struck the Saiyan warrior with awe. His heart swelled and began to beat faster and faster as she neared. So THIS was what the makeup ritual was for. He had to admit, he did like the results.

"Hey. Are you guys ready to go?" Mizuki called out to them as they grew near to the car.

"Yeah. You girls sure do take your time with that makeup. But it looks great. Now come on, the city awaits!" Krillin opened the door for Mizuki and she climbed into the back seat, with him right behind her. Vegeta just stood where he was, still disarmed by the way Bulma looked. She opened the driver's side door and looked over to him.

"Hey, Vegeta. Are you going to just stand there, or are you gonna get in the car with the rest of us? He he he!" Vegeta jumped a bit, and realized what he was doing. Without saying a word, he opened his door and got into his seat. "Alright. Buckle up, everybody! Here we go!" Bulma started the engine and slammed on the gas, giving everybody a jolt of G forces as they took off for the lights of Aloha City.

It was a relatively short trip to Aloha City, compared to their two hour marathon to the island itself. When they arrived, they found a garage and parked the car. After locking up making sure everything was in order, they set out to see the sights of the resort Mecca. Huge theme hotels towered above the 6 lane strip that dominated the center of town. As they walked along, the girls window shopped at the many fancy stores.

"Hey Bulma! Would you look at that dress there? That's soooooo beautiful!" Mizuki was looking into a boutique that specialized in exotic dresses. Bulma ran up to the window and peered in. "What I wouldn't give to have that dress."

"Wow. It is pretty cool looking, Mizuki." Bulma wasn't really looking at the dress her counterpart was. She was fixated on a dress behind it. It was blue faded into purple with cequins spiraling down from the neckline to the hemline, sleeveless and ending at the knees. She pictured herself wearing it, dancing with Vegeta all night long.

"Oh brother. I'll tell you, Vegeta, when women get into this mode, it's hard to get them out." Krillin and Vegeta were leaning against a lamp post as the girls gawked at window after window nearby. "Do you think we should actually take them into a store and get them something so they stop doing all this window shopping? If we don't, we might not get anywhere anytime soon."

Vegeta was watching Bulma as she admired the dress. He knew she had her heart set on it. Then and there, he made the decision. "I think you're right, Krillin. Let's take them inside this store. That should make them quite happy."

"Now you're talking. Hey girls! You like those dresses alot, do ya?"

Mizuki called back to him without turning around. "Oh, you just don't know, Krillin!" Next to her, Bulma said nothing. She was still staring at that dress.

"Well, let's see what we can do about this. Come on, Vegeta." With that, Krillin and Vegeta took the girls into the dress shop to browse.

Once inside, the girls immediately took off to see their respective dresses. Krillin and Vegeta stayed off to the side, watching with some amusement as Bulma and Mizuki went ga-ga. Krillin leaned over to the Saiyan and spoke. "What do you think we should do, Vegeta? Should we get them the dresses or just let them shop?"

Vegeta, ever the plotting spirit, formulated a wonderful plan. "I don't know about you, baldie, but I plan on not crushing Bulma's dream. I've done enough of that already, it's time I did something... right... for a change."

Krillin's eyes grew wide with astonishment. Right? A change? Something was deffinately happening to Vegeta, that was for sure. But what was triggering it? What made Vegeta tone himself down like this? Was it Bulma? Was it just being stuck on Earth for so long after the Namek ordeal? He couldn't be completely sure. But he was sure that this was a somewhat different Vegeta he was dealing with.

Meanwhile, Vegeta made his way to the counter where the clerk was reading a soap opera magazine. "Excuse me."

"Can I help you, sir?" The clerk did not look up from her reading, and this angered Vegeta a bit. But he managed to keep it in check.

"Yes. I would like to purchase that dress that the young woman over there is looking at. But I need your assistance in keeping it hush hush, so please, pay attention."

The clerk, sensing the menace in Vegeta's voice, looked up from her reading and listened intently as the Saiyan explained his plan to her.

Bulma ran her hand down the length of the dress. The fabric was so wonderful, almost silk like in a way. The cequins caught the ambient lighting in the store perfectly and shimmered brightly. She dreamed of a night on the town with Vegeta, her wearing this dress. How happy he'd be, she thought. She was sure that he'd love to see her in this dress. It was near perfection.

Suddenly, she was interrupted by the clerk coming over to her. "I'm sorry miss, but this dress has just been sold. I'll have to take it into the back and have it wrapped."

"Oh, that's OK." Bulma felt her heart sink a little bit. "Do you have another one like it?"

"I'm sorry, miss, not at the moment. We should have another one in about a week or so. They're hand made, so each is one of a kind and takes a while to make. Again, I'm very sorry, miss."

Bulma was heartbroken. "That's OK. I guess I'll have to settle on another one." She sulked for a little bit, and walked over to Mizuki.

"Hey Bulma! What do you think?" She held the dress up to her body, half modeling it for her friend. "Do you think Krillin will like it?"

Half dejected, Bulma looked it over. "I'm sure he'll like it on you, Mizuki." "Hey, you don't sound too happy there, kiddo. What's wrong?"

"You know that dress I had my eyes on? Someone just bought it, and it'll be a week before they get another one in. By that time, we'll be back home, and there's no way I'll have it for the club tomorrow night."

"Oh, that's terrible. I'm sure there's something else here that suits your fancy. Have you looked around?"

"No, I really wanted that one. I'll just wear something I brought with me, I guess." Bulma looked around the store and noticed that the guys were no longer inside. "Where did the boys go? They were just here a few minutes ago."

"Maybe they went outside. Let me go pay for this dress and we'll go out and check."

Indeed, Vegeta and Krillin were outside, leaning against the same lamp post they had been before entering the little dress shop. The girls were still inside yet, and they were taking the time to chat for a bit.

"So, Vegeta. What'd you do with that? How'd you get it out of there without Bulma seeing you?"

"It was quite simple, really. Once the clerk packaged up the dress, I took it out the back door and flew back to the car to hide it in the trunk. Now all I have to do is wait until tomorrow night before we go to this dancing place and surprise her with it."

"Wow, Vegeta. I honestly didn't think you had it in ya. You know, you're always full of surprises. But hey, it's a good thing."

Vegeta just looked at Krillin when he said that, but decided not to say anything. He just smiled and nodded. Slowly, he was learning to contain his temper. And besides, he was beginning to enjoy his time on Earth. It was becoming a second home to him.

At that moment, the girls came out of the dress shop to find the boys leaning against the lamp post. Mizuki was carrying a box, she had bought the dress she was admiring when they first stopped at the window. Bulma, on the other hand, came out looking rather sad.

Krillin, playing along to conceal Vegeta' surprise, approached Bulma. "Why you looking so glum?"

"Oh, it's nothing important, Krillin. Let's just keep on going down the strip. We should be coming up on that night club pretty soon, and I still want to check that out." With that, the quartet began to walk down the sidewalk again.

Further down the street, the intrepid foursome came accross a square with several different eateries, and decided to visit the small Italian restaraunt on the northeast corner. They sat down and ordered, and to everyone's surprise, Vegeta ended up eating what looked to be his weight in angel hair pasta, smothered in a rich tomato sauce. After they had finished their meal, the continued past the square about two blocks before they finally came to the dance club which was to be the next night's destination.

Vegeta looked up at the marquee that framed the club's name. Club Zero. Though they were off, the neon lights of the sign were clearly blue. The club was arctic themed, this much was obvious. He thought of how the inside might look, and it struck his fancy. 'This place looks rather interesting. So this is what these humans do for entertainment. They create places to gather with a theme of some sort. Very interesting indeed.' Long ago he had resolved to study the humans while he was stuck here, so he could fit in without drawing much attention to himself.

Bulma stood in awe of the club. She'd been to many dance clubs with Yamcha and other boyfriends she had over the years, but never to a place like this. It had three floors that were visible from the outside, the second of which had a balcony. Bulma could just picture how it would be the following night. Her and Vegeta, alone on the balcony, looking out over the strip in each other's arms. She couldn't wait.

"Wow! This place looks pretty hip! I can't wait to get inside it and see how it looks in there! I'll bet it's the sweetest club on the planet." Krillin sounded very excited. In his years of training with Master Roshi, he had never really had the time to actually just be young and do what young people do. Sure, he got his moments in the sun where he had his fun, but he wasn't getting any younger and wanted to have some serious fun.

Mizuki went to the front door to check out the posted business hours. "Well, guys, this place opens at 8 and stayes open till 3am. What time do you all think we should get here?"

"I think we should show up fashionably late, Mizuki, around 9 or so. That should give us plenty of time to get ready, then plenty of time to enjoy ourselves." Bulma was still picturing what might happen in her mind. Her heart was set on having a fun, magical night on the town with Vegeta. She knew she could never tell Krillin and Mizuki, but it still filled her mind with wonder and happiness. Would Vegeta play the role of dashing date she hoped he would? In 24 hours, she would know for sure. "What do you guys think?

Of course, Vegeta said nothing. But Krillin chimed in with his opinion. "Sounds good to me, Bulma. So anyway, shall we continue? There's alot more of Aloha City we haven't seen yet."

"Good idea, Krillin." Mizuki took his arm and together they walked down the street. Bulma and Vegeta stayed behind for a moment. Bulma was still pretty much lost in her thoughts, and Vegeta walked up behind her, putting his arms around her. She jumped a little, but almost immediately calmed down."

"Come on, Bulma-Chan. Krillin and Mizuki aren't going to wait for us forever, you know."

"I know. I'm just thinking about tomorrow night, picturing how it might be. I've never been to a place like this before, and with you, that adds a whole other dimension to the idea."

"Well, I promise you that you'll have a wonderful time. Now let's get going before we lose them." With that, they walked after Krillin and Mizuki, heading further down the street to see the sights of Aloha City...



Dr. and Mrs. Breif were sitting along the shore in their beach chairs, watching the tide roll out as they drank glasses of champagne. This was one of the few moments they had alone together, especially since Vegeta had decided to grace their lives with his presence. Things had been so hectic and frantic since the news of the Androids hit home, and they had looked forward to this moment when they could relax.

"You know dear, the kids should be getting home from the city soon. We really should get started on dinner sometime soon." Dr. Breif reached up to his shoulder and gave a loving pat on the head to his ever present kitty.

"Oh, yes, I know, honey. But they're young, and the city has the pace of life that they're more accustomed to. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to stay and see what's what. You know how kids are."

"Yes, dear, I do. After all, I was a kid once. He he. And so were you. And then we ended up raising a daughter, not to mention one that was full of energy. Heck, she still is even though she's almost all grown up. You know, pretty soon, she'll be having kids of her own, that is if she ever finds a decent man that will stick with her long enough. Heaven knows that Yamcha can't seem to sit still."

They sat for about another half hour, talking and enjoying the quiet time they had together. They knew they'd have another moment like this the next night, since the kids were going back to the city to go dancing. After a little while, they heard the car pull up and come to a screching halt.

"Looks like Bulma was driving again." Mrs. Breif dreaded the thought of her daughter driving, she was always such a speed demon.

"Yep. No doubt about that. Let's get to work on dinner, dear."

After dinner, everyone went down to the beach to play Volleyball. Everyone, that is, except for Vegeta. He just sat off to the side, watching and humphing in his usual manner. He never did like to join in when the others were doing something fun. It was against his calling as a warrior. This time he felt a little different about it, since he was on vacation from his training. But still he sat.

Krillin dug in for a set, and popped the ball into the air. Mizuki ran underneath and lept to spike it. She struck the ball with surprising force, but Bulma reacted quickly. She dove for the save, and sent the ball straight up. Mrs. Breif, her teammate this game, ran over to hit it.

"Oh my goodness! Here goes nothing." She was always flustered in these situations. She ended up hitting the ball at an odd angle, and it flew off and knocked Vegeta in the head. "Oh dear, I'm sooooo sorry, Vegeta. It was an accident."

Vegeta looked over at them, obviously infuriated. But then he looked at Bulma, who was obviously upset and worried he might explode. He picked up the ball and looked at it.

Bulma ran over to retrieve the ball. "Mom's sorry, Vegeta. She's just not very good at this sort of thing, sports and all. Please don't go crazy on her."

Vegeta was still looking at the ball. "Don't worry, Bulma-Chan. I have no intention of ruining your game. Besides, there's no way a little ball like this could hurt me all that much. Here." He threw the ball to Bulma, who caught it. "Now go and enjoy your game."

"Well why don't you come join us, Vegeta? You won't know if you'll have any fun unless you get up and actually try."

He mulled it over for a moment. He'd been watching them play, and had gotten the basic idea, but he still wasn't sure. "I don't know, Bulma-Chan. I don't fully understand the game, and I might end up making a total fool of myself. That, I can't allow at all.

Bulma knelt down next to him. "Oh, come on, Vegeta. It's not that hard at all. Now, look. The idea of the game is to get the ball over the net and hit the ground on the other side. Got it? There are three ways you can hit the ball..."

Krillin walked over to Mizuki, staring at Bulma and Vegeta the whole time. "What do you think they're talking about over there? She's holding up the game."

"Don't look at me. They're your friends."

"Well, Bulma's my friend, but Vegeta? You never really can tell about that guy. Lately he's been as bipolar as a battery. One minute he's charged and ready to destroy whatever gets in his way, the next it seems like Bulma's got him tamed like a kitten. I don't really get what's gotten into him."

"Yeah. I can tell. From what you told me about Vegeta, I expected him to be a big pain in the ass. But the whole trip he's been halfway tollerable."

"I know. I wonder if something's wrong with him..."

"Think you've got it, Vegeta?" Bulma looked at him with a smile, hoping she'd explained the game to him well enough to get him to play.

"I.. I think so, Bulma-Chan. But I still don't know if I should..."

"Oh, for pete's sake, Vegeta. Just let go and come have some fun with us!"

Vegeta gave it one last thought, and made his decision. "Alright, Bulma-Chan. I'll come play. But if I make a fool of myself, it's not my fault."

"Great! Now calm down. Noone's going to care if you mess up. It's just a game! And one last thing, Mr. Prince Of Saiyan Warriors. Try to cut back on that monsterous strength of yours when you hit the ball. We don't need you taking anyone's head off."

She held out her hand to help Vegeta up, and he took it. She drug him behind her as she ran back to the Volleyball court. Mrs. Breif decided to join her husband back at the campsite and see what he was working on, so Vegeta took her place. From there, the game went on.

Later that afternoon, Vegeta had gone for a walk down the shoreline, Mizuki and Krillin were building a campfire, and Dr. and Mrs. Breif had sat down near the fire pit awaiting the fire's warmth. Bulma lay on her bedroll inside her hut, smiling. She was thinking of all the fun she had earlier that day, playing Volleyball with Vegeta. He'd taken to the game rather well, and to her surprise didn't decapitate anyone when he spiked the ball. She giggled a bit when she thought of how Vegeta had planted himself head first in the sand like an ostrich while diving to make a save. He saved the ball, alright, but it took her and Krillin both to get him out after the play was over. When they finally got him out, he actuallt doubled over with laughter at his own folly. Then, as now, it made Bulma smile to see him like that.

She rolled up onto her side and slid her arm underneath the pillow to get comfortable. When she did, she found a piece of folded paper underneath. Intrigued she pulled the letter out and read it.

"My dearest Bulma-Chan. I would like very much for you to meet me at the cove we found the other day while we were waliking down the beach. I have the first of two surprises to give to you. Please try to be there before the sun sets. Your Prince Vegeta."

"Before the sun sets? I wonder where it is now?" She looked down at her watch, which read 5:30. She poked her head out of the hut to see the sun hanging low in the afternoon sky. "Well, I'm not too late, but I'd better hurry. These summer days get shorter and shorter. She gathered her things up, put on her shoes and grabbed a coat. Knowing Vegeta and his surprises, it would last well after sunset. She left the hut and started down the beach to the cove.

When she arrived there, she couldn't see Vegeta anywhere. "Vegeta?" She called after him again. "Vegeta, where are you? Come on, you drug me out here, now where are you hiding at?" She turned around, looking for him, but couldn't find him anywhere. Suddenly, she felt a warm breeze blow from behind her. "Vegeta?" Before she could turn around, she felt two arms wrap themselves around her waist, and she was being lifted off the ground.

She turned her head to see Vegeta, smiling at her as he took her up into the air. "There you are, you lunk head. Did you have to startle me like that?"

"Relax, Bulma-Chan. You know I'd never hurt you. Now hang on, your first surprise is just beginning." When they had reached a decent height, Vegeta shot forward, out over the ocean.

"Where are we going, Vegeta?"

Vegeta remained silent and just smiled. How could he tell her if he intended to keep it a surprise? He flew on for some time, untill he reached their destination. Bulma looked down and recognized the tiny island they had come to the evening before. Slowly, Vegeta began to descend until he came to a soft landing on top of the waterfall's cliff.

Bulma let go of him and walked around to have a look. Below her she saw the small lake that the falls poured into. On the other side, she looked down to see the canopy of a small costal forest, and just beyond it a tiny beach.

"Why did you bring me up here? What's this all about, Vegeta?"

"Come now, Bulma-Chan. If I told you, how much of a surprise would it be? Now, close your eyes."

"What? You want me to close my eyes? I'm nervous enough up here as it is, and now you want me to..."

Vegeta put his finger up to her lips. "Shhh. Just close your eyes. Trust me, I will not let any harm come to you."

Bulma simply nodded, and closed her eyes.

The Saiyan Prince took out a small blind fold and put it over Bulma's eyes.

"Vegeta? What's this all about? I can't see a thing! Vegeta?"

"Just give it a few minutes more, Bulma-Chan. Then you can take off the blind fold and see the start of tonight's surprise."

She complained about being up so high and being blindfolded for the next few minutes, and Vegeta simply stood and chuckled. When it was time, he walked up behind her and removed the blindfold.

"Open your eyes, Bulma-Chan. It's time."

Bulma opened her eyes, and what she saw nearly took her breath away. At the height they were at, she could see over the entire ocean. The sun was now a large orange semicircle extending about the horizon, casting an orangish-red glow over everything it surveyed. It's reflection rippled in the ocean's surface. "Vegeta, this.. this is beautiful..."

They sat down next to each other and faced the glorious palette of reds, yellows, oranges, purples and blues. Bulma laid her head on Vegeta's shoulder and sighed. "This really is a surprise, Vegeta. I never knew a view like this existed."

"It's not over yet, Bulma-Chan. Part two of tonight's surprise is yet to come. Do you see that small beach down there?" Vegeta pointed over the edge down to the forest canopy.

"Yes. What about it?"

"I've brought a small tent and some bed rolls, if you would like, we can spent the night here on the island, under the stars. I've made sure there are no creatures around to startle you like they did last night. He he."

Bulma blushed, remembering the events of the night before. "Very funny Vegeta. But it sounds wondeful. I'd love to spend the night here with you. Is that the second surprise?"

"Oh, no, Bulma-Chan. I've saved that for tomorrow night before we leave. I promise that it will make your night very memorable."

Bulma sighed and leaned back into her Saiyan Prince. Together, they sat watching the sunset. They couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment. As the sky slowly faded from it's colorful evening hues to black pierced with the light of the moon and stars, they talked about things. They laughed about the day's volleyball game, and even joked about the coming Android menace. They were in good spirits all around.

Later on that night, they flew down the side of the cliff to where Vegeta had placed the spare tent. He had already gone through the trouble of setting it up and getting everything else ready earlier, so they simply curled up inside a bedroll and looked up at the sky. The stars above them twinkled brightly. Bulma wondered how much longer she would see them like this, with the Androids coming the future was looking grim. But Vegeta reassured her that she would have many more nights like this.

The sound of the rolling surf soon lulled the pair off to sleep...

\

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

 

 

Vegeta awoke to find himself and his companion, Bulma, shrouded in a thick fog. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He could barely see more than five feet in front of him, the fog was like pea soup. That, or one of those stews that Kakkarot's wife was fond of making for him. He stood up, careful not to disturb Bulma's slumber, and walked down to the shore line. He looked out over the ocean, but could only make out the feint disc that was the sun. Something was amiss, and he could sense it.

He walked back to the small encampment he had made the night before, and began to build a fire ring with stones he found nearby. He then made his way into the woods to gather up some fire wood. When he returned, he got down to the business of building a campfire. It was chilly, and he didn't want Bulma being cold when she woke up.

'I don't like the look of things' he thought to himself. 'This fog must be some sort of omen. I don't know why I feel that way, but I can't help it. I have a horrible feeling that something is going to happen. Something bad, and unfortunately, soon.' He poked at the small fire he had gotten lit after powering up his ki and holding a small bit of energy up to the brush he had collected. It was burning a bit better now, and he added some larger branches and logs to it as it grew.

"Vegeta?"

He turned around to see Bulma sitting up, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she rejoined the waking world. "Good morning, sleepy head. Nice of you to join the rest of the world, even though you cannot see much of it at the moment."

She crawled out of the bedroll and walked over to the fire ring, sitting herself down next to Vegeta and wrapping her arms around his own left arm, laying her head on his shoulder. "Where did this fog come from? The weather report before we left said that it'd be beautiful all week. This is really weird."

Vegeta said nothing. He just looked down into the flames of the fire he had built.Somehow, he knew that something wasn't right. He didn't want to alarm Bulma, though. She knew how he could be with his premonitions, unless he was being his usual self when in battle. But at other times, he was right on for the most part.

No matter how he tried to hide it, though, he couldn't escape her watchful eye. She saw the concern in his eyes. "Vegeta, is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Come on, Vegeta. You can't fool me, you know. Now something's bothering you, and I want to know what it is."

"No, really, Bulma, I'm fine. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's this fog. I don't need a weather report or any fancy radar gadgets to tell me that something's wrong."

"But what could be wrong, Vegeta? It's just a little fog."

"I know, Bulma-Chan. But it just doesn't feel right. I'm afraid that something is going to happen, something very bad..."

Watching on a monitor on the other side of the island, four strange creatures peered in on the Saiyan and his human companion. "That's right, Vegeta." The largest of them spoke. "Something is going to happen. And it sure as hell won't be good, especially for you and your little friend." With that, all four began to laugh. The had much in store for the Prince of Saiyans, and soon, their plans would be set into motion...

The fog that had rolled in overnight began to lift just as Krillin was waking up. He crawled out from inside his hut and streched, yawning loudly. "Gee, it sure is foggy out here. Oh well. So long as it doesn't last." He made his way to the cooking capsule to make himself a snack. "Now how the heck do you operate this thing? Man, Bulma's dad sure does come up with some complex gadgets..."

He was cut short when he heard a voice calling out from somewhere in the distance. He couldn't see where it was coming from thanks to the fog, but he could have sworn that the voice was calling out his name.

"Krillin! Hey!"

He looked up and saw Vegeta flying towards him as he, carrying Bulma and some camping gear, emerged from the mists. "Hey you guys!" They touched down, and Bulma ran over to Krillin while Vegeta went to pack away the gear he had been carrying. "I'm glad you're here, Bulma. I have no clue how to work this cooking capsule."

"Oh, it's easy, Krillin. you just have to be smarter than the capsule." she giggled to herself, and Krillin just scoweled. "Oh, come on, I was only kidding, you know. Now get over here and I'll show you how to work it."

After Krillin and Bulma had finished cooking, the rest of the vacationing family and friends awoke. The fog was now gone, and the rising sun shown down on the camp, bathing it in warm yellow light. Mizuki walked over to Krillin and began to massage his head again, she knew how much he loved it. Dr. Brief grabbed himself a plate of the bacon and eggs that had been cooked and sat down to eat.

"So, Bulma. Where did you and Vegeta disappear to last night?" Her mother was always inquisitive when it came to her romances.

"Oh, Vegeta took me to a nice quiet little island, Mom. It was beautiful. We sat and looked up at the stars, and then we went camping in a cove by the shore. It was so romantic. I never would have thought that Vegeta had it in him."

"Well, that's wonderful, dear. It's good to see that you've found someone who treats you like you should be treated. Even though he does have a bit of trouble with other people."

"Yeah, that's for sure, Mom. But Vegeta will always be Vegeta, I guess. Just look at him." She pointed in the direction of the Saiyan warrior, who was gorging himself on the majority of the food that had been cooked. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that appetite of his. At least he has more manners than Goku does when he eats. He's an outright pig, whereas Vegeta at least has some decency."

Mrs. Brief watched in awe as Vegeta pounded down bite after bite, stopping only to wash it all down with some orange juice. She couldn't understand how anyone, human or Saiyan, could eat so much. "My, he does have a healthy appetite."

"I don't think the word healthy does it any justice, mom."

"I think you're right, dear. Well, I'm going to get some food myself here. Why don't you do the same! From what your father tells me, you have a busy day ahead of you!" She grabbed a plate and went off to get some food for herself.

Bulma picked up a plate and looked down at it. She wasn't really all that hungry, and she was lost in her thoughts. Her mother was right, she did have a rather busy day in front of her. More specifically, a busy night. But she was worried, and it showed.

"Hey Bulma. You don't look too happy. What's wrong?" Mizuki came over to get a plate for herself. "You should eat something instead of just staring at the plate."

"I know, Mizuki. But I can't really think about food when I have stuff on my mind like this."

"Well, what's bugging you?"

"It's a couple of things, really. First off, there's tonight. I know we're going to have a good time and all, but I really wanted to get that dress. It would have made Vegeta fall over if he saw me in it. It was so pretty..."

"I know you did, Bulma. It was a pretty dress, and you would have looked great in it. But there's nothing you can really do about it. Someone bought it already. It'll be OK, I'm sure we can find something for you to wear."

"Yeah, I know. But that's not all. When Vegeta and I woke up this morning, there was a thick fog covering everything. And it had him worried. I can't really tell why, but he does have a sense about these things. He thinks that something bad is going to happen soon, and the fog was an omen of some kind. I really hope he doesn't mean about our trip to the club tonight."

"Well, try not to think about it too much. If you let it get to you, you won't have much fun at all. Just put it in the back of your mind. He could be wrong, you know."

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed and went to get herself some food.

Mizuki watched her go to the buffet table that Krillin had set up, though by now it was empty thanks to Vegeta. "I really don't know what she sees in that guy. But hey, it's her thing. He sure is an odd one, though." And with that, she went to the table to get her own food.

Later that day, the girls had gone to a small town nearby to get some much needed food supplies to counteract the effects of Vegeta's seemingly bottomless stomach. Dr. Brief tagged along since he had nothing better to do, and that left Krillin and Vegeta alone for the better part of the afternoon.

"Alright, baldie. Time to show me how this Dancing thing works. And you had better do a good job teaching me, because if I look like a fool..."

"Jeez, Vegeta. No need to get all pissy. I'll do my best. It depends on how much you're willing to learn."

"Well, if what I'm going to learn will keep me from looking stupid, then I'm as willing as I'm going to be. Now let's get started."

Krillin went to his hut and came back a few seconds later with his protable stereo. He set it down on the picnic table and put in a CD. "Now, Vegeta, the key to dancing is being able to keep the beat. The song has a certain rhthm to it. Here, I'll show ya how."

He pushed the play button, and out from the speakers came music that was simply alien to Vegeta. It sounded like a bunch of machines beeping and thumping, much like the sounds the GT back at the compound made. But somehow, he was able to pick out the melody and actually began to like it. But, his Saiyan pride soon kicked in.

"You call this music? This sounds like one of Bulma's machines!"

Krillin stood, snapping his fingers to the beat. "It's called Techno music, Vegeta. You'll hear alot of it tonight, so you better get used to it. Now, you see how I'm snapping my fingers to the beat? That's what the rhythm is. As long as you can follow the rhythm, you can't go wrong on the dance floor. You following OK?"

Vegeta found himself tapping his foot on the ground in time to the music.

"I think you got it, big guy! Now then, the whole point of dancing is to have fun."

"You know how much I don't like the thought of fun, baldie. I'm a Saiyan, and more than that, I'm the Prince of..."

"Yeah, yeah. The Prince of Saiyans, I know. We've all heard it a million times. And before you go snapping about how Saiyans don't have any fun, forget it. You'll just have to get used to the idea of fun, Vegeta, or you'll end up looking like a stiff on the dance floor. Now, all you do is move your body to the music. Keep the rhythm." Krillin started to move his torso, twisting it in time to the music. "See? You try it!"

"I don't know about this, you little twerp. It looks strange."

"Oh, just relax already, Vegeta. You're not gonna get anywhere unless you loosen up a bit."

Vegeta looked at him oddly, but then he began to let the music take over. Slowly, he started to move in time with the beat. And, to both his surprise and delight, he found that he liked the situation, and liked it alot. Soon he was grooving out like a pro.

"Wow, Vegeta! You sure are a fast learner. Now, let's move on to some harder steps."

For the next few hours, Krillin showed his Saiyan student some of his own best moves. They worked on several popular dances, and the young monk even taught Vegeta his own special dance routine. The two were actually bonding for the first time, though Vegeta would never admit to it. But they did agree on using Krillin's dance as a sort of secret weapon. When the time was right, the two would hit the dance floor and wow the crowd with their newfound talents.

They agreed on a song to use as well. The club they were going to, Club Zero, specialized in dance music from America and Europe. So they decided that the song "Move Your Body" by a Eruopean band called Eiffel 65 would be their time to shine. Krillin resolved to talk to the DJ about it, and the battle plan was set.

After their dancing lesson was over, Krillin and Vegeta moved down the beach to do some fishing. They found a large rock, it's surface around 20 feet off the ground, that extended out into the ocean far enough that the depth would be perfect for fishing. They flew up to the top, baited their hooks, and cast their lines out into the saltwater.

"So, Vegeta, are you and Bulma getting together? You two sure do spend alot of time together."

"Well, it's not really any of your business, but if you must know, we do have something of a relationship."

"That's cool, man. I always thought that her and Yamcha would be together for life. But I guess that didn't work out like that."

"That weakling isn't worthy of Bulma's attention. He's constantly cheating on her. It's not right. She deserves better, and now she has it."

"Yeah, I guess so. You're deffinately a better choice when it comes to the cheating factor."

"Yes. But why do you want to know all this? Why do you care so much about what goes on between Bulma and I?" He turned to face his bald companion, looking angry.

"Well, Vegeta, it's mostly because Bulma's my friend. I watched Yamcha hurt her over and over, but I didn't say anything because Yamcha's my friend, too. And I guess I'm a little jealous too. But not how you think I would be."

"Oh?" Vegeta's look of anger turned to a look of puzzlement.

"Well, what you guys have, it's different from what Mizuki and I have. Sure, I like her and everything. But it doesn't seem quite right. What I want is a girl I could settle down with for the rest of my life. Mizuki is more of a free spirit. So I'm envyous of Bulma now. She has someone she can settle down with. That's what I want."

"I see." Vegeta thought it over for a moment. Bulma wanted to stay with him for life? He pondered the thought. Growing old together, having children, being as happy as they were now, only forever. "That would be something else, that's for sure."

"Look, Vegeta. I know how your pride is and all. But I want you to know that you can tell me. I won't say anything to anyone. Especially Goku. But, do you think you're in love with her?"

Vegeta's thoughts turned back to the emotions he's felt over the past few months. He knew he was in love with her. All those months of wondering what it was, and this little bald man could tell faster than he could figure it out. "Yes, Krillin, I am."

Krillin was in shock. He had called him by his name. That was a first for Vegeta. "Wow. You sure are a lucky guy, Vegeta..."

The two returned to their fishing, not speaking much after that. Vegeta was reflecting on his own situation, and Krillin was daydreaming of a life like Bulma and her Saiyan had. He wondered if he would ever find anyone. He didn't know that soon, he would, but it wouldn't begin the way he imagined it would.

It was late in the evening. The sun was goind down, and the air began to cool off just a bit. A gentle breeze was blowing over the Brief Family campground as the kids were getting ready for the night's festivities. They had split off into two groups: The boys, Krillin and Vegeta, went off to get their suits ready to go. The girls, Bulma and Mizuki, went their own way with Bulma's mother to get things together themselves.

"Hey Vegeta. What cologne do you think I should wear? Gravity, or Preferred Stock?"

Vegeta had no clue as to how cologne worked, and looked at Krillin, totally baffled.

"OK, man. Here check this out. I'll spray some into the air, and you smell each one. Then you can tell me which one you think is better."

"Alright. Sounds simple enough."

"Right on. Now, this one's the Preferred Stock." He held up the small bottle of liquid scent and sprayed it into the air. Vegeta leaned into the mist and took a whiff. "Hmmm. Not bad, really."

"OK, now comes the Gravity." He held up the other bottle and sprayed it in a different direction, so as not to mix the two fragrances together. Vegeta again leaned out to smell the concoction. This one he particularly liked. "Well, which do you think I should wear?"

Vegeta thought it over for a second. He really liked the Gravity, and the name sounded pretty good as well, since he associated it with his training. But he didn't want to wear the same stuff that Krillin would wear, so he decided. "Wear the Stock stuff. I myself will wear the Gravity."

"OK, sounds like a plan." The strongest human on Earth proceeded to practically shower himself with the strange liquid, then handed the other bottle to the Saiyan Prince.

"I'll put this on in a few minutes. I have to take care of my surprise for Bulma before she decides she wants to wear something else and bitches at me for not mentioning it sooner." With that, he took out the box which he had hidden in the bottom of his suitcase and made his way out of the hut.

Krillin watched the Saiyan as he left, and sighed. 'Man, he sure does have his stuff together. I hope he gets the reaction he wants. What a guy.' With that thought, he got back to getting his outfit together.

Vegeta made his way over to the hut where the girls were getting ready. Dr. Brief, sitting on the picnic table petting his ever present kitty, spoke to him as he passed.

"What you got there, Vegeta?"

"It's a gift for your daughter, if you must know."

"Oh really? Well, good luck there, son. I'm sure she'll love it."

Had he just called him son? Vegeta couldn't quite comprehend why he had called him that when he clearly was not his father. 'Oh well' Vegeta told himself. He had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. He got to the entrance to the girls' hut, and knocked.

"Who is it?" He heard Bulma call from inside.

"It's me, Vegeta. I would like to see you for a moment, Bulma."

"OK, I'll be out in a second. But this better be quick, I still have to pick out an outfit for tonight."

"That's part of what I want to see you about."

"What?" Bulma was confused. Why would Vegeta want to see her about what she was going to wear? She looked at her mother with a puzzled gaze. Her mother, equally confused, motioned for her to go ahead and meet him outside. She was in shorts and a tanktop, so she didn't have to worry about going out in anything less.

Krillin had come out to watch. He knew what Vegeta was about to do, and he wanted to see the reaction on Bulma's face. He knew this would be a classic, one to tell the guys back at Master Roshi's when the vacation was over.

Bulma came out of the hut, followed by Mizuki and her mother. Dr. Brief had even come over to see how this was going to go. With everyone there, Vegeta began to speak, the box clutched behind his back so she couldn't see it.

"What do you want, Vegeta? We have alot more to do before we're ready to go."

"Well, I don't want you to pick an outfit out quite yet."

"And why not?"

"Well, when we were out yesterday, I picked something up for you that I thought you might enjoy wearing."

Bulma's eyes grew wide with wonder. Had he? "When did you have time to get me something, Vegeta? We were together all day!"

"Well, Bulma-Chan, not ALL day..." He broght the box into view and handed it to her.

"What's this, Vegeta? What did you get for me?" She opened the box, and her heart skipped a beat. There, underneath the cray paper, was the dress she had marveled at the day before. "Vegeta... But how... This is... But... HOW?" She had no clue how Vegeta had gotten his hands on it, since it had been sold to someone else while she was in the dress shop admiring it. And then she realized it. It was Vegeta who had bought it for her. He must have had the clerk in on it, and then taken it to the car while she was still in the store with Mizuki.

"I saw how much you loved that dress, Bulma-Chan. So I had the clerk purchase it for me, then flew it back to the car. This is the second part of my surprise. I hope you like it."

"Kami, Vegeta. Are you kidding? I love it! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" She threw herself at him and gave him a huge hug, and kissed him deeply. Neither of them cared who was watching, the world was theirs alone.

Krillin smiled and sighed. It was exactly what he wanted to see. 'Man, that's just sweet. I guess Vegeta isn't the bad guy we all thought he was. Good job, Vegeta. The night is yours.' He chuckled a bit, and went back to getting himself ready.

Mrs. Brief walked over to her husband, hugged him, and smiled. "It looks like our little girl has found her prince after all."

"Looks like you're right, dear. I guess Vegeta's heart isn't as cold as we thought." The good doctor smiled himself, and gave his kitty a little pat on the head. "Well, kitty. Looks like there's some magic in the air, after all." The little black feline purred it's approval.

About an hour later, darkness had fallen on the camp, and the kids were almost ready to leave for Club Zero. Vegeta and Krillin were waiting by the car, and Mizuki and Bulma were putting the finishing touches on their outfits and makeup. Bulma did it all with a huge smile on her face. Vegeta had really outdone himself this time.

Back at the car, Krillin and Vegeta stood waiting, chatting a bit. "You know, Vegeta, for a while I only thought that being Royalty made you an arrogant, cocky sone of a bitch. But tonight showed me one thing. You must be royalty, cause that was totally class. You got some serious style, there."

"Well, I can't be cold hearted all the time. And Bulma is a very special person to me. She has shown me the one thing that was missing from my life. And I was simply helping her dream come true, since she has been helping me reach mine."

"Well, Vegeta, if you ask me, you're already a Super Saiyan. You may not have the crazy powers or gold hair, but you sure are a Super Hero, at least to Bulma."

Vegeta smirked and let out a simple grunt that sounded like half a laugh. This had since been regarded by everyone as his way of saying thank you, and Krillin got the message loud and clear. He smiled up at his counterpart, now thinking of Vegeta in a very different light.

"Alright boys! The girls are ready!" Mrs. Breif came out of the hut and called to the young men standing beside the car. Both their heads perked up in attention as she came over to them. "I hope you boys are ready. The look simply adorable."

The first to come out was Mizuki. Krillin blushed a new shade of red when he saw her. She was wearing a tight black silk dress, obviously Chinese in design, with a gold dragon on the front that reminded him of Shenlong. The dress was knee length, and had a slit in the left side that ran nearly all the way up to her hip. Krillin was flabbergasted. He couldn't speak, and could hardly breathe.

As he waited in anticipation, Vegeta stood shaking. He couldn't wait to see his beloved Bulma in the dress he had gotten for her. She was so excited when he gave it to her, and now he too was feeling the same kind of excitement. All of his Saiyan pride and anger was nowhere to be found. He was totally disarmed, and when she came out, it got worse.

Bulma emerged from the little hut, and Vegeta lost it. She was so beautiful in that dress. Her hair was tied up in a bow that matched the purple in the garment. 'She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen' he thought to himself. He felt his knees begin to turn to gelatine as she walked over to him. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, a moment frozen in time, and he wouldn't have wished for it to be any more perfect. As she strode towards him, he noticed how the dress accentuated every feature of her body. He felt a tear well up in his eye, and paid it no mind. 'Let it fall' he thought. 'This is the happiest I've ever been, and nothing can ruin it.'

"So Vegeta, what do you think, hmmm?" She was looking at him with those large blue eyes of hers, almost like a puppy would look with love at it's owner. He was completely overtaken with emotion, and she could sense it immediately.

"Bulma-Chan. You look beautiful." His voice was at a near whisper, and he almost choked up on his words. But he maintained his composure. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."

She leaned up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Vegeta. You've really made my night. This is the greatest gift anyone could have given me. It's not the dress, it's how I feel. You've really made me happy. Thank you."

"Well you guys, are we ready to go get down?" Krillin had helped Mizuki into the car, being the gentleman he was, and looked at the happy couple with a big smile.

"I think we're ready to go, don't you Vegeta?"

He couldn't speak. He just turned and opened the door for her, and took her hand to seat her in her the car. He was totally struck blind with emotion, something that had never happened to him before. He wasn't himself at all. Even the thought of surpassing Kakkarot had totally escaped him. He managed to clear his thoughts long enough to get into the car himself.

"Well, here we go! Next stop, Club Zero!" And with that, Krillin hit the gas and they were off to what they all knew would be a most memorable night of fun, dancing, and for some, a little bit of romance...

They arrived in Aloha City some time later, and parked the car, this time at a garage a little closer to the club. They locked up, paid the attendant, and made their way down the sidewalk to their destination. As they walked along, the looked at the neon lights of the city's many venues. Bulma and Mizuki "oooooo'd" and "aaaahhhh'd" as they past display after display, each more extravigant then the last. After a few minutes of this, they arrived at Club Zero.

The line to get in was long. "Look at that line, you guys." Krillin sounded a little upset, almost dismayed at the prospect of waiting in line.

"Well, what do you expect from an upscale place like this?" Bulma looked at the entrance, some 60 meters ahead of them in line. The line was packed with people, all the way up. They were turning some people away. "Looks like they either don't want certain people in there or they have some fake IDs. The nerve of some people."

"Yeah." Mizuki was still gawking at the lights of the city around her. She had never really been to a larger city like this, especially at night when it was so alive. "God, I never knew how pretty a city like this could be."

"Well, I'll be the club's inside is alot prettier. I hear this place takes it's theme pretty seriously, at least as far as the decore goes." Bulma was still looking ahead as she spoke. Another bunch of flunkies turned away. She giggled a bit at the thought of how it must be to have to try and fake one's way into a club like this one.

After about 15 minutes of standing in line, they were finally close to the front. When it was their turn, they all showed their IDs. Vegeta had to show a Capsule Corp. ID that was made for him, since he had no other indentification on him. After all, there really was no such thing as a card-carrying Saiyan. But, as was the case everywhere, employees of Capsule were held in high regard, especially Bulma. She was the daughter of the CEO. And her guests were always welcome.

Once they got through the front door, they took an elevator up to the second floor, where the main entrance to the club was. When the elevator doors parted, they got their first good look at the interior of the place.

It was a large, almost cavernous room, with two levels. The upper level, on which they now stood, was more of a balcony than anything, with tables all around, and a bar near the glass doors that lead out onto the main outdoor balcony. Below was the main dance floor. And the entire club reflected it's theme. The bars, tables, walls, everything was designed as an arctic glacier would be. Patterned like jagged stalactites of ice and show drifts, the tops of the tables and bars were indented as to prevent any spills from getting out of control. And the sides looked like giant ice cubes, with a soft blue light eminating from within each one.

A second tier on top of each of the tables, similarly decorated, held ashtrays for the smokers and other things like napkins, coasters and more. The walls were lined around the ceiling with more blue lights. In fact, the entire place was doused in a soft light blue light. The dance floor below had lights, moving in time to the pumping music from the DJ's sound system, colored in shades of blue and purple.

This caught Vegeta's attention almost immediately, and he loved it. Blue, after all, was the color of the Saiyan Royal Bloodline. His body suit, his tank tops, it was all blue to reflect his lineage. And of course, it was blue like the color of his companion's eyes.

"Wow! This place is great!" Krillin tried to hold himself back, but couldn't. "Come on, Mizuki, I'll buy you a drink!" He took his date by the hand and led her to the bar, laughing all the way.

"Well, Vegeta, shall we find ourselves a table?" She looked up at him, smiling.

He really couldn't help himself, and began to smile as well. With that, the two made their way to a table not far from the outdoor balcony's entrance. They sat down, and a waiter came up to them almost immediately.

"Good evening, Miss Brief. Is there anything I can get you and your escort?"

"Wow! Word sure does get around! Let's see, I'll have a Blue Maui. What would you like, Vegeta?"

He looked at the waiter, and spoke in his usual gruff tone. "I'll have a beer. And make sure it's not watered down. God knows I hate watered down beer."

The waiter began to sweat a little, but regained his nerves. "Well, sir, we have Guiness, Boddingtons, Fosters, and Molson Ice. Would you like one of those?"

"I'll have a Molson Ice, and make it snappy."

"Um, very well. I'll be right back." The waiter jogged off to the bar to get their drinks. "Good god. The people that come in here sometimes..."

Bulma giggled as the waiter left the table. "You know, Vegeta, you CAN relax. I think you scared the hell out of that poor guy." She reached out and took his hand in her own. "Now try and calm down, you big lug. And for god's sake, have some fun!"

"I'll try, Bulma-Chan." Vegeta was a bit nervous. Eventually, she'd want him to go out onto the dance floor with her. He was unsure about his dancing, even though Krillin had told him that he had done well for a newcomer. "Where is that servant man? I want my beer."

"Remember, Vegeta, try to be nice. Noone here cares about who you are, how strong you are or about your pride. They just want to have fun and enjoy themselves, so try and do the same. Please?"

Vegeta just scowled at her a bit.

"For me, Vegeta?" She smiled at him, the way she always did. She knew that it drove him crazy, and she also knew that she could get him to do just about anything when she did. It was her own little weapon in the war to tame the wild heart of the Saiyan Prince.

And it worked. He relaxed a bit, and smiled himself. Looking around, he saw happy couples all through the club, and singles at the bar. He wondered if he would be one of those singles had Bulma not had her incident with Yamcha. He chuckled a little as he pictured that pathetic ex boyfriend of hers, standing alone at the bar, trying to use his lame excuses and lines to attract members of the opposite sex.

It didn't take the waiter long to come back with their drinks, since he knew that this was a very special customer, and he was in the hunt for a big tip. "Here you go, folks. This first one's on the house. After that, you both get half off whatever you order. Just hollar for me if you need anything, my name's Katsuhito."

"Great! Thanks alot. We have some other people with us, if you could get them the same treatment we'd be very greatful." Bulma smiled as she took her first sip of her Blue Maui.

"Sure can! Just call me over when they join you." The waiter took off to serve the other customers, satisfied that he was doing his job well with the Capsule Corp. party.

"Wow. He was pretty helpful, wasn't he, Vegeta?"

Vegeta was still looking at the bar, laughing to himself at his daydream of Yamcha.

"Vegeta? What are you looking at?"

"If I told you, Bulma-Chan, you'ld find it a little funny, but upsetting. But it's nothing you should worry about." He took a slug of his beer, and sank down in his chair.

Not long afterwards, Krillin and Mizuki found their table and joined. them. "Hey you guys, this place is great! Just look at all the people in here. Must be the most popular night spot in Aloha City!" Mizuki was in awe of the spectacle. Coming from a small, rural town, she had never seen a place like this. She was used to the small bars populated by people she knew back home.

"Yeah, this place is pretty wild." Krillin answered. "If we didn't have to train for those Androids that kid told us about, then we could come to places like this more often!"

They all became quiet for a moment. The Android Menace always loomed on the horizon. It worried them as much as anything ever had, since the boy from the future, who was in fact Trunks, Bulma and Vegeta's future son, had said that everyone but Gohan would be killed in the initial confrontation. That especially concerned Vegeta, who did not like the thought of being killed by a machine.

"Well, we can't worry and mope around about it now. We're here to have fun." Bulma had a knack for changing the subject. "Lets go out on the dance floor and have some fun. Who wants to join me?"

"I'll come down with you, Bulma." Mizuki was looking forward to getting some dancing in. "Alright, what about you two?" She looked at Krillin and Vegeta, who were still thinking about the Androids between sips of their beers. "Well, are you two coming or not?"

"Ahh, Bulma, I think we'll just sit here for a bit. We'll be out in a little while, I need to talk to Vegeta about some stuff, anyway. What do you think, Vegeta?"

Vegeta just stared into his bottle of beer, his thoughts lost on what would happen when the Androids finally came.

"We'll be alright here, Bulma. You and Mizuki go on ahead."

"Alright, suit yourselves. But just remember, Vegeta. I'm getting you on that dance floor sometime tonight, so you'ld better be ready. See you guys in a little while!" The girls made their way to the nearby stairs, which lead down to the dance floor.

Once the girls were safely out of earshot, Krillin turned to Vegeta. "Well, do you think you're ready to do this, Vegeta?"

"I don't know about this. I mean, if I make myself look like a fool in front of all these people, I can't say for sure that I won't lose it and blast this place into the next dimension. And that doesn't say good things about what I'll do to you, either, baldie."

"Look, man. You did fine this afternoon. You took to it faster than I've ever seen anyone take to dancing. You're a natural, Vegeta. And besides, I think you've got the right stuff. It will leave a good impression on Bulma, that's for sure."

"You really believe what you're saying?" Vegeta looked up from his beer at Krillin, and gave him one of his best scowls. "You really think that I won't end up making an ass of myself and blowing this place sky high?"

"Truest me, Vegeta. Now, here's the plan. I figure a few more drinks will get us loosened up a bit, so let me call the waiter over and get us a couple of beers each. Once we get them in our systems, we should be good to go. Sound like a plan?"

Vegeta just grunted a quiet "Hrumph", his way of saying "Fine."

"Alright then. Waiter?"

After Krillin had challanged Vegeta to a few chugging contests, which the Saiyan Prince had gladly accepted and won, they sat at the table, each with a great buzz. "Well, big guy, you ready to go show the place what the Prince Of Saiyans can do on the dance floor?"

Vegeta hicupped, and looked at his counterpart with a sadistic smile. "Let's do it, baldie. I'm feeling the *hicup* groove, and I'm ready to move!"

"That's the spirit, man! Now, let's get down there!"

They stood up and walked, with the occasional stumble, over to the stairs and down to the dance floor. It didn't take them long to find the girls, who were dancing over by the massive speakers set up near the DJ's table. Making their way through the crowd, the came up to the girls, each with a smile on their faces.

"Well well well, look who decided to join us." Bulma called over the loud music coming from the speakers nearby. "So, Vegeta, are you going to dance with me or what?"

"Well, that depends, Bulma-Chan. Are you going to try not to laugh if I do?"

"Oh, Vegeta, just chill out and dance with me already!"

It didn't take long for the Saiyan warrior to catch the beat of the song pumping through the stereo. In moments he was, as Americans were fond of saying, Gettin' Jiggy With It. Bulma stopped dancing and looked at him in complete shock. 'I had no clue that he could dance, and this well for that matter! He sure does take to things quickly.'

Krillin and Mizuki were dancing nearby, and Mizuki looked over at Vegeta. She turned back to Krillin and yelled so he could hear her over the music. "You know, I never took him as the dancing type. He's actually pretty good at it!"

"Yeah," Krillin said in return, "while you guys were out earlier I gave him a crash course in funky moves. He's a natural! Didn't take long for him to learn how to do it. And here I was thinking he'd never get the hang of it."

Bulma had shaken off her surprise and joined Vegeta in dancing like wild. The song was changed, thanks to a flawless mix by the DJ, and they were grinding together. Bulma had backed herself into him, and they were swaying together to the rhythm. Krillin looked at them with wide-eyed wonder, and to his own astonishment found Mizuki doing the same to him. They danced for a few more songs, and returned to the table to take a break and have a few more drinks.

The gang sat around the table, laughing as the waiter kept them happy with drinks as fast as he could. It was deffinately a night to remember so far, and they were all sure that there was more to come. Krillin got up and whispered something to Vegeta, who nodded. Then he went off and headed down the stairs.

"Where's he going, Vegeta?" Bulma asked in a near drunken tone of voice. She had quite a few Blue Maui's since they returned to the table.

"You'll see, Bulma-Chan. It's a surprise."

"Oh, Vegeta, you and your surprises. Well, if history has a habbit *hicup* of repeating itself, then this should actually be good."

Krillin returned a short time later, smiling to Vegeta. "It's all set, bro. two more songs, and it's on." He let out an evil smile, and sat back down to continue drinking his beer.

Mizuki lookd at Krillin, wondering why he was smiling like that. "OK, what are you up to now, Krillin? What kind of scheme is pulsating through that head of yours?"

"Oh, you'll see soon, babe. Meanwhile, let's move down to the dance floor. Vegeta and I have to get ready."

The group had moved to the dance floor, and the song was just about to play. Krillin and Vegeta had positioned themselves for the coming onslaught of dancing wonder, and the girls had moved off to the side, eager to see what they had planned. When the song started it's intro, Krillin looked over to Vegeta.

"You ready, man?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, baldie. Let's do this."

And when the beat hit, they started. It was an incredible spectical, the two men, one human one Saiyan, moved to the beat in perfect synchronization. Sliding left, then right, then breaking into a series of jumps and kicks that would have even the most seasoned dancer looking on in amazement. A circle formed around them, people looking on in amazment. They all clapped along to the beat as Krillin and Vegeta did their routine.

With their skills as martial artists, they performed moves, with balance and grace, that would have most normal people on their backs in pain. At one point, they both lept up into the air, going as high as the second level, spinning and flipping like it was nobody's business. The crowd around them marveled at the sight.

Mizuki and Bulma were in awe. Bulma especially, since she had no idea that Vegeta even had it in him. She was amazed at how good he was, and keeping up with Krillin was never an easy task. She knew that he had yet to find a partner that could match his moves, and she was surprised that he had found that in the Saiyan warrior who had nearly killed them all years before.

They continued through the extended version of the song, and never missed a beat. When the song was finished, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Vegeta looked over at Krillin and smiled. "You've outdone yourself, there, baldie. Looks like you get to be on my good list for a little while longer."

"Glad to hear it, Vegeta. Now let's go get another beer. I'm beat."

"Good idea. Where's that waste of a waiter at? I need another Molson." Together, they gathered up the girls and headed back to the table, all the while getting comments and congratulations from the crowd as they went.

Later that night, Bulma found herself right where she wanted to be. She was standing out on the club's outdoor balcony, with Vegeta standing just behind her. They were looking out over the strip, admiring the lights and hustle of the city. She turned to him and gave him a big hug.

"Wow. That was incredible, Vegeta. Where'd you ever learn how to do that?"

"The little bald guy taught me all that. I asked him to teach me so I wouldn't make a fool out of myself if I came here with you. I guess it turned out rather well, didn't it."

"I'll say it did." She leaned up against the rail and looked up at the full moon, hanging low in the night sky. "It's been a wonderful night, Vegeta. I really want to thank you for agreeing to come along. For all the more cold hearted and arrogant you are, you've really proven that you do have a softer side." She turned to him again and smiled.

Inside the club, the DJ announced that it was nearly closing time. "Well, that's about it for us here at Club Zero, the coolest night spot in beautiful Aloha City. So before you all go, we wanna leave you with a memory or two. These last two songs are gonna be slow ones, so grab your favorite guy or girl and get out there on the dance floor. Get close kids, and make a memory that'll last a lifetime."

"Well, Vegeta. Looks like it's almost over. Want to slow dance with me?"

"Slow Dance? And I thought the little bald guy showed me everything I needed to know."

"Oh, don't worry, silly. It's alot easier than what he showed you. And besides, you get to hold me close..."

"Well, alright, Bulma. You can show me how to do this Slow Dance. God knows I've been shown everything else today."

"Oh, you..." She took him by the hand and led him to the door that led back into the club. "Come on, Vegeta. This'll be fun!"

Once inside, they found Krillin and Mizuki dancing together amidst the other couples. She had her arms around his head since he was a bit shorter than her, and he loved it. They turned to see Bulma and Vegeta walking towards them.

"Well, this certainly has been a pretty good night, eh guys?" Krillin was as happy as a clam.

"Yep, it sure has been, Krillin. I'm sorry to see it end, but I don't think I'll forget it anytime soon." When she finished, Bulma turned to Vegeta and put his arms around her waist. "OK, Vegeta. Now, just follow my lead and you'll be fine, OK?"

He just looked at her and nodded, since he had no clue what he was doing at all. The song changed to a slow ballad by an American band Bulma called Queensryche. In his mind, Vegeta found it rather relaxing, and he was soon dancing with his love, looking into her eyes with more endearment then he ever had before. Together, they danced around in circles, much like they had that first night when they floated down to the balcony of her room.

In both of their minds, this was the most wonderful night either of them had ever had with anyone, let alone individually. As they danced through the night, the scene around them seemed to disappear as they became lost in each other's embrace. The mighty Prince Of Saiyans, and his little human Princess...

Back near the campsite, the four creatures began to set their trap. "Alright, you guys, get these energy bindings set up. That Saiyan and his little friends should be back soon. We need to make sure everything's perfect."

"Right boss. But I don't see why we don't just catch Vegeta and worry about getting his human female later on. Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Maybe, you idiot, but then we wouldn't have any fun with it. If we capture her, then he'll come to us. Just give it some time..." The creature smiled an evil smile. His intentions were not good at all. "Soon, Vegeta, you'll know why we came all the way here to find you. And soon, you'll be ours..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

Episode 1

Darkness covered the campsite, the only light coming from the stars overhead. Crickets could be heard chirping their mating songs in the distance, only drowned out by the quietly rolling surf from the ocean lapping at the sand of the beach.

Krillin, Mizuki, Vegeta and Bulma returned from their night of dancing to find a quiet campsite. Dr. and Mrs. Brief had long since retired, and the only sign that they had been awake was the smoldering embers still burning in the fire pit. Smoke rose from the ashes, giving the air the pleasing scent of a wood stove like the ones found in the rural districts of Japan.

Vegeta, still a bit tipsy from all the Molson he had drank earlier, staggered over to the beach and sat himself down in the sand. He looked up at the sky and smiled. Tonight, he had actually had some fun for once. No worries about becoming a Super Saiyan and overtaking Kakkarot's power, no need for him to mask his softer side with the cold overtones of his pride. Tonight, he was able to let it all go and enjoy himself.

A few moments later, Bulma joined him by the shore and sat next to him. "Hey, Vegeta! So, did you have fun tonight?"

"You know, Bulma, tonight was one of the happiest nights I've ever "had. Hard to believe, isn't it. Me, the mighty Prince of Saiyans, letting it all go and actually trying to have a good time. God, I hope Kakkarot doesn't get word of this. If he did, that idiot would be dragging me around to nightspots all over Japan."

Bulma giggled a bit. "Yeah, he probably would. But don't worry, I won't say a word. And Krillin already knows he should keep it quiet. I'm sure you telling him to keep quiet about teaching you how to dance is more than enough incentive for him not to tell Goku you had some fun, too." She took his arm into her own and rested her head down on his shoulder. "And boy oh boy, Vegeta, can you ever dance! I don't think I've ever seen you move like that before."

"And you'll never see it again, either."

"Oh, Vegeta. At any rate, I sure had a good time tonight. And I'm glad you were there with me. Heaven knows that moron Yamcha would have ever taken me to a place like that. And if he did, he'd probably be going nuts and hitting on every girl in the building. But you, you're so much different than he is. Thanks for the wonderful night, Vegeta."

"Hmmph." Ever the Saiyan's way of saying 'You're Welcome'. Bulma had grown used to it at this point, she knew he meant well. Even though he had let his pride down for one night, he was still ever the defiant soul.

"Well, I'm going to go see what Mizuki's up to. I'll see you when you decide to turn in for the night!" She leaned up to kiss his cheek, and then stood up. Brushing herself, off, she hurried back to the campsite.

Vegeta remained, still staring up at the stars overhead. It had been a wonderful night. Nothing he'd ever expected to be doing, but still grand j"ust the same. Above him, the stars seemed to rock back and forth. 'Must be the alcohol' he thought. A few minutes later, he sensed someone coming towards him. And since none of the other Z fighters were around, it could only be one person.

"What do you want, baldie?"

"Well geez, Vegeta. Can't get anything by you. Just thought I'd come join ya." Krillin sat down near the Saiyan warrior, being careful not to sit too close and give him an excuse to gripe any more than he already had. "Well, I won't ask you if you had any fun or anything, cause I know how ya are about that sorta thing. But I gotta tell ya, man, you really did good on the dance floor tonight. You blew everyone away."

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment. But that's probably the last time you'll ever see me do anything of the sort."

"Heh. At least I got to see the one and only time. And before you snap at me, don't worry. I won't tell Goku anything about this entire event. If I know him, he'd wanna see it for himself and you'ld end up fighting with him."

"Well, you know that it will inevitably happen. I will prove that I'm stronger than that third class moron."

"Heh. Well, maybe someday, Vegeta." Krillin looked up to the sky himself. "Man, it's pretty clear out tonight, not like it was this morning."

"That still worries me..."

"What? What worried you?"

"That fog this morning. Something about it just wasn't right."

"What do you mean, Vegeta?"

"I'm not really sure. I got the feeling that something was going to happen, and soon. Thankfully, it had nothing to do with our little outing tonight. But the night isn't over yet..."

Krillin's happy look turned sour as he pondered Vegeta's premanition. Usually it was himself that had the "bad feelings" about everything. And usually," he was right. But this time, Vegeta had sensed it. He wasn't sure what to do or say.

The two sat there for some time, thinking about different things, letting the effects of their drinking wear off so they could walk straight when they went to retire for the night. They both looked up at the stars, and neither one really spoke much.

And then, it happened.

An explosion knocked them forward. When they recovered they turned back to the campsite to see a giant ball of flame coming from where they had parked the car.

"What the hell was that?" Krillin yelled.

"I knew it! We'd better get up there, baldie. Come on!"

The two fighters flew with urgency to the spot where the explosion happened. It had been the car that blew up.

"What in the hell happened to the car? What made it explode like that. What's going on?" Krillin wasn't sure which way was Tuesday, and Vegeta stood, his eyes wide with both confusion and fury. Dr. and Mrs. Brief had been jarred awake by the explosion and came running to see what was happening.

"What happened to the car, Krillin? Did Vegeta have one of his fits and blow it up?" The good Doctor was rubbing his eyes, still a little tired.

"Nope. He and I were down at the beach when we heard the car blow up. Neither of us have any clue what the heck is going on here."

"Oh my," Mrs. Brief was in shock. "Where are the girls? Are they alright?"

Krillin and Vegeta looked at each other. They had no clue where the girls were, and they sure weren't here with them. They both took off for their respective huts, each searching for his lady friend but finding no sign of them. They returned after searching the perimeter, still with no luck in locating Bulma or Mizuki.

At that moment, both Krillin and Vegeta felt something. It was ki. And not just one, but three. They turned in the direction they had sensed it. Through the flames, they could see the outlines of three huge humanoid creatures. Two of them seemed to be carrying something, but they couldn't quite make it out.

"Who the hell are they?" Vegeta roared in anger. He wasn't happy about not being able to find Bulma.

"I don't know. I've never felt anything like them before. What are those things the two smaller ones are carrying? It looks like..."

"Bulma!"

"Mizuki!"

The car gave off another explosion as the remaining contents of the fuel compartment met with the flames. Everyone turned to avert their eyes, and when they looked back, the creatures were gone.

"Alright. I knew something was going to happen, but nothing like this. Get your gear on, baldie, we're going after them."

"Right." With that, the two took off to get into some other clothes. Fighting in suits wouldn't really cut it, and they had brought some training gear in case they wanted to work out a little while they were here. As it turned out, they were about to use it to fight an unknown enemy, and more importantly, save the girls...

 

Episode 2

 

Krillin found it hard to keep up with the ultra fast Vegeta, but still managed to stick with him as they flew in the direction that the Saiyan had sensed the ki from. He was nearly sick with worry about Mizuki, and he figured that Vegeta was pretty upset as well. He had noticed that he and Bulma were getting rather close, but he dared not say anything about it.

"So, Vegeta, you sure you sensed them from this direction?"

"Shut up, baldie. Of course it was from this way. Do you take me for someone who follows wild geese?"

"Well, this isn't a wild goose chase, Vegeta. We've got to get to the girls, and fast. Who knows what the heck those things have planned for them."

"Grrrrr..." Vegeta powered up even more and rocketed ahead.

"Oh man, what a hot head." Krillin did his best to up his power level and continue after his enraged partner.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Dr. and Mrs. Brief stood in front of the smouldering rubble that was their car. Mrs. Brief was crying her eyes out, and the good Doctor was scratching his head, trying to think of what to do next.

"Oh my goodness, now we're stranded here on this island! It's miles to Aloha City, and I couldn't walk that far, it would just ruin my new shoes! Oh dear, what are we going to do? There's probably all sorts of wild animals out there! What if they want to eat us? What if they want to drag us off and use us for some strange animal kingdom sacrifice? What if..."

Dr. Brief just stood there, wide eyed. "Well, kitty, it looks like we have more than one problem to deal with. Not only is the car destroyed, but now it looks like my wife has gone on one of her worry fits. Oh well." He gave the kitty on his shoulder a pat on the head, and it meowed in agreement. The Doctor turned to see his wife freaking out, running this way and that, screaming her head off. He sighed. "Well, let's see if we can't get her to calm down first, then we'll see what we can do with the car, or at least what's left of it..."

After an hour of flying around the island, Vegeta and Krillin still haden't located the girls or their captors, and they touched down on a rocky outcropping to rest and rethink the situation.

"They're close. I can feel it." Vegeta was looking to the west, sensing the mysterious villians' ki.

"How can you be so sure, Vegeta? I can barely feel anything. Of course, I'm also picking up your energy signal, and you know it's way higher than my own. So to me, you're drowning everything else out." Krillin sat on a rather rounded stone, kicking at some gravel while the tried to figure things out.

"Don't you worry, baldie. It won't be much longer now. We're close..." Suddenly, his senses went wild, as did Krillin's.

"You don't know how right you are, Saiyan scumbag." The voice came from behind them, and startled both of the heroes.

They turned to see a huge figure standing behind them. He was built alot like some of the foes they had faced before. His green hair covered most of his chest, head, and waist areas, and he was wearing a Tarzan-like loin cloth.

"Alright. Now, just who the hell are you, and what have you done with our companions? You had better start talking, or I'll simply beat it out of you." Vegeta was deadly serious as he spoke. There was no more light emotion in his voice, it was all rage now.

Krillin just stood in shock at the size of the new enemy: three times taller than he himself was, and built like a brick wall. 'Oh man, this guy's huge! I don't know if even Vegeta can handle him!' His thoughts raced as he tried to fight back the fear he was feeling. He took his fighting stance and stared the huge creature down.

"Who I am isn't important, and what I've done with your little human girlfriends is of no concern to you, Saiyan. after I'm finished with you, you won't be able to even think for yourself, let alone do anything about it."

"Well that's where you're wrong, you overgrown hairball. Don't you know who you're dealing with? I am the Prince of all Saiyans, the strongest fighter in the universe. And you dare challange me? Fine. When I'm done rearranging that ugly face of yours, you can tell me everything you know, starting with what you've done with Bulma and Mizuki."

"Well, that all depends on if you can manage to even get at my 'ugly face', you little monkey. Now come on, and show me what you got. Or are you too cowardly like the rest of your race?"

"Cowardly? Saiyans are not cowardly. We're a proud race of warriors who do not back down from any challange. And I don't care how big you are or how tough you talk. You're about to get a dose of the kind of pain that only we 'monkeys' can deliver. Think you can handle it, fur face?"

"Not cowardly, eh? Then you should try and explain that to the rest of your 'proud race'."

"The rest of us? There are only three left, two if you don't count Kakkarot's brat, since he's half Saiyan and half human."

The creature's eyes widened. "What? Half Saiyan half human? Well, I see that you Saiyans here in this dimension have some brains."

"This dimension? What the hell are you talking about? You know what, forget I asked that. Now, are you going to keep on spewing nonsense, or are you going to fight me?" Vegeta took his fighting stance, and an evil smirk crossed his lips. "Now then. Shall we dance?"

The creature took his own fighting stance and smiled. "My pleasure." With that, he lunged at the Saiyan Prince, his huge fist curled and ready to strike. He flew towards Vegeta at an incredible speed, ready to lay waste to the Saiyan before him.

But Vegeta was ready. Just as the creature was about to make contact, he pulled off a spectacular balancing act. He swung his body down to one side to avoid the blow, and at the same time brought his knee right up into the overgrown opponent's chest. Flipping himself around and upright, he then dropped a double axe handle that would have made Macho Man Randy Savage proud down on the creature's back, slamming him to the ground.

The creature could only grunt as it tried to pick itself off of the ground, short of breath from the surprise attack by his Saiyan adversary. Coughing and wheezing, he managed to get to his feet and stare Vegeta down.

"Alright then. So, now that you've had your first taste, are you ready for more? Or are you going to just stand there trying to get your breath back?"

"You'll... pay for... that... Saiyan..."

"Oh will I now? Well, with you charging me like that, I guess I have no choice. Mind if I pay you in more pain?"

"Why you...!" He sprang towards Vegeta again, but the Saiyan was too fast. His kick was swatted aside, and he was nailed right in the mommy-daddy button. He howled in pain, singing soprano as he fell to the ground, clutching his crotch.

"Hmmph. Not much of a fighter now, are you? Sad, really. I was hoping that the... thing... who had enough balls to take away my companions would also have enough balls to give me something of a challenge. But I guess you don't have the balls after all. At least not now, anyway..."

Vegeta was caught off guard as the creature's leg came up to meet his chin, sending him flying, and he landed head first on the ground about 50 feet away. Despite landing on his head he was back up rather quickly, and wiped away a small trail of blood that had formed at the corner of his mouth.

"Well well. A lucky shot at best. Now, if you're quite finished with these little games, why don't you try fighting me head on. That is if you're confident enough to take on the strongest Saiyan in the universe."

The creature didn't speak another word. He flew at Vegeta head on, and within seconds they were trading blows, blocking and throwing punches in a flurry that defied all the known laws of speed and physics. It went on like that for the next few minutes. Each got in some choice shots, but neither scored a decisive blow.

Krillin watched in awe as the two fighters went at it tooth and nail. "Man, these guys sure are good, that's for sure. This guy's keeping up with Vegeta like it's noone's business. The only person I've seen do that is Goku." He tried to keep the warriors in sight as they darted accross the early morning sky. The sun still had yet to break the horizon, so there wasn't much light to see by.

Though there was a lack of light, Krillin caught something out of the corner of his eye. "What the heck?" He turned away from the battle to see three figures standing off to his left. They looked like they were wearing... "Saiyan Armor? Are those a bunch of Freiza's leftover flunkies? No, Trunks took care of those morons. Then who the heck are they?"

Vegeta and the creature landed hard onto the ground, each staring down the other, and both a bit out of breath from the fight. Neither had taken much damage.

"Hey Vegeta!" Krillin yelled.

"What is it, baldie? Can't you see I'm a bit busy over here?"

"Yeah, I know, but we've got company! 9 o'clock low!"

Vegeta looked in the direction Krillin had called out, and what he saw blew his mind. "What the hell?" They looked like... "They look like... but it can't be..."

The creature saw them, too. "So, you dirty monkey's followed us, huh? Great. That's all we need is you three freaks messing in our business."

The three new arrivals stood, staring at the creature. The tall, slender one steped forward and spoke. "Yeah, we followed you, you Amazon asshole. And we're gonna finishe you off, once and for all. I don't care what dimension I do it in, you're going down, and hard..."

 

Episode 3

 

"Who in the hell are you three?" Vegeta was steamed beyond belief, not to mention confused. The three new warriors were wearing Saiyan armor, and they each had tails. 'But that's impossible' Vegeta thought. 'Kakkarot, his brat, that kid from the future and myself are the only Saiyans left. How could they be Saiyans?'

"We'll tell you that in a minute. But for now, we have some issues with your hairy adversary there." The large, heavier set warrior was smiling and glaring at the thing which his partner had called an Amazon.

"What the hell do you think I'm going to do, just back off and let you finish this... Amazon... off? Like hell! This is my fight, and I'm not backing away from it for anything! Now just sit there and wait your turn like good boys and I'll leave him alive long enough for you to get your jollies." Vegeta turned back to the Amazon, but it was too late.

The hairy monster was already charging him, and by the time he saw what was coming, Vegeta was knocked onto his back with a mighty blow. He regained his senses in time to see two of the new arrivals, the heavier set one and the small one, charging the Amazon with energy beams blazing. Confused, Vegeta just looked on in awe. They were pummeling the Amazon with a force like no other.

Krillin flew over to where Vegeta stood, and looked on in wonder. "What do you make of these guys? Where'd they come from, and how come they look like Saiyans?"

"I don't know, and I don't really care. Noone barges in on my fight and gets away with it. I'm going to trash that, that thing, and then I'm going to get some answers. Feel free to join in, because the faster we waste that Amazon, the faster we know what the hell is going on."

"Sounds like a plan to me." With that, Krillin powered up his Ki and fired a blast into the fray, striking the Amazon square in the gut, knocking it over. Vegeta joined in by flying directly into the battle, landing a hard punch right on the creature's jaw as it sat up. This promptly returned it to the ground, dazed and unable to continue.

"Now tell me, what the hell is going on here? First of all, I want to know who the hell you three are, where you came from, and what you're doing interrupting my business. Then, I want to know what the hell this thing did with our companions. And if I don't get the answers I want soon, I'm going to be highly pissed off. You can all ask baldie here what happens when I get pissed off, so I suggest someone starts talking now." Vegeta was most certainly cross, and eager to continue the search for their friends.

172"> The taller, more slender warrior spoke. "My name is Ricardo. The big guy here is Randall, and the short guy over there, that's Ry." The other two warriors both nodded their greetings, and seemed oddly fixated on Vegeta. "We're Saiyans..."

"That simply isn't possible. I'm one of only three Saiyans left in the universe. The Saiyan race was eliminated by that slimeball lizard Freiza, but thanks to another Saiyan from the future, he's dead and gone as well. Now how did you ever survive the total annihilation of our race?" Vegeta was quickly turning his favorite shade of red.

"We're not from this particular dimension. Neither is our burly friend over there. We've been persuing him and his cronies for some time now. They managed to find a way to pass through space and time to different dimensions, and the three of us managed to follow them here."

"Alright, I guess I'll have to take your word for it. But that still doesn't explain what they're doing here in our dimension. They've already turned my vacation into a problem. Of course, that happens no matter what. But the fact remains that they have no business being here. So what are they here for?"

"We're not sure ourselves. This guy is part of a race of Amazons who we've been at war with for several centuries now. Just recently, they began capturing our warriors and studying them, apparently trying to find some sort of weakness to capitalize on. From the few who've escaped, we learned that lately their focus has been on our biology, and intense genetic experiments. But unfortunately, those who escaped were either rendered insane, or died soon after returning."

"Well, I've got news for them." Vegeta turned and walked over to the bound Amazon. "Saiyans don't have any weaknesses that you can easily exploit. We're the most superior race in the universe, and it's high time you accepted that fact." With that, Vegeta gave the beaten creature a swift kick to the ribs, further assisting it the pain it was already suffering.

"We're not sure why they decided to send these four into this dimension, but it can't be good, and they have to be stopped soon." As he spoke, Ricardo seemed to never make eye contact with Vegeta, and this bugged the Saiyan Prince.

"Well, you can have them when we're done with them. They've kidnapped two of our companions. The little bald guy's girlfriend, and that mouthy earth woman who builds me my training devices." In his anger, he had reverted to his usual nicknames for Bulma, though in the back of his mind he still loved her very much. After all, his pride was now on the line, and with full force.

"I'm willing to bet it has something to do with their plans, but we really can't be sure. But we can tell you something about them, so you're prepared to take them on should you cross their paths again."

Krillin sat and looked on with interest. The three Saiyans seemed incredibly aware of Vegeta's presence, almost like they knew who he was. 'Man, that's weird. That Ricardo guy almost never looks directly at Vegeta, and the other two can't seem to take their eyes off of him. This whole situation is getting creepier by the minute.' He listened intently as the Saiyans' leader explained about the Amazons they were sure to face.

"This is only the first one of four. He's the weakest, they only get stronger from there. These four are a sort of special task force for the Amazon Confederacy, our rivals in our dimension. Each has the abilities of the previous one in rank, with a few extra surprises. So you can't expect the next three to be as easy as this guy was. Their leader is said to be the strongest fighter their military has to offer, so you can bet he's got tricks up his sleave that have never been seen by anyone before."

"Well, that's quite alright with me. I have a few surprises of my own, and I intend to deliver them once I've found them and freed our companions. Thanks for your assistance, but further help from you won't be necessary. It's bad enough I have to have baldie over here helping me out, but he has as much of a stake in this as I do. Once we've defeated these Amazons, you can do whatever you like with them. But for now, just stay out of my way." Vegeta was up to his old tricks again, not trusting anyone. Even though these Saiyans appeared to be his allies, he simply wasn't going to allow them to give him any sort of help. His pride was just too strong.

In a cave somewhere on the north end of the island, the three remaining Amazons looked on in their monitors as the Saiyans from both dimensions discussed everything, followed by Vegeta and Krillin's departure. "Damnit. I knew those three would find some way to follow us. Typical Saiyans. It's bad enough that the only real threat to the plan has to be alive in this dimension, but now he's got some help from those three low life primates. Move up the time table, and you two get out there and see what you can do about stalling them."

"Yes sir, with pleasure." The second in command gave an evil smirk and left with the third to go and meet the Saiyan threat. The leader returned to his command chair and activated its motor, spinning it slowly around until it faced his prisoners.

Bulma and Mizuki were both strapped down, unconcious, to what seemed to be operating tables, each with some frightening looking instruments laid out on tables nearby. The Amazon leader smiled an evil, knowing smile.

"Soon, you two won't be alone. Once we capture Vegeta, it'll all become clear. And then we'll have the means to destroy those dirty monkeys and stake our claim as a major universal power..."

"So, do you think it was really him?" Ry looked at his leader inquisitivly, wondering if the angry Saiyan they had just met was the one they all knew in their dimension.

Randall came back from sending the first Amazon through the dimensional portal. "If it was Vegeta, then maybe there's hope for us yet. What do you think, Ric?"

Ricardo sat on a rock, deep in thought. "If it's Vegeta at all. In our dimension, he's dead, because the Amazons knew he was a major threat. If they're here, the probably know about him and would move to eliminate him. But who knows."

Randall walked up to him and put his hand on his leader's shoulder. "I know how tough it is, Ric. But if that is Vegeta, then we have some hope of stopping these freaks yet. If anyone can do it, it's Vegeta."

"I know, Randall. But it's still tough to comprehend seeing him again. After watching him die at the hands of these damned Amazons... It's just too much for me to comprehend yet."

"Well, at any rate, I think we should be looking for the rest of these creeps. Once we take them down, we can go back to our own dimension and finish smashing these fools into the ground." Ry picked up his scouter and put it on. Activating it, he scanned the area for signs of their adversaries. "Well, that other Saiyan and his human friend are heading east. But I'm not getting any readings for... Wait..." He turned his gaze northward and picked up two other energy signals. "There they are. Two of them, headded right for us."

Ricardo came out of his thoughts and looked northward. "Then let's go meet them halfway, shall we?" The other two Saiyans smiled and nodded. Soon, they were on their way.

Vegeta and Krillin flew just over the treeline, trying to sense anything they could in order to find the Amazons and rescue the girls. They hadn't gotten far when Vegeta suddenly stopped and landed on a rather high hill with a few trees.

"Hey, Vegeta. What are we stopping for?"

"Quiet down, chrome dome. I need a minute to think things out." Vegeta walked over to a large rock and sat down to think.

"OK, there, grouchy. No problem. I'm gonna see if I can rustle us up some water and something to eat. I won't be far, just yell if something comes up."

In his own typical fashion, Vegeta gave his reply. "Hrrmph."

"Right then. Catch ya later." With that, Krillin took off down the hill.

Lost in his thoughts almost immediately, Vegeta pondered his encounter with the other Saiyans. 'Alright, so their from another dimension. Hell, if it's possible for a Super Saiyan to come from the future, then I can understand another dimension. But what the hell do they want here? More importantly, what do those Amazons want from coming here and taking Bulma and that bald guy's girlfriend. What the hell could they possibly be planning?' His thoughts soon turned to the little lady that had tamed his heart over the recent months. 'Bulma. Don't be afraid. Wherever you are, I'm going to find you. And when I do, I'll make the asshole who did this to you pay, dearly...'

 

 

Episode 4

 

The three Saiyan Warriors flew in the direction that Ry's scouter had told them the Amazons were coming from. As they flew, Ricardo was still lost in his thoughts. 'Was that him? Was it really Vegeta? He was killed when he was younger, but... that hair... The only Saiyan I ever knew with that hair was him. My...' His thoughts were interrupted when Randall called out.

"They're close, I can feel them now." The largest of the three sped ahead, and the other two picked up the pace to follow. "When I get my hands on these freaks, I'm gonna crush them into tiny pieces and ship them back to our dimension in cardboard boxes."

"Sounds like a good plan, Randall. But we have to defeat them first. We all know that they're strong enough to be a match for us. We're gonna have to use every trick in the book to beat these last three down." Ry had a concerned tone in his voice.

"Well, we'd better. Whatever they plan to do here, it can't be good at all. And if we don't stop them, both dimensions could be in for a world of trouble..."

Back at the camp site, Dr. Brief sat next to the twisted wreck that was once their hover car. He had tried to see what he could salvage, if anything, but hours of pondering, sifting through debris and a few headaches had produced nothing. "Well, kitty, looks like the car is a lost cause. Let's at least try to make the best of it and get something to eat, shall we?" The tiny kitten was perched on his
his head, its little paws and head peeking out from his messy grey hair. It meowed its reply, and the Doctor heard it's little stomach growl its approval as well. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's go see what my wife has to cook up."

They walked back over to the main camping hut, where Mrs. Brief stood outside, staring blankly at the cooking equipment. "Oh dear. How are we ever going to get through this?" She hadn't noticed her husband and his kitten walking up behind her. "Oh my, Bulma and Mizuki are missing, Vegeta and Krillin have disappeared after them, and we're stuck here with no hope of getting off the island anytime soon. Why does this kind of thing have to happen to us?" With that, she started
into yet another of her emotional outbursts, and broke out crying.

Dr. Brief walked up behind his wife and placed his hand on her shoulder. "There, there, honey. It'll be alright. The boys are bound and determined to find Bulma and Mizuki. They won't give up until they're back safe with us. If I know Vegeta, he won't stop until he makes things right in his own mind, and I have no doubt that means bringing Bulma back. And Krillin is a good fellow, and I'm sure he won't let any harm come to Mizuki, either. They'll get the job done."

"I hope you're right, dear." She turned to the Doctor, still sobbing, and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder."

"It'll be alright. By the grace of Kami, those boys will succeed." He hugged his wife and looked up to the sky in the direction Krillin and Vegeta had left in. In his mind, he spoke out to them. 'Please find the girls, you two. We're counting on you...'

Vegeta reluctantly finished his meal, which consisted of some kiwi-like fruit that Krillin had found. "My Kami, baldie. Where did you find this slop? These things taste aweful!" He quickly guzzled down some water to wash the taste out of his mouth.

"Stop complaining, would ya, Vegeta? It's all I could find that I was sure was edible. It's not like we have the time and luxury of flying to Aloha City and getting a decent meal. We have to find Mizuki and Bulma, that's our top priority."

"What, you think I've forgotten that already? The food isn't bad enough to make me lose sight of our mission. But you're absolutly sure that this is all you could find to eat? These things make my stomach feel like it's on a damned roller coaster."

"Yeah, mine too. But hey, it's better than eating tree bark or grubs or something. Kami knows we're not a Meerkat and a Warthog."

"A meerkat and a warthog? Where do you come up with this damned drivel, you baka?"

"It's a movie, Vegeta. Nevermind, it's not important. I hear it was a rip-off, anyway. But that's not the issue. Now that we've eaten, I think we should get back on the trail. Those Amazons aren't going to take a break, and we shouldn't hang out for very long. Otherwise, we're wasting valuable time. I've taken the liberty of packing up some of this fruit for us in case we have to eat again."

"Ugh. As much as I detest this crap, I suppose it's a good idea. You're not as stupid as I thought you were, shorty."

"Well, given the circumstances, I'll take that as a compliment. You sure do have a strange way of getting your point accross, Vegeta."

"Don't get too full of yourself. We have a job to do, and you're right. We should get going. I wonder if those other Saiyans have any leads."

"Do you think we should try to find them?"

"Not yet. I want to see what we can find on our own. Not to mention it serves the purpose of covering more ground if we stay seperated. Now, let's get on with this. We don't have much time."

"Now you're talking. Let's go." With that, the two Z Warriors took off in search of their loved ones.

"He's just over that hill, you guys. We've got him now." Randall called out to his partners as his scouter signaled the location of the Amazon. "Looks like he stopped to meet up with us. Be ready for anything."

The Saiyan Trio flew at top speed, chasing after their target. They'd been flying for over an hour, and now they were about to engage the enemy. Ricardo, however, didn't have his mind totally on the task at hand. He'd been going over the other Saiyan they had encountered. His thoughts drifted back to his time in his own dimension, when he had seen another Saiyan that looked just like this new one killed in a brutal Amazon attack. Though it had been nearly seven years since that day, the memory remained fresh in his mind.

"Hey, Rico, you with us man?" Ry looked back at their leader, a look of concern on his own face.

"Yeah, I'm with you. Let's get that bastard."

"Now that sounds more like you." He smiled and turned just in time to see over the final ridge. There, he caught sight of their prey. "There he is. Let's take that Amazon punk down, shall we?"

They descended down into the clearing where the Amazon stood alone, and landed softly, never taking their eyes off of him. A short staredown ensued, noone moved, and silence was the order of business. Finally, Ricardo spoke.

"Well well. Looks like we finally caught up to you. Where are your buddies?"

"Damn monkeys. Always interfering in our business. Don't you guys ever quit? Besides, like I'd tell you where they are, anyway. It's none of your damned beeswax. Why don't you just go back to our original dimension and crawl back into the hole you came out of?"

"Fat chance, you Amazon freak." Ry had the tone of determination in his voice. "I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on you, and I'm not backing off one bit. So why don't we just get down to the dirty work and save the words for later?"

"That's quite alright with me. Now, let's get this over with..." No sooner had he finished his sentance, then he launched himself toawrds the trio, ready to strike with all he had in him...

 

 

Episode 5

 

Bulma tried to open her eyes as she came to, but she found her vision blurry at best. Her head was throbbing in pain. When her vision cleared enough, she looked around to find herself strapped on a table in the middle of a large room. The lighting was poor at best, the only source being the soft glow of the many panels and monitors that occupied the room in various places. Next to her, she saw Mizuki, still unconsious, also strapped down to a similar table. It was then that she felt the sharp pain in her left shoulder.

The pain came from a small puncture wound, suffered at the injection of a needle. Slowly, her memory returned, and she managed to figure out that she and Mizuki had both been drugged. As the events leading up to that last moment became clear one by one, she tried desperately to free herself from her bonds, but to no avail. She was locked down tighter than a drum.

Slowly, her thoughts turned to Vegeta. Would he come to try and rescue her? Or was that too much to ask of the proud Saiyan? 'Oh Vegeta, where are you?' As she thought, a small tear welled up in her eye and rolled down her cheek. 'Please, save us, Vegeta. Please don't leave me alone...'

"Bulma..." Vegeta suddenly blurted out the girl's name as he and Krillin flew over the treeline, searching for their companions. 'Strange,' he thought. 'I could have sworn I heard her voice. But how?' His thoughts turned to the stories he had heard when he was a young prince on Vegetasei. Adult Saiyans, he had heard, bonded with their mates through a bite on the shoulder. But, he had also heard that he himself was genetically engineered to resist that bond, though it had never been proven to be effective. For all these years, he had placed that in the back of his mind, classifying it as nothing more than things he had heard in his younger years. His service to Freiza was too great a burden on his mind to think of
much else.

But still, in that small flash, he thought he could feel something like the bond, or at least a bonding of some sort. In all his time on Earth, he never gave much thought to human bonding, let alone considered the notion of it even existing. His thoughts raced back over the times when he had felt it. When he first became attracted to her, and how it had grown to something more when they began to spend time together. And it hit him. That was the human bonding ritual. Different from the Saiyan ritual he had heard of in his youth, but similar enough to make him wonder.

"Did you say something, Vegeta? Krillin looked back at his unlikely partner as they flew.

Snapped back into reality, Vegeta gave one of his usual gruff retorts. "I didn't say a thing, baldie. Now why don't you quit worrying about me and focus on what we're out here to do."

Krillin shook his head and turned his gaze ahead once again. "Geez, that guy is impossible. I could have sworn I heard him say 'Bulma'..." He looked back at Vegeta one last time, just for a moment, and turned forward again. "That guy is impossible."

Far off from the hustle of the mortal world, on the tiny planet at the end of Snake Way, a small figure stood on the hood of a classic Chevy, deep in thought. He had seen the events that were going down on the tiny island on the planet Earth, and his facial expression reflected his feelings on the matter. "It would appear that Vegeta and Bulma have taken quite a shine for one another. Despite Vegeta's cold attitude, he appears to have bonded with the little human female. But now that bond is being put to the test.. Dear me..."

King Kai hopped off of the car and began walking towards his home, deep in thought. From inside the doorway, Gregory and Bubbles stood watching their beloved boss, noticing the look of dismay on his blue, insect-like visage. "King Kai, what's wrong? You don't look to happy." The little grasshopper spoke softly.

"Oh Gregory, something aweful has happened yet again on the Earth. And though I don't like it, the only two people who can resolve this matter are Krillin... and Vegeta..."

"Vegeta? You've got to be kidding."

"I fear that I'm very serious, Gregory. I can feel some good in Vegeta's heart, but I'm not sure if it's enough to help him overcome his pride and do what he has to do. With him, it's a constant struggle between darkness and light. After his ordeal on Namek, though, he might just have gotten what it will take to come out on the side of good."

Both Gregory and Bubbles stood in the doorway, dumbfounded and sweating. It wasn't somthing that they had ever expected to hear.

"There is a way I can help them, though." He turned away from the house and readjusted his antenai. Sparks of energy crackled between them as he focused his telepathic powers at Korin Tower. 'Korin, this "is King Kai. Please, come in, Korin...'

Back on Earth, high atop the mighty Korin Tower, Yajirobi sat, eating as usual. Not too far away, the tiny cat-like being known as Korin stood along the railing of his home, leaning on his staff, when he heard the voice of King Kai in his mind. Immediatelty, his cat senses perked. 'I can hear you, King Kai. To what do I owe the honor of this conversation?'

'Korin. Something has gone wrong with the Brief Family Vacation. Bulma and Mizuki have been taken, and Krillin and Vegeta are looking for them as we speak.'

'I had a feeling something wasn't right. But Vegeta? Are we sure we can trust him?'

'At this point, we have no choice, my friend. I can feel the good in him, but he's still an unpredictable soul to read. And right now, he and Krillin are the only hope that the girls have. Now, I need you to help them in their quest.'

'But how can I help?'

'I need you to send Yajirobi to the island where they are. Send him with Senzu Beans. And the Brief family is stranded so make sure he picks them up and takes them home as well. Their being on the island puts the"m in danger, and that's more than Krillin and Vegeta need at this point.'

'I agree, King Kai. I'll dispatch Yajirobi at once. Keep me updated on their situation.'

'Thank you, my friend. Now hurry. They don't have much time. From what I can tell, they've picked up some allies, but even that might not be enough.'

Korin turned from the railing to face Yajirobi, who was now staring at him, a worried look on his face. "Yajirobi, I have a task for you."

"Uh oh. This usually means I have to put my ass on the line. What is it this time?"

Korin calmly explained the ordeal that faced Krillin and Vegeta to the tubby senshi, who sat wide eyed. After he had finished laying out the basics for the mission, Yajirobi nearly freaked out.

"You want me to do WHAT?!? Are you nuts? You want me to go and give Senzu Beans to Vegeta? The guy who's tail I cut off? He'd probably kill me just for that, and that was how many years ago? I'm sure he wouldn't forget something like that, and there's no way I'm going to go anywhere near that psycho!"

"Yajirobi, I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice in the matter. King Kai has requested that you do this. And for all the trash you talk about being right there on the front lines with the other senshi, it's about time you made good on those claims." Korin handed a bag of the energy restoring beans to the chubby messenger, who took them reluctantly.

"Alright. But you guys are gonna owe me for this one." As he walked off to pop his car capsule and head for the island, he mumbled to himself. "Can't believe this. They want me to go and help Vegeta? This is insane..."

 

Episode 6

 

"Alright. You boys want a fight, it's a fight you'll get!" The Amazon yelled as he charged the three Saiyan warriors who stood before him. As he neared the trio, he sneered and quickly directed himself upward, heading into the sky. "But you won't get it from me just yet. First you have to defeat my little friends!" With that, he reached into his pouches and threw out what looked like large marbles. When they hit the ground, each turned into a little alien, as ugly as Lyle Lovett and with an attitude to mach.

"Oh great." Randal didn't seem amused. "Demon Fighters. This could get interesting."

The little demons stood all around the Saiyans, growling and laughing as the stared down their adversaries. The Amazon, floating high above the scene, laughed himself as he took in the view. "Well now, looks like the odds are in my favor! You boys have fun, cause I'm gonna enjoy this one. Alot."

"Whatever, you Amazon freak. We'll get to you soon enough." Ricardo looked up at the enemy, and then to the small fighters surrounding he and his comrades.

"I think not, you mindless monkey. Alright boys, get them, and don't stop untill these apes have been completely destroyed!" At his command, the demons launced themselves at the Saiyans, ready to strike. The three warriors readied themselves, and in a matter of seconds, the battle was on.

In all, there were 10 of the creatures. Four of them attacked Ricardo, and the others got three each. The fighting was fast and furious. Each battle moved to its own location, whith each Saiyan combatant trying desperatly to fend off the multiple attacks.

Ry was having a bit of trouble with his batch of demons. Every time he seemed to knock one over, another came out of nowhere to strike him from behind. But the smallest of the three Saiyans fought valiantly, recovering as much as he could from one attacker before facing another.

Randal was having a field day, batting the little creatures away with ease. But they kept coming back, and it seemed as if he couldn't get the upper hand.

Ricardo had it the worst. With four of the little beasts against him, he couldn't get a handle on the battle. They came at him from all directions, sometimes at once, sometimes at intervals. But the attacks were constant, and it took everything he had to keep up.

On and on it went. High above the battlefield, the Amazon looked on with a large grin. "Heh. Puny little howler monkeys. This should be rather entertaining..."

Back in the Amazon's secret lair, Bulma was using her mind-bashingly high IQ to try and formulate some sort of escape plan. The Amazon leader had gone off to attend to some other business. What that was, she didn't much care. This was her one oppertunity, and she wanted to make it count.

He bindings fit her wrist snugly, but she had a little room to move. She tried to manipulate her hand enough to wiggle it through, but it was no use. "Mizuki..."

"What?"

"I think you might be able to wiggle your hand out of the bindings. Your wirsts and hands are smaller than mine, so you might be able to do it. If you can get one hand free, you might be able to get both of us out and we can try to find a way out of this hell hole."

"I don't know, Bulma. What if big and ugly comes back?"

"Mizuki. I've been in situations like this before, and believe me, that chance is always there. But this is OUR chance to get the hell out of here. And I for one don't want to find out what that freak has in store for us. You can do it. Look, if I know Krillin at least, he won't give up till he finds us."

"What about your guy, that cranky one? Vegeta?"

In her heart, Bulma knew that Vegeta would come for her. But her mind, mostly her memories, clouded those feelings. The way they had met, when he came to destroy the entire earth. But then Gohan told her about what happened on Namek. How Vegeta cried when Freiza dealt him a death blow. And then she thought of what brought them together, the lonliness they both felt. Then and there, she knew for sure.

"He'll be here. He's a warrior. He knows the value of honor..." She spoke with a low tone in her voice, and Mizuki caught the emotion behind it.

"You're right. They'll be here." She began to move her hand, trying to escape the bonds. After a few seconds, she managed to get half of her hand through. "Bulma, I'm almost there..." One last tug proved to be all the shackles could handle, and her hand came out with ease. "I'm out!" Working frantically, she undid her other hand, then her ankles.

Moments later, they both stood near the doorway of the main chamber in which they were held. After a little bit of conferancing, they decided to make a break for it through the maze of passages and see where they ended up. The plan was simple. Get somewhere where they could contact someone. Then get out, if they could. They set off through the hallway...

High above the ocean, Yajirobi's capsule car chugged along on it's way to the island where Korin had sent him. "Why do I always gotta be the hero. And they have to be kidding me! They want me to help Vegeta?" He cursed Korin, and he cursed Vegeta even more. Secretly, Yajirobi wondered if Vegeta still held a strong grudge for when he had sliced off the Saiyan's tail...

"What the heck? Hey Vegeta, do you feel that?" Krillin looked over his shoulder as he flew in search of their companions.

"Yes, I feel it. A whole lot of powers, and they're all working overtime. I guess those wannabe Saiyans have found what we're looking for."

"Maybe. But whatever they found, it feels like it's heavy duty."

"Well, come on, baldie. We're going to see what's going on. Hopefully they've found the Amazon's bunker for me and I won't have to waste my time looking." He powered up and took off at top speed.

"Leave it to Vegeta. Oh well, I'd better get going." Krillin followed suit, and the two were jetting off towards the fight they both sensed. He had the feeling that he'd sensed a similar power level before, when Vegeta and Nappa had used the Saiba Men. He wondered if Vegeta had the same feeling...

"We need some help here, boss!" Ry was trying to get through to Ricardo, who was himself busy. "These things are too much right now, we can barely handle them!"

"I know." He continued to fight off the four little aliens as he tried to communicate with his partner. "I think I can feel two power readings coming this way. It might be Vegeta and the bald guy." As he finished his sentance, he quickly lept into the air and flipped over the little aliens, landing next to Randall, who himself had managed to get away from his attackers for a moment.

"I can feele them too, Rico. They're coming, and fast. I just hope it's not the other two Amazons." One of the little beasts lept at Randall, but he swung his huge left arm at it, swatting it away with a resounding thud. "Let's hope that it's him..."

 

Episode 7

 

Dr. Brief and his wife sat on the shore, the waves creeping up to meet their feet as the tide came rolling in. With the girls gone and the boys off looking for them, they really didn't have much to do. The car had been destroyed, and the good Doctor hadn't thought to bring a spare capsule. He was kicking himself for thinking that going on vacation would be a safe, fun venture. Nothing that included Vegeta was ever safe in his mind. But he was now relying on the violent, egotistical Saiyan to rescue his own daughter.

"You know, dear, Vegeta and Bulma make a wonderful couple." The Mrs. spoke with slight happiness in her voice.

"What makes you say that? Vegeta's insane! I'm amazed he agreed to come along on this trip. He's never up for anything we'd consider fun."

"Yes, I know. But he and Bulma seem like they were made for each other!"

"How do you mean?"

"Oh, come on now, dear. Can't you see it? They're both as stubborn as mules. They both have short tempers and even shorter attention spans. It's like they came from the same mold, really. A match made in space, if you want to look at it that way."

Dr. Brief hung his head and considered the notion. She did have a point. They were both rather pig headed, and they both had the shortest fuses he'd ever seen. "You're right, dear. Absolutely..." He never got to finish his sentance. He heard something in the distance, he lifted his head to the sky and opened his eyes. "Do you hear that, honey?"

"Hear what, dear?"

He scanned the skys carefully, and then he saw it. It was indeed a capsule car in flight mode. Immediately, he jumped up and began waving his arms frantically, trying to get the pilot's attention. As the car came closer, Mrs. Brief joined in, screaming at the top of her lungs. Their attempts died down when they realized that the car was in fact coming towards them, and when it finally landed on the beach, they were surprised to see Yajirobi climbing out of the driver's seat.

"I hear you guys need a ride back home." He said as he walked over towards them, his usual annoyed look gracing his pudgy visage.

"Yajirobi! How on Earth did you ever find us?" Mrs. Brief was beside herself with both joy and surprise.

"Oh, you know. I have a knack for these things. After all, I am a Z fighter. But actually, King Kai has been keeping tabs on what's happening here, and had Korin send me to pick you guys up. But there's one catch." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a capsule. He pushed the switch and tossed it nearby, and it exploded into yet another car. "You guys are on your own getting home. I have to deliver these Senzu Beans to Krillin, and as much as I hate to do it, Vegeta. I don't think he ever got over me cutting off his tail, so I'm really nervous. But it's the job I was handed."

"Thank you, Yajirobi. We'll be alright from here. We're just glad to be able to get out of here." Dr. Brief smiled and sighed in relief. He and his wife would finally be able to get off the island, and they didn't have to walk for hours to get to Aloha City. "Come on dear, we have to get packing."

"Right. And I've gotta find those two and get these Beans to them."

As he raced towards the battle, Vegeta's thoughts turned back to Bulma. Every moment they had ever spent together flew thorugh his mind, each one adding fuel to the fire that was already burning inside of him. These Amazons had taken her away from him, and this enraged him to no end. He'd finally found something - someone - that made him happy, and now it was gone. But it wasn't gone for good. He still had a chance to take back that wich gave him the only emotion he'd never felt before coming to Earth: Joy.

'I will find you, Amazons. And when I do,' he thought to himself, 'I'm going to crush you under my boots. You dared take away something very precious to me, and for that, you will face my wrath...'

"Hey, Vegeta! They're right over that next ridge! Get ready, cause there are alot of powers over there, and they're all sky high!" Krillin shouted to his unlikely partner.

"I'm always ready, baldie. Just stay out of my way and I'll take care of these Amazon pests. Then we can retrieve our women and go the hell home."

They crossed the ridge and saw the battle raging on a plateau below them. They landed some distance away and looked the situation over.

"I knew I felt something else. They've got some little aliens doing the fighting for them. Kinda like those Saiba Men you had when you first came to Earth." Krillin watched as the little creatures fought with the three Saiyans, matching them blow for blow and using their numbers to gain the upper hand.

"Those ARE Saiba Men, you idiot. But they look differant. Probably from the dimensional differances. But still, if these fighters are truely Saiyans, then they'd have no trouble defeating the little monsters. They must have been genetically engineered by the Amazons and made stronger, but they still should be able to destroy the Saiba Men with ease. I'm starting to doubt that they're Saiyans at all." Vegeta scoweled with disgust. These three, if they were in fact of his blood, should have been able to dispatch the creatures handily. He took it as an insult to the once proud Saiyan race he had decended from.

On the battle field, the Saiyans had managed to regroup and get a break from the onslaught of the genetic nightmares they were fighting. Accross the plateau, the Saiba Men also regrouped, standing in front of their master, each grinning sadistically.

"What's the matter, Saiyan scum? Can't handle my little friends? Awww, what a pity. And after all this time with you chasing us, you'ld figure it'd be more entertaining. It just goes to show what weaklings you monkeys really are." The Amazon stood, laughing at the warriors as they caught their breath.

"There's one thing you forgot, slimeball." Rico managed a smile between the deep breaths he was taking. "We're not ordinary Saiyans."

"What do you mean? You're crossbred freaks or something?"

"No. Worse." With that, he stood in his ready position, gathering energy. The Amazon looked on with interest, eager to see what the Saiyan had in store. "We're much more than just monkeys. Our bloodlines are directly descended from Brolli. We've transcended the Saiyan Elite class, and now you and your little friends are about to taste a power not felt since his time."

Randall and Ry fell into place behind their leader, and each took their ready positions. The energy they were gathering made the Earth shake beneath their feet. In an instant, their Kis exploded in brilliant flashes, and they began screaming at the tops of their lungs. After a moment, a golden aura began to surround each of them."

Vegeta looked on in horror. "What? You're kidding! Them too? Impossible, even if they are from another dimension! They can't be..." He knew exactly what he was witnessing. It was the same thing he'd seen the future boy do, as well as Kakkarot. They were becoming...

In an explosion of pure power, the Saiyan's hair turned golden, their eyes aqua, and their Kis a bright yellow. They had transformed into Super Saiyans. Their power levels, from what Vegeta and Krillin could tell, weren't that high, yet there they stood in Super Saiyan mode.

"What the hell? What kind of monsters are you? What, you can dye your hair at will?"

"Didn't you ever hear the story of Brolli, Amazon?" Ry smiled as he spoke. "Brolli was the legendary Super Saiyan 3000 years ago. The one who couldn't control his immense power and ultimately destroyed himself. But in those 3000 years, we've had more than enough time to harness and control that power. And now, we're going to show you what the true potential of the Saiyan race is. Do your little buddies still want to dance?"

"Impossible!" The Saiyans heard someone scream, and turned to see Vegeta and Krillin coming up to them, and in a hurry. Vegeta, ever the egotistical warrior, continued screaming at them. "There's no way in hell that you three can be Super Saiyans! You have to have the blood of the Royal Family in order to make that transformation. I have no clue how Kakkarot and that damned future kid did it, but I should be able to as well. I don't care what kind of dimension you're from. There's no way! No way at all!"

"Vegeta! Your timing couldn't be better," Randall called out. "We could use a hand here."

"I'm not helping anyone. I'm here to fight on my terms, so shut up and destroy these things. If you were true Saiyans, let alone Super Saiyans, you would have destroyed these pathetic creatures long ago!"

Rico looked over at Vegeta, sweating. 'It has to be him,' he thought. 'It has to be... My...' He never got to finish his thought as the Super Saiba Men charged at them all, ready to fight. "Here they come, boys. Let's clean house!" With that order, the 5 allies lept into action.

 

Episode 8

 

As they made their way through the maze of corridors that made up the Amazon's lair, Bulma and Mizuki marveled at the sheer size of the place. Here and there, Bulma caught glimpses of markings that were familiar to her, though she couldn't place them. After all, she had no time to try. She was much too preoccupied with the notion of her and her friend getting away from those weird creatures.

"Bulma, let's try down this way." Mizuki pointed down a dimly lit passage off to their left.

"Well, it's worth a try. Let's get a move on, we don't want those hairy freaks finding out where we are. They probably already know that we're not where we're supposed to be." Together, they took off down the hallway, not knowing what was ahead.

After a few minutes of running down the seemingly endless hallway, they came to a doorway at the end.

"Wonder what's in here." Bulma walked up to the door, which opened automatically to her surprise. Inside it was pitch black. She reached around the archway and found a control panel. Upon pressing a button, the lights came on to reveal a huge, cavernous room. At the end of the hall, big as life, was something that Bulma finally recognized. A giant symbol was painted on the wall: a red, bowtie-shaped marking with two letters, both of them R's. "My god. This is an old Red Ribbon Army base!"

"What are you talking about, Bulma?"

"The Red Ribbon Army. They were a criminal organization a long time ago, and my friend Goku stopped them cold. It was pretty amazing, cause Goku was just a little kid then."

"Wow. That is pretty wild. Goku did all that when he was just a kid?"

"Yep. Only he didn't finish the job. One of the Red Ribbon's scientists, Dr. Gero, got away. When that kid from the future came back and beat Freiza, he told Goku about the Androids. Dr. Gero is creating them to destroy Goku and get revenge for stopping the army. That's why Vegeta and the others have been training so hard."

"And this is one of their old bases?"

"You got it. The Amazons must have found it and decided to use it as their own. I guess alot of the equipment still functions. It's amazing. This place has to be over 10 years old."

"However old it is, my dear, doesn't matter." A voice from behind them boomed loud and clear, and the two girls turned to see where it had come from. Standing there, with a sadistic grin on his face, was the Amazon leader. "Thought you were clever, did you? Thought you could escape? Ha. Hardly."

"You'll be sorry when Vegeta and Krillin get here, buster. They'll kick you back to wherever you came from in no time." Bulma spoke with her usual defiant tone, though there was an undertone of fear in her voice.

"Vegeta? Coming here? My dear, I'm counting on it..."

Out on the battlefield, the four Saiyans and their Human compatriot fought fiercely against the Super Saiba Men. Though small and not that powerful, they proved to be rather strong adversaries, given their numbers. Each fighter had two of the creatures to deal with.

The first to get the advantage was Vegeta, who managed to beat one of the little monsters down enough to keep him on the gorund, allowing him to concentrate on the other. "Well, my little friend," he said, giving the monster his trademark scowel, "it looks like your time is just about up. And once I'm done with you, your partner over there will be joining you in whatever dimension you get sent to." With a laugh and a sneer, Vegeta powered up his Ki and let loose an immense blast directed at his adversary, vaporizing it in an instant.

Pleased with his first kill, Vegeta then tossed the other Saiba Man high into the sky and unleashed a blast that wasted the little creature and turned him to dust. With a newfound sense of both superiority and agression, Vegeta began to assist his fellow Saiyans, as well as Krillin, usually by attacking the Super Saiba Men from behind, allowing his allies to topple them with relative ease. Almost as soon as it had begun, the fight with the genetically altered henchmen was over, with Vegeta and Rico standing before the Amazons.

"What? How'd they beat them? It's impossible! Dirty monkies. We'll show you."

"Oh will you now? I think you don't stand a chance against me, let alone the rest of these guys. You're outclassed, out matched, and outnumbered. What do you think of those odds?" Vegeta had a sneer on his face, one that oozed confidence, if not egotism and cockyness.

"Well, Vegeta. Why don't you do this. Let's see how your Super Saiyan friends here handle themselves. If you're so sure of yourself, then why don't you just wait and see how your buddies do?"

"I like that idea, actually." Ry stepped forward, ready for the challange. He looked at the smaller of the two Amazons and smiled. "You and me, jackass. One on one. Your buddy stays out of it, and my boys will do the same. Just you and me."

The Amazon looked at the smallest of the three Super Saiyans and smiled. "You know, I've been waiting a long time to hear you say that, Ry. Every time I've tried to do something, you've been there to screw it up for me and save the day. Well, this time, you won't be saving anything. When you get down to the long and short of it, your friends here will be saving your ass."

Vegeta scowled, obviously angered that he wouldn't be fighting. He took a deep breath, sighed, and finally spoke up. "Alright. You two can have you're fun. But hear me, Amazon.Even if you get past him, you will not get past me. Count on it." With that, he turned in a huff and walked back towards Krillin to sit and watch the battle from the sidelines.

The battle was fast and furious, with both combatants scoring major blows early. Both were winded, but neither wanted to give up the ship. The other Amazon watched with a sadistic grin on his face, sure of his partner's skills. On the other side, the Saiyans, Vegeta and Krillin watched with anticipation, each careful not to underestimate the threat at hand.

Ry and the Amazon traded punches and kicks with lightning speed, and soon resorted to energy blasts. Most missed their targets, and the ones that connected seemed to do little if any damage. Ultimately, the two came together and locked hands in a test of strength like no other.

"You know," Ry spoke between breaths and grunts, "you and your slimeball friends won't win this time. We're going to bring you in once and for all."

"Really?" Equally winded, the Amazon tried his best to speak his reply. "You could've fooled me. You monkies are the ones that are going down. Once I'm finished with you, I'll take out your brutish ogre friend and your beloved leader. And after that, we'll have our way with Vegeta."

"Have your way with Vegeta? What the hell are you talking about?"

The Amazon simply laughed and began to power up his Ki. Ry responded in kind, raising his power levels to match is adversary's. They continued like this for a time, building power at an alarming rate.

"What the heck are they doing, Vegeta?" Krillin looked on in amazment, not sure of what to make of the situation.

"If I knew that, baldie, I'd tell you. It looks like a simple test of wills, but they're raising their power like crazy. If it keeps up, one of them is going to burst and destroy the other in one shot."

"Man, I hope it's not the Amazon. We don't need the odds knocked down any more than they already are."

"Say goodbye, Saiyan." The Amazon was screaming at the top of his lungs, his power almost at its peak.

"Goodbye, Amazon. You're fun stops here and now." Ry as well was raising his power to its limit.

And then, it happened. In a flash, the two power levels collided in a thunderous explosion, blowing them both backward and sending them falling to the ground below. When the dust settled, the rest of the fighters surveyed the damage. The Amazon was unconcious, his toung hanging out of his mouth in an amost comic fashion. Ry, on the other hand, was still concious, but badly hurt.

"I... I got you... son of a... ugh."

Rico ran up to his fallen comrade and helped him sit up. "Take it easy, bro. You did good, you got him. Scratch one Amazon. We're gonna send you back with him so you can book him. Just rest for now, the techs at base will get you into the recovery chamber as soon as possible."

The remaining Amazon, however, was not at all pleased. "How... how the hell did he beat him? There's no way that monkey could have survived that! No way at all!"

Vegeta stepped up, satisfied with the results. "Well now, looks like your buddy here is a little worse for wear. So, are you ready to fight me now or what?"

Without a word, the Amazon simply took off and headed north to gather his other Amazons and regroup.

"Coward! Get back here and fight me, you loser!" Vegeta watched as the Amazon flew off. He turned to the others and saw Rico place a small device on both his friend and the beaten Amazon. In a flash, they were gone. "Where the hell did they go?"

Rico looked at Vegeta without any real expression. "We sent them back to our dimension. The Amazon will be imprisoned, and Ry will get medical attention. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Vegeta, but I'll bet you want to head after that other brute and kick his ass as well."

"You're damned right I do. Now, let's get going." With that, Vegeta took off, followed by Krillin, in hot persuit of their nemesis.

Rico looked back and Randall and smiled. "Yeah, I think it is him. Noone else I've ever known has had a temper like that."

"At least it doesn't run in the family. Let's go, boss." The two Saiyans took to the skys, following their unlikely allies in chasing the Amazon down.

 

Episode 9

 

Vegeta wasted no time once he was in the air. His senses perked up and detected the Ki of the Amazon quickly. He was headed northward, and the Saiyan figured that was where he'd find Bulma. 'If they're doing anything to her, anything at all. If I find one scratch, one probe mark...' His thoughts drove him to move faster, pushing his speed to it's limit to catch his adversary. After a few moments, he had visual contact with the Amazon.

"Hey, freak! Get back here and fight me!" Vegeta powered up and fired a blast of energy at the Amazon, who easily dodged it and kept on going. This angered the Saiyan Prince, who fired again. "I said pull over, Amazon scumbag!" He fired two more blasts, trying to get the monster to turn and fight him. Deep down, though, he knew that he wanted the beast to get away. He wanted it to lead him to his goal. "You can run but you can't hide! Clichè, I know. But it still applies to you!" His Ki exploded in a blue flash and he sped forward, trying to physically catch his prey.

High above and slightly behind, Krillin and the two remaining Saiyans, Rico and Randall, were following as best as they could, watching the chase/battle the whole time.

"Hey Krillin. Is Vegeta always like this?" Rico's gaze never left Vegeta as he spoke to the human traveling with him.

"Vegeta? Oh yeah, he's a hothead, that's for sure. Always wants to fight. Even asked me to beat him up once so he could increase his power and take on Freiza. But deep down, he's a good guy, I guess. He's always edgy, but lately he's opened up a bit. He'll still always be Vegeta, though, no doubt about that." Krillin smiled for a moment. He'd actually spoken of Vegeta in something of a higher regard, not just out of fear. "Why do you guys wonder about Vegeta so much? Is it the dimensional differances in Saiyans?"

"You could say that. Rico here is rather attached to Vegeta." Randall smiled and looked over at his partner, who just blushed.

"What are you talking about? Rico, what the heck is he saying?" Krillin looked over at the Saiyan leader, totally overcome with curiosity.

"Alright Krillin. I'll tell you. At one time, Vegeta existed in our dimension. He and I were very close when we were young. But then the Amazons came and hunted the strongest among our children down. Vegeta was one of the ones they slaughtered. They killed him because he had the potential to rise up and beat them. That's why I got into the military. I wanted to hunt down the animal that killed him. They took him away from me. They took my brother away."

"Your... your borther?"

"Yes, Krillin. In our dimension, I am Vegeta's brother. I never saw him grow up to become what he is now. That's why I ask about him so much. The Vegeta I see is the same, yet his attitude is devoid of any love. That's why I'm so confused."

"Look at him, Rico. Does he look like a man devoid of love? He's down there chasing that Amazon down because he just might be in love. Bulma and him have gotten really close over the last few months. When they took her away from him, he was furious. I garuntee you that she's the only thing on his mind, the one thing that's making him fight this battle."

"Wow. You're right. I guess he isn't without feeling. I was worried that the temper would be the only similarity."

"Temper? Heh. Nah, I don't think Vegeta would be without that no mater what dimension he's in." At that moment, Krillin sensed another presence nearby. "Hold on, guys, there's someone else here." He tried to concentrate, unable to identify who it was. After a few seconds, he heard what sounded like a Capsule Car. He looked in the direction the sound was coming from and saw Yajirobi flying toward them, his head hanging out the window, arm waving frantically, and screaming at the top of his lungs. "Yajirobi!"

"He found them! Alright, you guys, Yajirobi found Krillin!" King Kai began to dance around, acting like a complete fool as usual. "Oh yeah! Now we stand a good chance against the Amazons!" He countinued to dance around until he saw Gregory and Bubbles staring at him oddly. This brought him to a screeching halt. After sweating for a moment in embarassment, he righted himself and smiled. "Well, you'll be glad to know that Yajirobi has met up with Kirllin and is delivering the Senzu Beans as we speak. Now the boys have an ace in the hole and should be able to defeat the Amazons."

The chimp and the grasshopper both shouted in delight, but kept their joy in check. They all knew that the job was far from over. "Now we just have to hope that Vegeta can stay straight on this one and not turn his back on Krillin and the others." Gregory sounded concerned.

"I understand, Gregory. But ever since this thing started, I've been able to sense a change in Vegeta. Something else is living inside of him now, boys, and it just might help him find the good in himself. It's almost as if Vegeta's cold heart is starting to warm up a little bit. He's still highly volitile, and I don't think he'll ever lose that part of himself completely. But we'll take any improvement we can get. It's those improvements that allow Vegeta to better both himself and the safety of Planet Earth..."

"Alright, you guys, here you go. I'm getting the heck outta here. I don't want Vegeta to even see me, especially when he's on the warpath. I don't think he'll ever forgive me for lopping off his tail." Yajirobi handed the bag of Senzu Beans to Krillin and climbed back into the cockpit of his Capsule Car. "Don't eat too many of those things at once. You'll get a tummy ache so bad it'll make the trip to Namek look like a case of nasty gas. See you guys later!" With that, the chubby senshi of sushi rocketed off into the distance, going back to Korin Tower to watch from the sidelines as usual.

"Alright. Now we have Senzu Beans. This way if the Amazons get the upper hand, we can come right back."

Randall looked at Krillin inquisitively. "What's a Senzu Bean?"

Krillin pulled one out of the bag and gave them the short version. "It's a bean with almost magical properties. Anyone who eats it gets their full strength back almost immediatly. Kroin keeps these for us and sends them along if we get stuck in the battlefield."

"Amazing. All that punch in one little legume." Randall looked at the little bean with awe. He couldn't believe that one little bean could give a fighter an edge in a battle like this one.

"OK. We have our reserve weapon, now let's catch back up with Vegeta and that Amazon. They're probably miles ahead by now." Rico, ever the business end of the team, was anxious to get going.

Krillin perked up his senses and tried to sense Vegeta's Ki. He searched for a bit, and finally found him, several miles to the north. And the strangest part of it all, was that they were slowing down. "You guys! Vegeta and that thing are a few miles north of here. And they're slowing down. What do ya make of that?"

"Two things," exclaimed Rico. "One, we must be getting close to their central base. If the Amazon is slowing down, then his confidence is growing. And two, it's a great chance for us to catch up." With that, he took off northward.

Randall looked at Krillin and smiled. "You can really tell they're brothers, can't you."

"Yeah, they're both headstrong and 'get-to-the-point'. They really are like family."

"That's fur sure. Well, let's go get us some of the action."

The two took off and followed after Rico, headed to what promised to be the final showdown. At least in their minds, they hoped it would be...

Vegeta had noticed the slowdown in the Amazon's pace, and moved to take advantage. He fired off a few blasts at his enemy, trying to get him to complete his slowing and turn to face him. "I've had just about enough of this little cat and ugly ass mouse game of yours. It's time you turned and fought me face to face." He released a few more energy waves, but to no avail. The Amazon was remarkably fast in the air, and dodged them easily.

"What's the matter, Vegeta? Am I too fast for you? Or maybe your aim isn't what it used to be. Maybe you're just not good enough to face off with us."

"What? Me, inferior to a bunch of hairy freaks? Now you're making me angry, Amazon. And trust me, that's something that you don't want to do."

"Why not?" The Amazon stopped long enough to turn and fire a blast of his own at Vegeta. "You have no idea what we have in store for you, monkey boy. If you think about it, you'll be helping our cause more than hindering it. So come and get me, Prince of Primates..." He turned again and took off, picking up the pace a little bit.

"Damn you, Amazon. You'll pay for those remarks. I'll see to that." Vegeta took off after the creature at full tilt. 'What the hell did he mean by doing more to help his cause? What the hell kind of idea could they have in their minds? I don't like the sound of this. But I don't like his taunting even more. None the less, I'll have to be on my gaurd. Hold on, Bulma, I'm coming...'

 

 

Episode 10

 

"Vegeta?" Bulma, strapped down to the table she had been before, suddenly blurted out the name of the Saiyan Prince.

"Bulma? What are you talking about?" Mizuke looked over at her companion the best she could from her current position. "You just said Vegeta..."

"It's weird, Mizuki. It's almost like I can fe"el him. He's closer now, much closer. I think he might be on his way here."

"Are you sure? Or is that just anxiety playing with your mind?"

"It's gotta be him, Mizuki. He's coming to rescue us. I'm sure Krillin's with him, too, though I can't feel him. I just hope they get here in time. These creeps still haven't said what they wanted with us. Come on, Vegeta..."

Outside of - and a few miles from - the base, the chase continued. Vegeta was in hot persuit of the third Amazon, and not far behind were his comrades. The battle to this point had been interesting at best. Though they had an advantage from the begining, the Z Fighters and their allies had only managed to keep a one man up situation going. The Amazons had managed to take out one of the Saiyans, Ry, earlier on. For the most part, the battle remained a stalemate, with the last two Amazons yet to fall.

On Korin Tower, Dr. and Mrs. Breif had gathered with Korin and the returning Yajirobi to get play by play from King Kai. Up on his planet in the other world, King Kai himself kept a close eye on the action, feeding information to Korin and the others. Bubbles and Gregory were resigned to keeping the chubby bug man in good spirits and preve"nting him from getting too worried. His worry had merrit, though. He and the others were placing the hope and destiny of the world on the shoulders of a violent rogue fighter named Vegeta.

Vegeta himself, engaged in the chase, had thoughts running through his mind as he persued the Amazon. At first, his time with Freiza flashed through. The years of torment, learning the true fate of his father and home planet. Being sent to Earth with Nappa to finish the job Kakkarot never started. Being beaten, and then joining forces with Gohan and Krillin on Namek. Searching for Kakkarot in space all that time, coming home empty handed only to learn that Gohan had taken out Garlic Jr., an immortal imp with world domination on his mind. How he would have loved to take him on.

Then came Freiza's second coming. The boy from the future took care of that one, not to mention adding to his fury about becoming a Super Saiyan. Kakkarot's return was up next. Both of them becoming Super Saiyan at once. It angered him to no end. And then, to top it all off... Her. That woman. With her aqua hair and big blue eyes, her sweetness and her violent temper. The woman who had tamed his wild Saiyan heart. Bulma Breif.

He remembered the moment he'd first had words with her, shortly after being wished back from Namek. She was so scared, but she still stood up to him. And then, when he'd taken up residence at her home to train in her father's gravity machine. How she'd opened up to him, and gotten him to open up himself as well. How they'd slowly come together. And now, how they were being forced to be appart.

It was these thoughts that generated the most anger within Vegeta. The thought of having the one thing that made him happy taken away from him sent him into a rage. The one time in his life he actually becomes truely happy, and it's nearly destroyed. When you hurt Vegeta, you feel the wrath of Vegeta. This was his unwritten rule.

And now, his rage had flowed forward in an uncontro"lable rush. It became his energy supply, his driving force. It became the feul for his desire to liberate the woman he considered his mate. And most of all, it made him want to destroy his enemy without mercy.

The Amazon had managed to stay one step ahead of him during the chase, and suddenly, shot downward towards the ground. Vegeta saw this, and eagerly followed. 'Looks like he's finally ready to fight one on one.'

The two landed at the base of a huge mountain, which had a gigantic steel door on the front of it. Vegeta looked it over, and looked back at the Amazon. "So, this is your home base, eh? Isn't the 'base inside a mountainside' idea a little bit clichè? I'm sure you 'superior' creatures could have done better than this."

"Are you kidding? We found this old wreck of a place here. We didn't have the time to build a new one, not to mention go unnoticed on an island like this. So we just used it. Some sort of Earth army base if I'm right. But it doesn't matter now. This place, Vegeta, is where you'll meet your fate."

"And just what is this fate of mine that you keep blabbering on about? It seems as if you have my destiny planned out rather well and won't let me in on it. Not that it matters, because I'm going to stop you anyway."

At that moment, Randall, Rico and Krillin landed nearby, r"eady to join the fight.

"Vegeta! Looks like you found their base!" Krillin was somewhat happy about this new development.

"Of course I did, baldie. This moron led me right to it. And you're just in time! This fool was about to tell me all about the fate he and his friends had planned out for me. Given the circumstances of this particular encounter, that should be a rather interesting story. Now, out with it, Amazon! Tell me what plan of yours I'm going to thwart. Then I can finish wiping the floor with your ass, take out your little base here, and get on with my life!"

Suddenly, a huge hologram appeared over the entrance to the base. The screen showed static and snow, but then flickered into focus showing the image of another Amazon, this one looking rather tough and evil. "So, Vegeta," came the booming voice of the new Amazon, "you want to know what we have planned for you? Well, since you've been so kind to take out two of my team members, I suppose I owe you at least that much. As you can see," he moved out of the camera's view for a moment, revealing Bulma and Mizuki strapped to operating tables, "we hav"e your little friends here too. They're all a part of the grand design we have in store for you."

"Mizuki!" Krillin shouted at the top of his lungs, reaching out to the hologram. He was held back by Rico and Randall.

"I swear, if you harm them in any way, I'll mash you into a bloody pulp and blast you into space dust!"

"Oh, I'm not going to harm them, Vegeta. Not when you and they are going to help me acheive my goal."

"And what goal is that? The only goal you've acheived is PISSING ME OFF!"

"Oh calm down, Vegeta. It's pointless to let your ego grow to that size. If you must know, we captured them with the express purpose of luring you here to this base. Your friends from our dimension were a random neusance, but they won't affect plans much at all. You see, Saiyans in our dimension are nowhere near as strong as you are in this one. Though they can transform into Super Saiyans, their power is much lower than yours. We scanned dimensions for signs of strong Saiyan life, and found yours. What we found, though, was something more than we ever imagined.

"The one you call Kakkarot, he has a son named Gohan. We watched Gohan for many years as his tremendous power exploded and then subsided. When we learned that he was a half breed of both Saiyan and Human, we did some research and found that the half breed is stronger. We couldn't capture Gohan, he'd defeat us easily if provoked enough. So we set our sights on you, Vegeta, The Prince of All Saiya BACKGROUND="bgimg.jpg"ns. We'd had you killed in our dimension, but here you managed to survive the complete anihilation of your race. You have the blood of the Royal Saiyans in you, making you the strongest of the Saiyan classes. We figured that if we could crossbreed you with a human from this dimension, we could create our own half breed warrior and dominate the war in our dimension."

"You're insane! Why the hell did you come to our dimension to find Humans for your little experiments?"

"In our dimension, before we rose up and destroyed Freiza, he managed to get to Earth first and destroy it completely. There are no humans left in our dimension. So we came here to capture them as well as you. Then we could create our own Saiyan-Human fighters and raise them to obey us. The result would be the total destruction of our Saiyan enemies and the end of a war that has lasted nearly 13 years."

"What? You're mad! There's no way either Bulma or I would ever subject ourselves to your crazy ideas! Now get out here and take the beating that's coming to you! Come and get it now and I might let you live to go back with these other Saiyans and rot in prison. If not, well, then you take your chances in the next dimension, one you won't find very hospitable."

The next thing Vegeta knew, the Amazon outside with them had launched himself at Randall. The others were still transfixed on the hologram and didn't see it coming.

"Look out you fools! He's charging you!" Vegeta tried to warn them, but it was too late. The Amazon connected to Randall's jaw with a punch that sent him flying. When he landed, the Amazon moved over him quickly.

"Well, Randall. We meet again. This time, though, you won't stop me. There's no way I'm going to go back to that dank POW camp you locked me up in. I owe you for that time, and I'm going to take it out of your hide."

Randall looked up at the Amazon and smiled. "Oh yeah? I had a hell of a time catching you the last time. This time, I won't put you back into prison, I'll finish the JOB!" He launched a flipping kick from the ground, catching his nemesis square in the crotch and sending him flying himself.

The Amazon landed on his feet, clutching his groin in extreme pain. He spoke, with a slightly higher voice thanks to his impormptu testicular trauma. "Randall, you're going to pay for that! I'm not going to stop until you're dead!" Ignoring the pain, he fired a Ki blast at the Saiyan, who immediately turned Super Saiyan and deflected it effortlessly. The battle had begun again, Saiyan versus Amazon...

 

Episode 11

 

Bulma found herself walking down a hallway, confused and disoriented. She had no clue how she got here, let alone where here was. Dizzy, she put her hands on the walls to keep herself upright as she staggered further ahead. The hallway had no doors, no intersections, it just seemed to continue on forever.

As she continued on for a few moments, she began to hear what sounded like fighting coming from somewhere around her, though she couldn't tell where. The further along she walked, the clearer the noise became. After a minute, she was able to make out the voice of one of the combatants. It was Vegeta.

"Vegeta?" She started to call to him, praying to Kami that he would hear her. "Vegeta, where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you." In the distance, the sounds of combat raged on. It seemed as though they were oblivious to her presence. "Vegeta, please, answer me! I'm scared, Vegeta! Please, help me!" She continued to listen to the battle as closely as she could. It sounded furious, as both Vegeta and his opponent seemed to score rather good blows.

In an instant, the sound was gone. A flash of light brought Bulma into a room filled with nothing but blackness. All she could see was herself, there was nothing else. And then, the footsteps started. The sounded distant at first, but were deffinately moving closer to her with each passing second. After a few moments, she was able to tell where they were coming from. Behind her. She turned around, not ready for what she saw, but brave enough to face it head on...

Randall seemed to have a handle on the battle, but the Amazon gave him a run for his money. The two traded punch after punch, kick after kick, and energy wave after energy wave. The stalemate raged on for nearly ten minutes, and then the two seperated.

"You know, Randall," The Amazon smiled as he caught his breath. "There was nothing you could have done that day. Nothing at all you could do to save your comrades. How did it feel to know you were the only survivor? The only dirty monkey left out of the whole bunch... and not a banana in sight. Must have been horrible, wasn't it, Randall?"

"Actually, I'm rather greatful for it."

"Why do you say that?"

"You killed them all. They were my co-workers, my friends. When you killed them, and I was left to live on, I was furious. I could barely contain my rage. That's what made me turn Super Saiyan, you know. When I found that I had the power that Brolli himself possessed 3000 years ago, I knew I was meant to survive. Their sacrifice allowed me to reach a new level. They gave me the power to avenge their deaths. So I devoted my life to tracking you down. I found you once, and I tossed your sorry ass into the brig. But like all good things, it came to an end when your boss busted you out of the big house."

"Yes, that was a rather fun day for me. I remember it well. That was the day that we destroyed..."

"The day you killed Vegeta, you asshole!"

Jumping back a bit and letting out a little yelp, Bulma found herself face to face with Vegeta. It was he who had been walking up behind her, the source of the footsteps. "My Kami, Vegeta, you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry to dissappoint you, Bulma, but I'm not here."

"What are you talking about, lunk head? You're standing right there! Of course you're here!"

"No, Bulma, I'm not."

"What the hell do you mean?"

Vegeta stood silent, his arms crossed and his usual scowel gracing his visage.

"Are you trying to tell me that this is a dream? Is that it?" She looked at him closely, searching him for an answer. After a few seconds, she found it. "This IS a dream, isn't it? If it's a dream, then you represent something inside of me. Now, what is it you represent?"

"I'm closer than you know, Bulma. And I'm coming to help you. I promise you that I will not leave you." As he said this, he began to float backwards into the darkness. "I promise... I promise..." In a few seconds, he was gone.

Bulma turned around and began to try and piece together what was happening. "He promised he wouldn't leave me. Yet he was just a figment of my imagination. What does it mean?" She thought of all the possible reasons Vegeta would be in her dream, other than some of the naughtier ones she's had of him recently. She pushed those aside, though. There would be time for those later.

"I promise... I promise... I promise..."

Those words echoed in her mind over and over. 'Vegeta. He promised. He promised he wouldn't go. He promised he wouldn't leave me. What does it symbolize?'

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME, VEGETA???"

Her words reflected back in an endless echo as she yelled them into the void around her. It was a futile gesture, but her frustration had gotten the better of her. 'This mind bashingly high IQ, and I can't even figure out what's going on in my own mind. Wait a second... My own mind. He's representing my thoughts.'

"Oh my Kami... My destiny... It's all so clear now... My destiny is with... Vegeta..."

His fists clenched together, the Amazon brought the hammer down on Randall with tremendous force. The largest of the Saiyans fell to the ground like a rock dumped from an airplane 30,000 feet up. When the dust settled, the Amazon stood over his opponent, secure in his victory.

Accross the battlefield, Vegeta stood in shock. He had heard the large one say the words "You Killed Vegeta." He was frozen by the thought of anyone killing him. It both enfuriated and scared the hell out of him. His thoughts flashed back to when Freiza had put a beam right through his heart. How he had been rendered helpless in an instant. Pouring his heart out to Kakkarot, letting his emotions live again, even if only for a moment.

Seconds later, to him anyway, he was revived by the Earth's Dragonballs. The things that had gotten him into this mess in the first place granted him a second chance at life, which was no rival to immortality. And now, he was hearing the words he dreaded all his life. "You killed Vegeta."

"Alright, Randall. It's been fun, but I think it's time we ended this little game of ours. We have some big plans for your friends. I'll admit, though. You were a worthy rival, and I'm gonna miss you. Kind of. Ha ha ha!" The Amazon raised his hands and powered up his Ki, ready to bring down the final blast. But he never got the chance.

In a heartbeat, Vegeta was holding back the Amazon's arm, preventing him from sticking the fork in his Saiyan comrade. "He told you that you killed Vegeta. What the hell did he mean by that?"

Looking up at his arm, and then back at his attacker, the Amazon began to sweat profusely. The reason they had killed Vegeta in their dimension was that they feared his power. In this dimension, though, his power was much greater. "They never told you? How we killed that slimey Prince of monkeys? It was a preventitive measure. The little bastard fried like an egg on a sidewalk in the summer. You should have heard him beg for his life before the boss laid into him. It was pathetic at best."

Neither words, nor pictures, or any form of description could do justice to the fury that Vegeta felt inside of him. Not only had they taken his woman companion from him with the intention of forcefully cross breeding her with his own Saiyan blood, but they had called him pathetic. Whether in another dimension or in this one, Vegeta always had his pride. It was his greatest weakness and his greatest strength all in one. They attacked it when they killed his dimensional counterpart, and this one attacked it now with his unremorseful commentary on the matter.

"Awwww. Did I piss you off, monkey?" With those words, he suddenly vanished.

Vegeta remained standing, and began looking around. "Where the hell did you go, coward? How dare you assault my name and then run? What kind of yellow creatures are you Amazons? Can't fight your battles head on?" He powered up his Ki, ready to anihilate the Amazon at the drop of a hat. Then, he heard the sound of grinding metal.

They all turned to the entrance of the base to see the doors opening and the Amazon standing in front of them. "Catch me if you can, monkeys. Good luck, though. It's almost over! Ha ha ha ha ha!" As he left, his laugh careened off the tunnel walls, echoing in their ears as they stood motionless, in total shock.

Rico was having no part of it. He immediately flashed to Super Saiyan mode and took off into the base after the Amazon. He had the look of death on his face, and noone wanted to stand in his way.

"Holy cow! This whole thing keeps getting weirder and weirder. Hey, Vegeta, check out Randall! Let's give him a hand!" Krillin pulled the Senzu Bean pouch out from the belt of his Gi and ran to the Saiyan's side to help him. "Here, man. Eat one of these." He held a bean to Randall's lips, which he greatfully ate. "There, you should be all fixed in a few seconds. Yo, Vegeta..."

Vegeta stood, unmoving, staring down the corridor that lead into the base. He hand't moved from that spot at all. His anger and rage was paralyzing him.

"Vegeta?" Krillin looked at his friend, and he used the term loosely, and sighed. "Sometimes his anger gets the best of him. But that's what makes him such a great fighter. He's unpredictable when he's angry, and surprise can be the greatest advantage of all." Randall rolled over a bit, prompting Krillin to turn his attention away from Vegeta for a moment.

"Krillin. I don't feel anything."

"What? They bean should have worked by now. You should be up doing cartwheels and flips and stuff. I don't get it."

"Heh. I don't think they'll work on us, Krillin. It must have something to do with the dimensional differances. Look. I'll be alright. I have a transmitter here, I'll be able to get back to my dimension and get help. But you, you have to listen to me."

"Alright man. What's up?"

"Keep him alive. Keep Vegeta alive. He's the only one that can beat the Amazon's leader. Rico may be his brother, and he may have his blood in him, he's still not strong enough. Just keep Vegeta from getting killed, and you guys stand a chance." He clicked a button on his belt, and strange static began to surround him. "Take care, Krillin. Give em hell for me, will ya?"

"You bet I will, bro. You did good." When Randall had faded out, Krillin stood up and turned to Vegeta, who was still staring into the base entrance. He walked over to the Saiyan Prince and spoke with cold determination. "Vegeta. The Senzu Beans don't work on the other Saiyans. If Rico gets hurt, there's no way to get his energy back. It comes down to you and me. Now, I don't know about you, but I wanna go in there, get Mizuki and Bulma, and finish this game once and for all. Are you in?"

As he stared down the hallway, Vegeta thought of only one thing. He had someone in there counting on him. He had heard Krillin's words, and they had registered, but his top objective was clear. He powered up his Ki. "Alright, Krillin. Let's do this." With that, he took off down the entrance hallway, with Krillin right behind him.

"Vegeta..." Bulma snapped to conciousness, her strange dream at an end. Almost immediatly, she felt it. It was a huge power, and it was getting closer. She knew she couldn't sense Kis like Goku and the others could do, but she knew she felt one. And then it hit her. She and Vegeta had a bond. She could sense him, and he was getting closer. "Vegeta, you're here. You've come for me. Please be careful..."

 

 

Episode 12

 

High atop Korin tower, the Brief family sat huddled together, hanging on Korin's every word as he relayed it from King Kai. At this point, the story they were hearing still sounded grim, but the fact that the boys were progressing was something of a comforting notion. When they were down, Mrs. Brief would begin to bawl her eyes out, but stop when she'd hear that it was back to a level playing field. The rollercoaster had been going on since they had arrived sever hours before.

At the end of Snake Way, yet another vigil was being held. King Kai, Gregory and Bubbles found themselves doing something they'd never thought they ever would: cheering for Vegeta. Now, he and Krillin were the only hope of stopping the menace that threatened both this dimension and the other from which the Saiyans had come. King Kai was relaying information on two fronts, one to his companions and the other to Korin tower, and the fatigue was showing.

The hallway exploded as the two enemies, one Saiyan, one Amazon, fired back and forth at each other, the whole time charging down what seemed to be a neverending corridor. When they caught up with each other, punches would take the place of Ki shots, but then the Amazon would pull a fast move and get a leg up on Rico, causing another blast battle.

"Damnit! Get back here and fight me, slimeball!" Rico was outwardly angry, showing his relation to Vegeta quite well.

"Yeah, right. Come on, monkey, is that all you've got? If that's it, there's no way you can complete your mission!"

"I'll complete it, along with your boss's destruction for killing my brother!" Rico shot off another Ki blast as he finished the sentance. His blasts were getting bigger and bigger as his rage swelled within him.

Not far behind them, Krillin and Vegeta sped towards the sound of the blasts and screams coming from up ahead. Krillin, hearing Rico scream about his brother, looked at Vegeta and thought to himself. 'Man, Vegeta has no clue that it's him Rico's yelling about up there. If he knew... Damn I'd hate to see how Vegeta would react. He's used to being the only child, literally.'

"Turn up the juice, baldie! Bulma and your Mizuki are in here somewhere, and the faster we find them, the faster we can put this behind us and go the hell home!"

Krillin was surprised by Vegeta's newfound sense of urgency in rescuing the girls. Before, Vegeta wouldn't have lifted a finger to help anyone, much less Bulma. But now here he was, going after her, and another girl he barely even knows. And going with such determination! The only time Krillin had seen Vegeta this determined had been in the recent months when he was training to become a Super Saiyan.

The fight between Rico and his Amazon rival spilled into a huge antichamber, filled with monitors and terminals. There were no other exits other than doors opposite the hallway. The two combatants slowed to a halt and continued to battle hand to hand within the room. To any normal human, their fight would have been nothing more than a blur. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees, even the occasional head but, all moving at blinding speed. After a few moments, the two came to a dead stand still.

"Well, Rico, you've made it this far alive. But this is where your little journey comes to an end. I figured I'd give you a few moments to reflect on your life and soak in the scenery. After all, it's the last thing you'll see, aside from me standing over your dying carcass laughing."

"You think? Do you honestly thing that you can defeat me?" As Rico spoke, Vegeta and Krillin arrived at the entrance to the room and stopped short, watching what was taking place. "You just don't know, do you. Even if you manage to kill me, my brother will stomp you and your boss into a bloody pulp!"

"Oh, your brother, huh? I highly doubt he could beat us. He's not even a Super Saiyan like you and your friends! How could he possibly defeat us? We've always been superior to the Saiyan race. And once we have your precious DNA, what we create from it will be your people's destruction! Our finest hour is at hand, Rico, and there's nothing you or that repulsive brother of yours can do..."

"VEGETA IS NOT REPULSIVE!"

Vegeta's face froze in shock. He couldn't believe that Rico had spoken his name in context to being his brother. "What in the blue hell are you babbeling about, you idiot? I don't have a brother! I am the only son of King Vegeta, and I have no other family!"

Rico and the Amazon looked over and finally noticed the Saiyan Prince and his human companion standing in the room's entrance arch. "Maybe not in this dimension, Vegeta, but in ours you do. We had the same father, and when he was killed by these monsters we both swore that we'd get our revenge. But that revenge was doubled for me when these freaks ambushed you and killed you after you destroyed Freiza. They took advantage of your weakened state and... and..."

"And what? What exactly did these bafoons do to me?"

"They tortured you for the public to see. They brought in so many prisoners, women and children, to see their Saiyan Prince humiliated and ultimately destroyed. They hoped that it would break our resolve, seeing our fallen leader die. When father was killed, the job of King fell to you, being the older of us two. They thought killing the new King would be the straw that broke the camel's back. But they were wrong. They only created a new menace. They created me. From that moment on I swore that I'd hunt these creeps down and destroy them. And now I'm going to. Vegeta, Krillin, you guys might want to take cover..."

"Take cover? Cover from what?" Immediately, Vegeta began to feel the power welling up inside of Rico. He knew he had felt power like this before, but he couldn't remember when or where, or from who. Noone in his past, aside from Kakkarot, had ever displayed this much power, power that seemed to equal his own when he charged up for the... "Oh shit! Krillin, we need to take cover, now!" He grabbed the little monk by his Gi and took off down the hallway, looking for anything that would give them shelter from what he knew was coming.

The Amazon was intrigued by the Rico's growing energy. "Go ahead. Take your best shot, monkey. I'm willing to bet that it won't even dent my armor."

Rico looked over at the Amazon and smiled. "Oh, this is going to dent more than just your armor, you jackass. I've got a little present for you. Before you killed my brother, he managed to create a technique that would finish off any rival. The only one to ever feel it was Freiza, before you killed Vegeta. But now you get to be number two. And remember, second place is the first loser."

"Well, after you finish with the little lightshow, I'll get my jollies making you the second banana, hot shot."

"I don't think so." Rico's Ki exploded in flashes of bright yellow and blue, and began swirling around him as if in a blender. "Here's a gift from beyond the grave, Amazon! A message from my brother! GALLET GUN!" And with that, he released a blast that nearly filled the room.

The Amazon could only stare in horror as the energy wave sped toward him and eventually swallowed him, vaporizing his armor and slowly vaporizing his cells. He could only scream in pain as the blast picked him up and smashed him through the wall, breaking what was left of his bone structure.The blast continued through into the next room, taking with it any trace of the Amazon opponent. This battle was over.

Down the main hallway, Vegeta and Krillin emerged from a side room when the dust had settled. "Damn, Vegeta, what the hell was that? That must have been some blast."

"It was more than just 'some blast,' baldie. He unleashed a Gallet Gun attack. My own personal attack, and he knew it. I can only guess that my counterpart in the other dimension had invented it himself, and then taught it to Rico before he was killed."

"A Gallet Gun? Isn't that the blast you were going to use to destroy Earth?"

"One and the same. But his Gallet Gun wasn't as powerful as mine, since we're all still here and in one piece. Let's get back in there and survey the damage. I'm sure that blast took alot out of him, and he'll probably need me to step in and clean up after him."

Moments later, Vegeta and Krillin arrived back in the room where the battle had ended, only to find it much differant from how they had left it. Everything was either tossed about on the floor, partially burned, on fire or completely destroyed. There was a large hole in the wall accross from the entrance, leaving no need to open the door that was there. The hole led into another, larger room. They crawled through it and found themselves in a cavernous space the size of a football field. The hole, it turned out, was near the back of this new room. In the front, there were hundreds of monitors, control panels and terminals, along with a giant Red Ribbon logo on the floor.

"This is a Red Ribbon base?" Krillin's thoughts traveled back to when he and Goku were young, and he remembered the Red Ribbon's attempt at world domination. "This thing must have been abandoned after Goku finished them off, and the Amazons found it when they came to this dimension."

In the middle of the room, they saw Rico, standing silently, staring at the monitors and things ahead of him. "So now you know, Vegeta. Yes, I am your brother. And I've hunted these bastards down to avenge you and our father. When I learned that they were coming to this dimension to find you and enact their insane genetics experiment, I had no choice but to follow. I couldn't let them capture you and do that sort of thing to you."

"Well, if you really are my brother, and you are doing this to avenge my death, then the only things I can do are thank you, for starters, and help you end this."

"Ending this is exactly what I had in mind. And it ends here, it ends now..."

 

 

Episode 13

 

"What the hell is going on out there?" Mizuki was freaking out something fierce, as she heard yelling and explosions coming from the nearby main chamber. She had no clue that those noises were the cavalry come to rescue them.

"Trust me, Mizuki, you really don't have anything to worry about." Though she couldn't understand them, Bulma had also heard the voices in the main chamber. She immediately recognized Vegeta's voice. "It's deffinately Vegeta. I'm pretty sure Krillin is with him, but there's one other voice I just can't place. Whoever it is, I hope they're on our side. It sounded like Vegeta was being pretty calm with him."

"Is that good?"

"It's hard to tell with Vegeta. But it's deffinately better then that short temper of his." Filled with a new hope, Bulma tried to loosen her bonds and free her hands, hoping to escape and get to her beloved Prince...

His eyes flashed around, scanning the room for signs of anything out of the ordinary. His senses keen, his instincts alert, he calculated the data that his instincts sent his mind. Though highly evolved now, his kind still took its roots to heart, and made use of the skills of their ancestors.

Vegeta's mind went into automatic pilot as he looked about, trying to pinpoint what he knew was there, but couldn't quite see. 'Where are you, Amazon. I know you're here.' The uneasy silence he heard was proof that his companions had realized the same thing. And then, as was often his custom, he broke that silence.

"You have something I want, Amazon! I've come to take it back. The way I see it, you have two choices. You show yourself and hand her over to me with out incident, and I may let you live to go back with my brother here to rot in a prison. Or you could do me the wonderful favor of showing yourself, putting up resistance, and giving me half a reason to blast you to ashes after I've beaten you into submission."

"Damn, Vegeta, that was pretty harsh." Krillin, sweating profusely and staring blankly at his partner, stood aghast upon hearing the Saiyan's words.

For a few seconds, Vegeta's gaze fixated on Krillin, and his face contorted in obvious disgust. In an instant though, his mood changed, and he suddenly smirked in his trademark fashion and managed to grunt what sounded like laughter.

As he laughed, his senses caught hold of the Amazon's position. His laughter and smirking ceased almost immediately after he had felt it, and he pinpointed the enemy in an instant. He was right...

"BEHIND YOU!" He dove at Rico with all he had and barely knocked him out of the way as the Amazon's huge arm cut through the air where the Saiyan's neck had been only a second before. Had he actually been there when the blow came, most likely he'd be without his head.

When they hit the ground, each went his seperate way and recovered. Vegeta bound over behind the creature, while Rico landed eye to eye with him, ten meters seperating the two at best. "Thanks, Vegeta."

"Whatever. You should have been paying attention." Deep within him, Vegeta prided himself on the job he had done. If this Saiyan was turely his brother, then he had shown him as much honor as he could. 'I guess doing good does have it's rewards.'

Bulma's mind struggled to comprehend what she was hearing. Vegeta had screamed, and someone, whoever he was, was actually thanking him for it. "The fight must have started. Come on, Mizuki, we've got to get out of here." She began to work feverantly at her bindings, trying anything she could to break free of them.

Mizuki was having more luck due to her smaller frame, and soon her hand slipped out of one of the restraints. "Wow. I didn't think I could do that. Not bad, eh Bulma?"

Bulma looked at Mizuki, who was sitting up on the table after freeing herself, admiring the job she had just done. "Um, that's great, Mizuki, but could you help me out here?" She looked at her now free companion with a little bit of respect. Bulma had little doubt that Mizuki had never done anything like this before, and instead of being a frightened maiden, she tried her best and succeeded..

"Sorry, Bulma. Just got a little carried away." She hopped off of her table and went to work freeing the Capsule Princess. Once that was done, the two crept over to the door to watch what was going on in the chamber where the boys were fighting.

"You're right, Vegeta. He should pay more attention. But if you'll excuse me, I have to take care of this other monkey boy first. I have other plans for you, Saiyan Prince. Right now, though, I have a small score to settle." The Amazon paid no mind to Vegeta, his gaze set solid on Rico.

The Amazon leader was much differant from the others. He was huge to say the least, and towered over all of the heroes. His muscle mass was extraordinary, and he was cut like the Adonis himself. Vegeta stood in a sort of invisible awe at the sight. He wouldn't show it, but inside his mind, he was truely impressed by this creature.

"Well, if you manage to get past Rico here, you'll have me to deal with. And it won't be pretty, that's for sure!"

"Quiet down, monkey. You're not even a Super Saiyan! You'll be no challange to me at all. I have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Why you! I'll..."

"You'll what, Vegeta. Now, go do whatever you want. I suggest seeing your little human friend before I'm done with this military reject. I'll soon be having my way with the both of you."

Vegeta could only stand in shock. Not only had he been insulted, but the creature had insulted the one thing that made him happy. This thing was trying to take away what he'd longed for all his life. His mind raged but his body stood still, unable to break the code of honor and attack when he knew that the fight was for Rico alone at this stage. In the back of his mind, he knew that no matter what, he would destroy this loudmouthed Amazon. But first, he had someone to save.

"Come on, baldie. We have other matters to attend to." Vegeta prepared to move out and find the girls, turning toward the entrance they had made, when he suddenly sensed something. In his mind, he could have sworn that he heard Bulma saying that she was behind him...

"Vegeta, you baka, I'm right behind you," Bulma whispered as she watched from the doorway at the end of the main chamber. She watched as he and Krillin made their way to the opposite end of the hall. She noticed, though, that he had stopped, as if he had heard her. She watched as he turned and headed straight for her location, covering the great distance as fast as he could.

"Bulma, what's going on? I don't want to look." Mizuke leaned against the wall next to Bulma, afraid to see what was going on outside. This whole ordeal, while it had made her a little stronger personally, made her wonder what kinds of things happen around Krillin on a regular basis.

"Vegeta and Krillin are coming this way. We're going to get out of here, Mizuki. I knew Vegeta wouldn't let me down. But it's weird. It's almost like he heard me when I told him I was right behind him. I didn't even say it very loud." The irony was just too perfect to be dismissed. Bulma wondered if it was honestly possible. 'Is what Chi Chi told me true? It sounded crazy at the time. But this, this is hard to ignore. Could we be...' Her thoughts were interupted as Vegeta and Krillin arrived at the door and entered in a huff.

The Prince stood there for a moment, looking at Bulma with empty eyes. It had been so long since she was taken from him, and all he had seen was creatures and battles. In his mind, the connection was made. He knew why he had heard her voice telling him where she was. She had opened her mind to him for the first time. Their bonding had begun. His mind snapped back to the situation at hand, however, and he allowed his emotions to take a back seat.

"Are you alright, Bulma?" That was all he managed.

"Yeah, we're fine. But what took you so long, you baka? We went nuts in here! You should hear what they have planned for us, it's horrifying..."

"What the hell are you talking about? What did they have planned for us?"

"Oh boy, this isn't gonna be good." Krillin, who was tending to Mizuki, looked at Vegeta with a bit of fear in his eyes.

"What isn't going to be good? What is this big secret that everyone but me seems to know!"

 

 

Episode 14

 

"WHAT?!?" Vegeta screamed in a combination of anger and hatred after Bulma and Mizuki relayed the plans that the Amazons had for them to him. It sounded like some sort of nightmare. Though he had heard of genetic engineering mentioned here and there on Earth and in space, he always passed it off as pure fantasy. But these creeps wanted to try it. And on him, no less...

"I will not stand for this! This WILL NOT HAPPEN!"

As she looked at the man she loved, a shiver of fear ran down her spine. She hadn't seen this kind of hate in Vegeta since their return from Namek. "Vegeta, try and calm down. If I know anything, it's that stupid plans like this never work."

"You're damn right it won't work. Not if I have anything to do with it. Once that other Saiyan is done with the Amazon, I'm going to blow this place sky high! Noone even thinks of messing with my DNA and gets away with it! And if they even think of touching you in any way, I'll tear out his heart and feed it to him with a side order of pain, to go!"

All eyes turned to Vegeta, Krillin's and Bulma's especially. Vegeta, for once, had thought of someone else entirely. Though Krillin knew that this whole quest was to preserve his pride and love for Bulma, it shocked him all the same.

The Price of Saiyans managed to clear his mind long enough to collect his thoughts. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. Krillin, you take the girls out of here. Get them someplace safe. I'm going to stay here and make sure these Amazons are destroyed. Completely.

Though happy she was finally being rescued, Bulma spoke up. "There is no way I'm letting you do this by yourself, Vegeta. I'm not going."

"What the hell do you mean woman? You want to stay here? Are you crazy? You already know what these freaks want to do with us. What's to say that they wouldn't try to use you against me?"

"Vegeta, there is no way I'm going to leave you." Bulma walked up to her Prince, looked deep into his obsidian eyes, and smiled as her voice softened. "If you're going to try and be a hero for a change, then you're going to do things right. When you leave here, it'll be with me in your arms."

All Vegeta could do was allow himself to smile. Though it was a rare moment, especially during a battle, he had no choice but to let his emotions come out. What she had said was true. She didn't want to leave him. She would stand by his side no matter what. He wasn't going to be alone anymore. Returning her gaze, he lifted his hand to her face and stroked her cheek. "Alright, Bulma. If you wish, you can stay. Just try to stay out of the way. I don't want anything more happening to you."

"I've waited a long time to get my hands on you again, Saiyan. You've ruined my plans far too many times. But this time you will not succeed." The Amazon Leader looked at Rico and smiled. The Saiyan stared back, unmoving. "Why so quiet, monkey?"

"You killed him once, beast. I won't allow you to do it again, no matter what dimension we're in. My brother may be a cold hearted animal, but he's still of my blood. He carry's my father's name, and I will honor that name no matter what."

"Oh, I'm going to kill him, alright. But not until after I use his genetic makeup to breed the perfect warrior. Don't you see the beauty of it all? The Saiyans, destroyed by something only half Saiyan. The halfbreed is much more powerful, though. The strength increases almost 3 fold compared to a normal Saiyan. The humann half sees in increase of almost 10 fold. The sheer numbers are enough to warrant the risks taken thus far. And now, to top it all off, the final piece of the puzzle will fall into place. You'll be dead, Rico. And I'll be free to finish off your pathetic race.

The Saiyan's body tensed. From deep within, he could feel the rage of his ancestors welling up into his concious. For the last hundred years, his people have known only war. The war with Freiza, then the Valic. The Terakians, Lord Narkona, and even the lowly Toor. One after another, races challanged the Saiyan Empire, each wanting to topple it's royal family and anihilate the race. Conquest after conquest came at them, and each time, they prevailed. Each newcommer had thought they smelled death on the Empire from it's previous seige. And each time, they were defeated.

But this race, the Amazons, were different. Through the use of science and geurilla warfare, the gained ground steadily, wearing down the Saiyan front. And now, their plan to combine Saiyans with humans would be the knockout blow. These creatures were doing what all the others had not done: fought a winning battle.

"For the last century, my people have been beset by attack after attack. Race after race. Empire after Empire. Leader after leader. They all fell before the might that is Vegetasei. And then, you came. You kill my father, and you kill my brother. I am all that's left of the royal family. The second son of King Vegeta the 12th. Prince of a dying race. You are the disease that kills our people. How many other races have fallen prey to you and your methods? How many others have suffered? And now, you take your venom accross the fabric of space and time itself. You manage to find my brother in this dimension and set your evil on him and the people he lives with. I can't allow this. It ends here, Amazon. By either my hand or my brother's, you will fall. The hell with capturing you." A smirk, the smirk that could only run in one family, came accross Rico's lips as he stared into the Amazon's soul. "Here, you die."

"Oh dear. The final battle has begun. But this will probably only be the first of what will be two very tense rounds. If Rico can't defeat the Amazon Leader, it'll be up to Vegeta. His heart is in the right place this time, but is his mind ready to follow?" King Kai stood in an all-too-familiar pose on his front lawn. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his head hung low as he hunched over, contemplating the situation befalling his fighters. This time, though, he had to deal with the wild card of the group: Vegeta.

Korin stood deep in thought as he received King Kai's transmissions. His job was a difficult one, relaying the situation to the Brief family as he heard it from King Kai. Every time something happened, Mrs. Brief would become hysterical and start crying. What amazed Korin, and Yajirobi for that matter, was that she cried if anything involved Vegeta as well as Bulma. They wondered how she could care for such a heartless monster. But neither of them knew what Bulma's mother knew. That Vegeta and Bulma loved each other...

"What's going on now, Korin? What's happening on that island?" Dr. Brief looked at the cat creature for answers with sadness on his face, a look he had not worn in a very long time. It was clear that this ordeal had worn the usually upbeat sciientist beyond his limit. "Has anything happened to Bulma? Or Vegeta? Krillin and Mizuki?"

Korin looked over the group, his gaze meeting each one for a few seconds apiece. The look on his face was not like the others. Instead of fear and helplessness, he wore a look of great concern. "Krillin and Vegeta have reached the girls. They are all OK. But the final battle has already begun. The last remaining Otherworld Saiyan is fighting the Amazon leader as we speak. Vegeta told Krillin to take the girls to safety, but Bulma has refused to go."

Mrs. Brief lost control, again, almost imediately. "What? My little girl isn't leaving? Is she NUTS?!?"

"She's decided to stay with Vegeta. For some reason, she doesn't want to leave his side. Is there something I don't know about here, Doctor?"

Dr. Brief sighed and smiled. "Well, you might not believe this, but those two have taken quite a shine to each other. Don't ask me why. They are the two most stubbourn people in the universe. Maybe they were made for each other, who knows. But my daughter is following her heart. It's been her dream since she was a little girl. It's what set her looking for the Dragonballs long ago. That's how she got involved with Goku in the first place. Her heart led her to Vegeta. And she trusts in her heart that she's doing the right thing. If she wants to stay with Vegeta, then she's doing what she feels she has to do."

Far at the end of Snake Way, King Kai stood slackjawed at what he heard. 'Bulma and Vegeta? What a combination! But if that combination is what gets them through this, then I'm all for it. I just hope Vegeta's love outweighs his pride.'

"Now, is there another way out of here?" Vegeta scanned the room, looking for another exit. "Damn these old military installations. More concerned with keeping people in instead of out. Hrmph."

"There's no other way out that we know of, Vegeta. The only way is back through the main chamber." Bulma looked out the door to see the Amazon and the other man in a standoff, saying things she couldn't make out. "They're still not any farther along, still pretty much sizing each other up."

"Then you'll just have to wait until the fighting has begun. When you get the chance, Krillin, take Mizuki and make a break for the exit. I'm going to stay out there and make sure that freak of nature from another world is put to rest. And woman, if you're going to insist on staying with me, then I insist you stay well out of sight and well out of my way. I don't want you getting hurt, do you understand?" Vegeta was all business as usual, barking out orders like he always did. But this time, everyone took them to heart.

"Right, Vegeta. As soon as there's an opening, we take it and head for Korin Tower." Krillin turned to his companion and smiled. "Mizuki, I, uh, well, I hope this whole thing doesn't turn you off at the thought of me. This isn't a usual thing for us, you know."

Mizuki just looked at the little monk with awe and wonder. " Are you insane? After all this, you'll be lucky if I even acknowledge your presence if we pass each other in public! This has to be the single worst vacation I've ever been on! And another thing, Krillin. What the hell took you so long getting here? We had to try and escape ourselves, not to mention..."

"SHUT UP!" That was what came from both Vegeta and Bulma, both fed up with Mizuki's rant. They both knew it would get longer, and decided that it needed to stop in a hurry.

No more words were wasted this day. Without warning, the two warriors lept at each other, screaming as they charged. Shockwaves filled the air as they collided, and with each blow came sonic booms like none heard before. The final battle between nearly lifelong enemies had begun, and it started out looking like it would be a deul to the death...

 

Episode 15

 

King Kai stood on the hood of his classic street rod, concentrating on the situation far below on Earth. So far, it had gone rather well, considering that at the heart of the matter was Vegeta. The selfish Prince alone could put this to rest, and that make the Kai very uneasy.

He thought back to the day that Goku had arrived on his world. The Saiyan had died defending Earth from his own brother, and sought to train so he could go back and fight an even greater menace: Vegeta. One of the most feared warriors in the universe, and in the service of Freiza no less. Planets had fallen under him, destroyed by nothing more than a whim. And here he was now.

The entire outcome of the situation at hand rested in the Saiyan Prince's hands. King Kai hoped that his ego and selfish nature would not come into play. But again, he also knew that pride could be used to grow stronger.

 

Violent explosions of energy filled the air as the two blood rivals laid into each other. Punch after punch, kick after kick, on and on in a neverending dance. When the two would seperate, they unleashed powerful energy blasts towards each other. Some collided in mid air, others found their target only to be brushed aside or blocked away. It was very clear that they wanted to kill each other.

"You've terrorized people for the last time, Amazon!" Rico pulled his hands into position and charged up for another shot, intent on destroying his target. "If it takes my life in the process, I will stop you." A huge three meter ball of energy formed in front of him, and his eyes grew wide with anger as he sized the Amazon up. With a scream that could move a mountain on its own, he threw the ball of energy towards his foe.

The Amazon looked at the energy blast coming at him and suddenly began sweating. He'd never seen a Saiyan throw something like this before. "What? What's that?" He threw his arms up as the blast came closer, trying to defend himself as best he could. The ball connected and forced him slowly backward as he pushed back at it. With a final yell, he was slammed into the wall.

Rico looked down from above to where the Amazon had impacted. If it weren't for the fact that most of the walls in this enormous hangar were 15 foot thick and surrounded by solid earth, they would have surely collapsed under the strain of the blow. When the dust settled, he caught sight of his opponent. "Face it, Amazon, it's over! Surrender now and I'll at least spare your life." He raised his hand and pointed it at the Amazon, ready to strike the final blow without thinking twice.

The Amazon looked up at Rico and smiled. "You're asking me to surrender? Do you honestly think that I'd simply give myself up to a weak excuse for a Saiyan? Your race isn't worth surrendering to. To do so would be a great dishonor and would make us the laughing stock of the entire galaxy. We're the only ones powerful enough to take you down, Saiyan. Face it. Your time has come. The presence of the Saiyans in the universe will cease to exist very soon."

"You'll regret those words, you monster." Rico charged up another blast and sent it flying at the Amazon. The creature narrowly avoided the blast this time, and sent one of his own back at the Saiyan. Reacting quickly, Rico swung at the blast and managed to swat it away at the last possible moment. The two drew into close combat yet again, and the fight continued at a fevered pace.

 

Vegeta watched in awe as the two blood rivals fought a fierce battle. It impressed him, really, and he actually respected Rico. Though he wasn't that big and didn't appear to be much of a threat, he gave it all he had and turned out to be a very strong warrior. But he was sure that the Saiyan wouldn't survive this battle, let alone win it. The opponent was most assuredly stronger and more vicious than he was.

He turned from the battle for a moment to look at his crew. Mizuki was still going off on Krillin, turning away for a moment here and there to shoot an angry glare at the Saiyan Prince. Bulma, on the other hand, seemed to be relaxed and level-headed. This confused Vegeta, as he was used to her being somewhat flakey and unorganized. But there she was, not crying, not complaining, showing no fear whatsoever. She wanted to stay with him, to see this through to the end. For a moment, Vegeta thought back to when he had first felt himself falling for her, how he saw that she was much more Saiyan than her humanity would have allowed. The fact that she wanted to remain here with him solidified that belief, and the love that the Saiyan Prince had allowed himself in such small doses to become more whole, more exacting, and most of all, stronger.

"How can they go on and on like that? Not even you and Goku fought like that, Vegeta." Bulma was watching the battle just outside, and asked without turning away.

"Someday, Kakkarot and I will fight. And I assure you it will go far beyond this kind of battle. But for the most part, it's just like a battle between us would be. These two hate each other. They are blood rivals, and will fight to the death if necessary. That is why they carry on as they do. They are warriors. Just like Kakkarot and I. And though he may not hate me, he still knows that I am his greatest rival, and that it will take everything he has to defeat me." For a moment, Vegeta looked at the battle before him, a battle he knew he'd join soon enough, and saw himself and Goku instead of Rico and the Amazon. He envisioned the moment they would collide, and how great a battle it would be. They would make their Saiyan ancestors proud.

"Vegeta, why do you need to keep going on about fighting Goku? Can't you two work something out some other way? It upsets everyone when you go on like that." Bulma finally turned away and gave Vegeta a distant, wondering look.

The Prince looked and saw the sadness in her eyes. It clicked in his mind that he was making her upset by wanting to fight his Saiyan cousin, but in his heart, he knew his pride would win this battle. Goku had defeated him, and he would not rest until he had avenged his loss and bested his rival to settle the score. But then again, he did owe the 3rd class runt his life. Though he had stolen the honor of defeating Freiza, that had allowed the Prince to live according to his own free will, and led him here to Earth where he found her...

"Let's not worry about that now, Bulma. It's not the time to be thinking about anything other than finishing the task at hand and getting the hell out of here. This vacation has already caused us all enough headaches. It's time to end this and go home."

Bulma smiled and looked at her Prince with adoring eyes. "Right." That was all she could muster. Seeing Vegeta this way - still the same old Vegeta, but this time fighting for something other than his own pride (whether he saw it that way or not) - made her own courage swell to new heights. With him, she felt less afraid of what was going on around her. She finally felt that she was more a part of the Z team than just being the "gadget girl."

Back in the main hangar of the old Red Ribbon base, the Saiyan and the Amazon continued their heated battle without rest. Punches, kicks, energy blasts, and more of the same. On and on they went, seemingly oblivious to either space and time around them. A battle born of another dimension, another time, another conflict.

"You know, Saiyan, when I killed your brother, he begged for mercy like the weaklings you all are. Before I snapped his puny neck, he pleaded for his life. He was a coward, just like all of you Saiyans. And now, when I'm finished with you, I'm going to kill your brother again. How do you like the sound of that?" The Amazon let fly an immense energy blast as he finished.

Dodging the blast and preparing for his own attack, Rico processed what the Amazon had said and returned his own judgment. "That's bullshit, Amazon. Saiyans are a proud race. We would never beg for our lives, we'd rather die in battle. My brother was a great warrior. He was the first Prince of a proud empire. He would have never begged for mercy from an evil and sadistic bunch of bastards like you. We're going to stop you, just like we did all the others. Your time is finished, you monster!" The Saiyan let loose a rapid barrage of smaller energy blasts, firing them off in automatic weapons fashion at his opponent.

The Amazon threw his arms up and began to evade the blasts, though his speed wasn't enough to match Rico's firing rhythm, and a few of the energy balls connected with their target, pushing him backwards a bit. When the blasts stopped coming, the Amazon launched himself at his adversary and the fight reverted to fast-paced, hand-to-hand combat. The battle continued on, seemingly without end.

"The other Saiyan is fighting a valiant battle, but I'm afraid he can't win. The Amazon is just too strong for him, Super Saiyan or not. These must be some incredible creatures if they can overpower Super Saiyans. As far as our gang is concerned, everyone is alright. They're waiting for an oppertunity to get Krillin and Mizuki out as soon as they can, and Bulma and Vegeta are planning to remain and finish off this nightmare once and for all." Korin listened intently to King Kai's words and relayed them, albeit very carefully, to the Brief family. With the exception of Bulma's mother, everyone seemed to be taking the whole thing rather well.

Yajirobi, on the other hand, was dealing with things like he always did: sitting in front of the TV, eating. "What's there to be worried about? I mean, Vegeta's there, right? I don't think these Amazon freaks stand a chance against him, you know. I garuntee that they're nowhere near Goku, and it took all he had then just to beat Vegeta back!" Everyone turned and shot the fat little senshi an evil look, making him sweat and retreat to speaking in a much hushed tone. "Well, I don't think there's much to worry about." With that, he went back to eating his mountain of scherbert with chocolate sauce.

"Hold on, everyone. King Kai has been picking something interesting up from both Vegeta and Bulma." Korin had heard King Kai's words, and didn't himself believe them. But who was he to argue with the Kai?

"Something from my Bulma? What is it? Tell me, you freakish little feline, TELL ME!" The Mrs. started flipping out, grabbing Korin by the scruff of his neck and shaking him a little bit before her husband managed to get her off of him.

"Well, it seems as though the Kai has been picking up thought patterns from Vegeta and Bulma, almost as if they manage to share their thoughts for a moment. It's like they're telepathically linked. I don't know if either myself or the Kai can really explain why or how they have formed this bond, but the Kai did notice that it helped Vegeta and Krillin find the girls alot faster than they would have without it." The little cat scratched his ears in thought as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Wait a minute. I think I remember Chi Chi mentioning something like that when she and Goku were first getting together." Bulma's mother stopped her ranting long enough to explain what she had heard from the hero's wife. "She told me that as they got older and spent more time together, they would share thoughts without saying a word. The images would just appear in her head. And she could hear him speaking to her when he was far away training sometimes. It was almost as if their minds were one. Goku mentioned to her that he'd been feeling that way around her since not long after the incident at Fire Mountain. He kept seeing pictures of Chi Chi in his head, and could sometimes hear her speaking whenever she thought of him."

"Well I'll be..." The Doctor could only put his hand behind his head in amazement. "My little girl is bonding with Vegeta. How am I going to explain this to the shareholders?"

In his mind, Korin sent a message to King Kai. "Did you hear that, Kai? Goku and Chi Chi went through something similar. What do you make of it?"

"You know, Korin, it might be part of Saiyan biology, but I don't understand how that could affect the girls, who are human. But then again, some bonds span space and time. Humans are fond of thinking that somewhere in the universe, whether literally or figuratively, there is one person made for them, a destined love of some sort, and they always feel a bond to this person, even if they have no clue who the other is. This could be what happened to Goku and Chi Chi, and it could be what's happening to Vegeta and Bulma." He chuckled lightly after thinking a bit further about it. "You know, it's not much of a surprise that these two were made for each other. They're both pretty stubbourn and headstrong. And honestly, I'm a little scared of both of them when they're angry..."

 

Episode 16

 

Time seemed to stand still as the two warriors continued their fight. Seconds felt more like hours to them as each tried to gain the deffinitive upper hand. But as the battle wore on, it seemed to be quite the stalemate. Back and forth it went, on and on, forward ever forward. It was as if the two were locked in a death march into the void of oblivion, destined to destroy each other.

Again, the two seperated. Rico looked as if he was winded quite a bit, breathing heavily, blood trickling from his mouth down his chin. He floated in his fighting stance, staring his enemy down. "Alright, Amazon. This has to end now. One final charge. Winner take all."

"Sounds good to me, Saiyan. You'ld best give it your best shot, though. Don't want history to say that you went down like the weaklings you and your entire race are. You do want the record to show that you at least went down giving it your all, don't you?"

"You haven't beaten me yet, you freak. Now shut up and give me your best shot."

"Fine. It ends now. Prepare to join the rest of your people in hell..."

 

Vegeta looked on as the two sized each other up. "They must be squaring off for a final charge. This Rico truely is Saiyan. Only warriors like us would face such a challange without fear. And that includes Kakkarot."

"Hey Vegeta, what's going on out there?" Krillin had managed to quiet Mizuki down enough to turn his attention back to the situation. "Those two sound like they're going to the bitter end."

"They are, baldie. You've been too busy with that chatterbox woman to pay attention, haven't you."

"Uh, well, yeah kinda..."

"Kinda? She had you held up this whole time! Now both of you pay attention. This might be the chance we're looking for to get you two out of here." Vegeta returned his gaze to the battle just outside in the main hangar.

 

King Kai stood silent. He sensed what was about to happen, and could only pray that Rico would prevail. It would be a daunting task, and he wasn't sure that this would be the end...

 

Rico stared at his opponent, who hovered just a few meters away. 'What is he planning? What will he come up with? I have to finish this now. He cannot be allowed to make his plans a reality. He cannot win!' He powered up his ki and prepared his final attack, his brother's own Gallet Gun.

The Amazon, meanwhile, smirked and laughed to himself, aware of the deciet he had planned for his rival. Not a word was spoken as he fixed his field of view solely on the Saiyan warrior. 'This will be the final charge, alright. Your final charge, you pathetic weakling.'

After a moment, Rico called out to his enemy. "Enough, Amazon. Let's do this."

"Are you really that hard pressed to meet your maker, Saiyan? If that's what you wish, then so be it."

 

"Alrigt, baldie, you and your female had better listen and listen good. This might be your only chance to get out of here, so make it count. When these two charge each other, you two will have a chance to make a break for the door. You'll have to carry her and fly, baldie, because you won't have much time at all. Once you hit the door, get your asses down that tunnel and get the hell off of this island."

"Alright, got it. What are you two going to do?" Krillin looked at Bulma, who was watching the standoff from the doorway, and then back at Vegeta.

"Bulma is going to get herself out of sight, and me? Well, one way or the other, this battle will end after this charge. And I plan on being there when it ends. I have a feeling that this brother of mine isn't going to be able to finish that creature off. That's why I'm going to make a stand. As soon as this battle is over, another will begin. One that I don't plan on losing." Vegeta returned to the doorway, followed by Krillin and Mizuki. The two warriors were still locked in a death gaze, neither giving an inch or flinching. "The moment they fly at each other, you two had best haul some ass."

"I got it already, Vegeta. They move, we move and get the hell gone. The sooner the better, too. I'm starting to wish that I'd never gone on this vacation, and it'll be a while before I try and take another one, that's for sure." Krillin looked at Mizuki, who nodded.

"I just want to get as far away as I can from this island and you people. This is more than I could ever hope to handle. When this is over, you'll be lucky if you even get a letter from me." She was angry, that much was sure.

"Well, whatever. But we have to get out of here first. Might as well get ready now." He turned to Bulma and produced the bag of Senzu Beans, handing it to her. "Here. You take these. You guys might need them." The monk wrapped his arm around Mizuki's waiste, ready to take flight the moment the signal was given.

 

With his energy at its peak and diverted into his final attack, Rico took one last look at the Amazon floating nearby. "It ends here and now, Amazon! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" At that moment, he charged at his sworn enemy, hands poised to release his Gallet Gun into the creature's very soul.

The Amazon snickered as he saw the Saiyan charging at him. 'What a fool, charging into his own doom.' He himself flew towards Rico, ready to attack when they came together. "Prepare to die, Saiyan!"

 

"NOW! Go, Krillin, GO!" Vegeta screamed as he saw the two foes draw closer to each other.

"Krillin barely heard Vegeta say his name, he was already on his way to the door with Mizuki in his arms. As he raced by the battle, he snuck a quick glance at the two fighters. 'Man, these guys are seriously going through with it.' With that, he turned his thoughts to one single notion - Escape. "Hang on, Mizuki, we're going to make it."

 

"Rico drew closer and closer, ready to make his last ditch effort to defeat his rival. As he watched the Amazon approach, he could see the hate in the creature's eyes. The contempt he felt for the Saiyan race, the joy he'd taken in torturing and killing his people, including his own brother. The sadistic nature of his plot to come to this dimension and create a halfbreed race out of Vegeta's DNA. It was all worn on the distorted, hideous face of the monster coming directly at him.

"As he flew in, the Amazon thought to himself. 'Almost there, Saiyan. Almost time for you to die. Just a little closer, you pathetic little monkey, you dirty little primate.' He reached behind his back and pulled a good sized dagger out of his belt, keeping it hidden from the charging hero.

 

"Alright, Bulma, get yourself out of sight. Somewhere safe. I'm going to step in and settle this matter once and for all." Vegeta's eyes were still trained on the battle just beyond him, and spoke to Bulma without a glance.

"I'd be crazy not to. Just be careful out there, Vegeta." A single tear of worry ran from Bulma's eye and down her cheek, falling off of her chin and landing on the floor.

"You know me." Vegeta saw the two drawing ever closer to each other, and when they were just a few meters apart, he charged into the room, ready to either finish off the Amazon or fight him, depending on how successful his interdimensional sibling's attack would be.

As she watched the Saiyan she loved move into action, Bulma couldn't help but worry. "Come back to me in one piece, Vegeta. The Prince has to come back to his Princess..."

 

"See you in hell, Amazon!" Rico and the Amazon were nearly on top of each other, and the Saiyan moved his hands to launch his attack. "Gallet Gu...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" As he prepared to fire, the Amazon suddenly spun around him, driving the dagger into Rico's back. He could feel the pain rush through him as the blade dug its way into his body, and let out a scream that could most likely be heard for miles. His golden hair returned to its original dark brown color as his energy left him, and he fell to the floor, landing on face down with a sickening thud.

Nearby, the Amazon had landed, the blood soaked dagger still in his hand. "I told you, Saiyan. This fight is your last. After I finish you off, I'll have my way with your brother and his woman. Won't that be something when my halfbreed warriors are finished and sent to destroy the rest of you sickening little chimps. Victory is close at..." He never got to finish, as a white boot smashed into his mouth, turning his head almost 180 degrees as the follow through carried it.

When he recovered and turned to the fallen warrior, he saw Vegeta standing in his way. "What the hell? You? You'll pay for that with your life, Saiyan! When I'm done with you, you'll recieve the most painful and slow death I can think of!"

"You've kidnapped the love of my life. You planned to perform hideous experiments on us both. You've killed and tortured scores of my people, no matter which dimension they're from. And now, you've struck down my brother with a cowardly and childish attack. You have no remorse for any of this. In fact, you enjoyed doing all of it. Well let me tell you something, monster. I will feel no remorse when I beat you to a bloody pulp and blast whatever's left of you into the next world." Vegeta stood like a proud statue of an ancient hero, unafraid and determined to put a stop to this entire debaucle. "I may not be a Super Saiyan like them, but you won't have an easy time fighting me, Amazon." Vegeta turned and picked up Rico, carrying him to cover. Once he laid his ailing compatriot in a safe place, he returned to the battleground once more.

"So, the son of the mighty King Vegeta lives on in this dimension. Well, that won't be the case for very much longer. You're a fool to want to fight me, Saiyan."

"Quite the contrary, Amazon. You're a fool if you think you can destroy me that easily. I am the Prince of All Saiyans, one of the last of my race. I've had many things taken from me, and I will have no more of it. Your time ends now, it ends here, and by my own hands, it will end for all time." Vegeta powered up his Ki and stood, smirking his trademark smirk. "Now, are you going to keep talking, or are you going to shut up and take what's coming to you?"

 

Bulma ran over to where Vegeta had laid Rico down and knelt by his side. "Are you alright?" She caught sight of the pool of blood forming beneath the fallen warrior. "Oh my Kami, you're bleeding something fierce!" Tearing a ring of fabric from her shirt, she dressed the wound as best she could and took out the bag of Senzu Beans.

"They... They won't work. We already t-t-tried them. They have no effect on us." Rico could barely speak, but managed to get his point accross to his brother's companion.

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do? You're dying!"

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that you and Vegeta don't allow the Amazon to carry out his plans." He closed his eyes for a moment, calmed himself, and reopened them. "My brother loves you. I could feel the bond you two share. It's stronger than any bond I've ever sensed. Stay by his side, never let him out of your sight. It's up..." He coughed a few times before continuing. "It's up to you now."

Bulma looked at Rico with a bit of surprise on her face. "What do you mean by bond?"

The Saiyan told her of the bonding that Saiyan Warriors and their destined mates experience. They share thoughts, emotions and dreams as if they were of one mind. The bond is said to only be felt when the two mates draw close to each other. Once it starts, there's no turning back. The bond is permanent, and can never be broken. Not even by space and time.

"Oh my Kami. That's why it seemed like Vegeta heard me. He really DID hear me! And when I heard him in my mind..." She sat back and tried to soak the whole thing in. Everything her mother had told her when she was a little girl was ture. There really WAS someone out there, destined for her, and it was Vegeta. For years she thought it would be Yamcha, and thanked her lucky stars when it turned out he wasn't. She and Vegeta were made for each other, and now they were bonding. Suddenly, she heard yelling from accross the hangar bay, and stood up to see Vegeta and the Amazon, locked in combat.

 

"And so it's begun, has it? The fate of an entire race in a whole other dimension rests in the hands of Prince Vegeta. The other Saiyan has been badly wounded, and he's the only one left to fight. This is going to be one doozy of a battle, Korin. I'm going to stop transmitting for a while so I can concentrate on the battle." King Kai had moved from the hood of his street rod to the roof of his home so he could get better reception.

From Korin Tower, the tiny cat creature responded. "Alright. I'll let everyone here know. I hope he pulls this off, Kai. If he doesn't... Well, I don't really want to think about that one."

Back on King Kai's planet, Bubbles and Gregory watched their master as he stood on the roof of their home, silent and deep in thought. "Do you think it's almost over, Bubbles? He looks pretty serious. It can't be good."

The chimp did all he could to respond, but as usual, it came in the form of grunts and howels.

"Easy, boys. The final battle between Vegeta and the Amazon leader has begun. There's no clear winner yet, but I have a feeling there will be very soon. I just hope Vegeta comes out on top."

 

Amidst the blur of punches, kicks, elbows and knees, two warriors clashed without rest. Locked in mortal combat, the two continued on in a decadant dance of violence, each bent on destroying the other. In his mind, Vegeta thought of Bulma. He would win this battle for her. She would not be taken away from him again. He wouldn't allow it. And he was ready to give his life to see that she would be safe...

 

Episode 17

 

Vegeta managed to pry himself away from the Amazon long enough to collect his thoughts. He hadn't fought like this since his battle with Freiza, and Kakkarot before that. 'It's going to take some doing to finish this one off. He's certainly no slouch.' Once his mind was done wandering, he focused his renewed sense of determination towards his adversary. "Alright, I've had just about enough of this whole nightmare. First you take away the only thing I love. Then I find out that you plan to use us for your own personal gain. And to top it all off, I find out that I have a brother, only for you to beat him down like he was some sort of pest. You've managed to accomplish only one thing, Amazon. And that's making me very angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."

The Amazon looked at Vegeta and laughed. "You Saiyan's are all the same. All talk, and no muscle to back it up. We're doing the universe a favor by getting rid of you! You're the bane of existance, the bottom of the food chain. They broke the mold when they made Saiyans, alright. They broke it because they realized they made a horrible mistake. You're that mistake, monkey. I'm actually pleased to find that you're the last of your kind here."

"I may be the last, but I won't become the last do die that easily. Super Saiyans or not, the Saiyans from your dimension are absolutely nothing like me."

"Is that a fact? Compensating for not being a Super Saiyan, are we?"

That hit home rather hard for Vegeta. All his life, he'd dreamed of becoming a Super Saiyan, and worked hard to achieve the holy grail of his entire race. It was bad enough that a third class moron like Kakkarot had reached the plateau first. Then came Rico and his team. Vegeta felt his anger swell within him. "You'll pay for that remark, and you will pay with your life!" His Ki exploded around him, glowing a vibrant blue as he built up his energy. "I'll make you pay for all the hell you've caused!" In a flash of rage, he released a blast at the Amazon.

"That's right, Saiyan, let your anger flow. That's what makes you all so weak. Your anger and your pride cloud your judgment. You get sloppy, just like the dirty monkeys you are. Your true colors, Vegeta. So get angry. Get really mad, Prince of Chimpanzies. Show me what you've got!" The Amazon released his own blast to counter Vegeta's. The energy waves collided, exploding in flashes of brilliant blue and orange.

The Saiyan's blood began to boil as the words echoed in his mind. 'How dare he insult my kind like that? Who the hell is he to say such things of a proud warrior race? But his is right in one respect. I allow myself to get too angry. I've got to control my anger, no matter what he says or does.' It was hard for him to control his rage, though. But after a few moments of attempting control, Vegeta felt himself grow slightly stronger...

By this time, Bulma had managed to drag Rico back to the room where she and Mizuki had been held, dressed his wounds, and taken up a worried vigil at the door, watching her Prince do battle with that horrible creature. She had never really seen Vegeta fight before, other than his mock battles in the GT. This, this was something else.

She first saw him on television when he arrived on Earth with the other Saiyan, Nappa. But then the networks went dead and she lost track of him until they reached Namek. After Namek, he'd gone off on his own, occasionally sparing with Goku until his Saiyan cousin mentioned the GT. That lead to his living in the next room from her. Never had she dreamed that this would have all transpired in the last five years.

And now, here she was. Watching him lay his life on the line to save her. She never thought that was possible. Yamcha would have surely never done it, he was too much of a coward. But Vegeta, he was a proud fighter. She knew in her heart that he would do what it takes to defend her. He'd never admit to it, yet there he was, proving it right before her adoring aqua eyes. Of course, she was very worried about her Prince. But she also had a feeling of calm and control. And it was all thanks to the man who once came to destroy her and her entire planet without a second thought.

Sweat ran down King Kai's brow as he stood, concentrating on the battle down on Earth. 'He's begun to feel it. The anger inside of him is coming under control. There's your first clue, Vegeta. You're one step closer to your goal...'

Somewhere over the ocean, Krillin was having a dickens of a time taking Mizuki back home. Between screaming sessions and lumps on the noggin, he'd taken more than his fair share of abuse given what he went through to get her out.

"What the hell was that all about, Krillin? Does this kind of crap happen to you on a regular basis, or was this just a freaky one shot deal? Would you mind explaining to me how the hell you can FLY!? Where the hell were those beams those guys were shooting come from? Do they have rayguns or something in there? " On and on she went, stopping only to complain about the way Krillin was flying or to pound on his head.

"Mizuki, OUCH! MIZUKI! You need to calm down! There's a logical - OWW! - explination for all of this, I swear! OUCH! Will you stop hitting me for two minutes so I can - DAMN! That HURT! - explain things to you? Mizuki, are you even listening to me? OWW! Hey! Come on now, those are my ears! OWW! OUCH!" Every once in a while, her onslaught of fists and flapping gums caused him to lose his balance and wobble about through the air for a moment, only to draw more criticism and violence from his passenger.

"Well, since you can fly, don't you think you should be a little more cautious and fly straight? Where'd you get your flying license, at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box?" She smacked him upside the head twice as he wobbled some more under her ever-shifting body weight. "Ugh, you think you could keep that to a minimum, you little freak?"

Krillin could only sigh as he flew off towards the horizon. At the first bus station he could find, he would drop her off and buy her a ticket home. He couldn't take the trip to Korin Tower with her in tow...

"You know what, Vegeta? I think I'd like to have some fun. There's something I haven't seen since I came to this dimension. Maybe you can show me!" The Amazon formed a Ki ball and threw it at Vegeta. Then another and another. Each time, the Saiyan dodged and moved to another part of the immense hangar. Each time he moved, another blast would follow. No matter how fast his opponent moved, the Amazon was right there to greet him. "That's it, Saiyan! Let me see you run! Run and hide, run and save your own worthless hide!"

"You will find that what you consider running is very differant from the deffinition I abide by. If you think I'm just going to stand there and take one of your attacks, you've got another thing coming. This isn't running."

"Whatever you want to call it, Vegeta. It still looks like the same thing every other Saiyan has done when I come around. Run, run like the little frightened primates you are. You're no differant than they are."

Vegeta took serious offense to this. Again, the Amazon had insulted his race. There may have been Saiyans by the gross in his dimension, but in Vegeta's, there were only two, one of which being himself. And since he represented half of this dimension's pure Saiyan population, this only added fuel to the fire already burning deep within him. "I'm warning you for the last time, Amazon. You'ld best stop insulting my people and do it soon. Or else you alone will be held responsible for the consequences."

"Warn me all you want, Vegeta. It still won't save your life!"

Without warning, the Amazon sprung into action, darting behind Vegeta with near blinding speed. The Saiyan Prince barely noticed the movement at all despite his highly developed battle senses, and before he knew it, fists were being driven into his back with tremendous force. Before he could recover and attack, the Amazon was suddenly face to face with him.

"Now you die, Saiyan..."

Bulma's senses suddenly sprang to life, and immediately she knew that something was wrong. She felt confusion and some pain, but she couldn't tell why. In the background, the constant noise of the battle had suddenly ceased and the room was ominously quiet. "Kami, what's going on out there?"

A split second later, the wall came crashing down a few yards from where she and Rico were hiding. Vegeta lay motionless in the rubble, having been driven through the structure by a tremendous blow from the Amazon. Bulma was completely overcome by shock and fear, and found herself unable to move, unable to speak. Her Prince had been decimated by that creature. In her mind, her thoughts began to race, and then almost as suddenly as they began, they sorted themselves out and she was able to focus it all on Vegeta.

Vegeta opened his eyes to see... Black. Nothing but black. "What the hell happened to me? Where am I? Where is that Amazon? Where is Bulma? What is going on here?!?" His mind did laps as he tried to collect his wits, his head pounding as if someone were attacking it with a large steel mallet.

Amidst the confusion, he thought he heard someone call out his name.

"Vegeta!"

"Where is that coming from? Who's calling my name? Answer me!"

"Vegeta, wake up!"

"But I am awake, you baka! Now tell me who you are, where I am, and what in the blue hell is going on!"

"Vegeta, you're unconcious. You've got to wake up!"

'I'm... unconcious? Then how can I be aware of what's going on?' Sweat poured from Vegeta's brow as he attempted to put two and two together. Nothing made sense in this place, and he kept coming up with 22 as an answer.

"Vegeta, you've got to wake up! I need you..."

"Bulma? Bulma, is that you?"

"Who else would it be, moron? Now get off your ass and get up!"

"How? How do I make myself wake up when I feel as if I'm not even unconcious? What kind of place is this?"

"You tell me. It's your mind we're sharing. I've learned a bit about this bonding thing through your thoughts, and I think I've managed to control it. That's how I'm talking to you now."

In a blinding flash of yellow light, a figure appeared before Vegeta. The light surrounding it was too intense for him to make anything out at first. But as his eyes adjusted, he managed to identify the person standing amidst the strange yellow glow...

 

Episode 18

 

"Look at you. And you call yourself Saiyan. You allowed a pathetic creature to get the best of you. You're of the Royal Saiyan bloodline, yet here you are, being beaten by a lesser being. Sad."

"What makes you think that I've been beaten? You should know after all." Vegeta confronted the figure before him. "You're me, aren't you?" He stared into his own eyes, but they weren't quite his own. Instead of the usual obsidian, the other Vegeta's eyes were aqua in color. His hair a radiant yellow. "But you can't be me. I'm not a Super Saiyan."

"You're not a Super Saiyan yet, Vegeta. That power does exist within you, along with more that you will realize in time. But you're still blind to it. And that makes you weak."

"I've had just about enough of you making me sound inferior. I don't have to tell you who I am, you know damn good and well. And whether you're me or not, if you keep talking like that, I'll destroy you."

"You will do no such thing. Otherwise, you risk destorying your own pitiful self." Another voice came from Vegeta's right, a youthful yet distinctly Saiyan voice. To his horror, he recognized it from his youth. As the source of the voice came into view, Vegeta took a step back. "What's the matter, Vegeta? Afraid to face yourself?" The figure was himself as a young Prince, just before he left Vegetasei to begin his service under the tyrant Freiza.

"What the hell is going on here? First there's you, the Super Saiyan. And then my boyhood self? Somebody had best give me some damned good explanations for all of this."

The two visions of himself turned around suddenly, and were joined by yet a third figure. This time, Vegeta found himself feeling as if he was looking in a mirror. This Vegeta was similar to him in every way. "You want an explanation? Well, you've come to the right place. Welcome to your trial, Prince of Saiyans. And in this courtroom, you are guilty untill proven innocent, if that's even possible for your worthless hide..."

Bulma couldn't keep the link to Vegeta's mind for very long, and lost contact after she was distracted by what she considered to be telepathic static of some sort. "What's happening to him?" Fear and worry riddled her voice as she ran to her Prince's side. He was still unconcious and immobile. "Vegeta, wake up! He's coming, Vegeta, you've got to get up!"

"On the contrairy my dear, I'm not coming, I'm already here." The Amazon stepped through the hole he had made using Vegeta's body and into the room. "Oh, is your precious Saiyan hurt? That's just too bad. No more monkeys left here to defend you, little girl." He turned his attention to Rico, who was still sitting up against a table, his wounds bleeding like crazy. "So you just won't die, will you? Actually, I'm glad you haven't. When I killed your brother in our dimension, you weren't around to see it. Too bad, really. It was a rather greusome sight. But now that you're here, you can see me do it all over again. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"To hell with you, Amazon." Rico coughed violently, but his eyes never left the creature standing over him. The situation had grown out of his control, and the feeling of helplessness in his current condition made his anger swell.

Bulma had no clue what to do. Everything was going wrong around her, and her mind was ablaze with confusion. She looked down at Vegeta, hoping to find some sign of life, anything that would tell her he was going to wake up. The link was lost and she couldn't get through to him at all. But as she looked him over, she couldn't see a thing. 'Oh Vegeta, please wake up..."

"What do you mean I'm on trial? What kind of game is this? I'll have you know that I'm not having too much fun at the moment if it is a game. And besides, games aren't really my style, anyway." Vegeta's rage grew with each passing second as he passed his gaze to and from each of the Vegeta "clones."

"This is no game, Prince of Saiyans." His mirror image spoke up. "You are on trial for betraying yourself and your heritage. You stand accused of treason... against yourself."

"Treason against myself? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Let the proceedings begin." With that statement from the Super Saiyan version of Vegeta, the scene suddenly shifted and reformed in a large courtroom.

"What the hell is going on? What manner of magic is this?"

"This is not magic, Saiyan Prince. Now, you stand accused of betraying yourself and your heritage. How do you plea?" The Super Saiyan Vegeta had taken his place behind the main platform of the courtroom. Obviously, he would serve as judge and jury.

"How do I plea? Do you really think that I'd enter a plea when I think that this court is some pathetic delusion? This mockery of justice is annoying the hell out of me. Besides, where is my defense? Don't I get representation? Isn't that how these things work?"

The child Vegeta stepped out of the shadows and stood next to the Prince. "I will be your defender, though I doubt it will do you much good. You're as guilty as you are arrogant."

"You know, if you weren't me, I'd vaporize you for being that lippy."

"And you wonder what you're on trial for."

As the mirror image of Vegeta began the prosecution, it seemed as if his entire life passed before his eyes. It started with Nappa, and how he protected Vegeta out of loyalty to his father the King, even while with Freiza. That ended painfully, however, when the subject of questioning turned to the circumstances of Nappa's demise.

King Vegeta himself followed, and spoke of the hidden fear that his one and only son wouldn't be able to take the throne of their once great empire. He regretted selling him out to Freiza when he knew the tyrent would destroy them anyway. But it was the only way he could keep the Prince alive. 'One in my favor, I believe.' The Prince loved his father, and seeing him, even if it was only a dream, brought out the good in his pride.

Thus began the parade of creatures from worlds Vegeta had destroyed and enslaved. Endless aliens, each only saying the torture and horror their races felt at the hands of the Dark Prince. The humiliation of the great army of T'or. The King of Xandahar, reduced to cinder in front of his entire race. The Baralans, forced to endure 32 hour shifts in mines on their once beautiful planet. The list went on and on. One by one, Vegeta watched as the races and peoples he had himself destroyed accused him of crimes most normal men would consider insanity.

With each charge, the sadistic grin on the doppleganger Vegeta grew wider. The judge remained solem, his eyes focused squarely on the accused. When the procession stopped, the prosecuter rested his case. "I think that explains it. This pathetic excuse of a Saiyan is nothing more than a low-life thug that doesn't deserve leniance. After all, he's never shown it himself. Countless worlds have fallen under his hand. And now he even seeks to live on Earth among lesser beings. This is no Saiyan." Vegeta's twin turned to look directly into the eyes of the Prince. "He's just a monkey."

His mind raced with anger. Fire grew within him and rage flowed to every part of his being. 'Must everyone think that I'm just a monkey? Doesn't anyone have any of the respect due to a member of the Siayn race? Why must these people belittle me? Why does everyone...' He stopped in mid thought when his mind suddenly became aware of another...

The Amazon walked over to Vegeta and stood over his still limp body. "So, what should I do to him, eh? Should I break each one of his bones one at a time? Maybe sever his spine in all the right places and paralyze him before I smash his head against the wall?" His details were greusomeas he tried to eat at the soul of his fallen opponent. "Maybe after I finish this one off, I'll go looking for that other Saiyan we've seen him with here in this dimension. What do you think of that, Bulma?"

"You'ld never beat Goku, jackass. He'd knock you through your dimension and through three more before you finally stopped." She tried her best to keep an air of composure outwardly. She didn't want him to know that she was trying to reconnect with Vegeta's mind. Try as she might, though, she couldn't get in touch with her Prince. She knew his mind was still working, even in his current state. But something was in the way.

"If he's anything like what this worthless ape says he is, then I should have no trouble at all. This pathetic loser is the pinnacle of an otherwise harmless pack of primates. Not much to look at, is it? Come on. Be honest with yourself. How could you possibly be in love with this pitiful excuse for a warrior?"

His comments struck a chord with Bulma, and anger began to swell from within her. "Look, asshole. You may have Vegeta down, but he's certainly not out. And as for how I feel about him, he's more than you could ever imagine any race could be, even your own. You think your so superior. Vegeta's a thousand times the warrior you are, and he's a million times more the better man." A smirk worthy of her Prince crossed her face. With a new found strength, she doubled her efforts to get ahold of her Prince.

"A feisty one, aren't you. I should have seen it earlier. You'll make an excellent 'mate' for Vegeta. You're strong willed and have a drive to match. The warriors we clone from you will be excellent fighters indeed." There was an element of certainty in his voice, as if he were sure that his plan would succeed. After all, the one person who stood a chance of beating him now lay unconcious on the floor, vulnerable to whatever evil he could come up with.

Bulma kept a close eye on the enemy before her as she tried to reestablish the link to her beloved Vegeta. Whatever was blocking her was strong indeed, and she had no clue what kind of power - good or bad - that it could be. "Do you really think you're going to win? Are you really that sure of yourself? Even if it comes down to me, I won't go down without a fight of my own, you ass."

"Ha. Do you really think that you could do any damage?" With a laugh, he turned his attention to the all but lifeless Vegeta, wounded and ripe for the kill...

He could feel it. It was very feint, but he was sure of it. Bulma was trying to get through to him. What was holding her back, though? This was all a creation of his own subconcious, so he knew that something inside of him was jamming the line. 'Bulma, keep trying.' He searched his soul, every corner of his being for the answer.

"So, Prince of Saiyans. You have heard the evidence laid before you. One after another, you've heard the tales of the horrors you have caused. At the behest of Freiza or not, you still committed these acts with your own hand. You have tarnished the pride and tradition of the Saiyan race, all in the name of hatred and contempt. What do you have to say to all of this?" The judge looked down at him with a vicious glare, the kind that would make a Farakian (a being made of ice, and one of the races Vegeta had destroyed) shiver with fear.

"I have heard. Not that I had to, as I experienced it all first hand. You know what? It doesn't matter to me. It was in my past. Long dead history. Yes, I caused suffering, and yes it was by Freiza's order. But now, things are differant. I have a new goal. A new reason to survive and carry on my Siayan heritage. Nothing else matters to me now. I am one of the last of my race, and I have no intention of letting my bloodline die off. That fool Kakkarot cannot be allowed to be the soul bearer of that responsibility." His trademark smile again crossed his lips as he realized the answer to the broken bond problem. "I honestly don't give a damn what you think about me, or what verdict you choose to render on me. It doesn't matter. I don't much care for anything you have to say, really. I could give a rat's ass about this courtroom, this trial, and I grow tired of this dream. It's time I took control of my own destiny. To hell with all of this. DAMN IT ALL!"

In a blinding flash, a power was unleashed from within Vegeta that swallowed the room and its occupants, leaving him alone amidst the glow. Suddenly, he felt the link to Bulma grow stronger as the barrier holding him back vanished. 'Bulma. I'm alright now. And I'm coming to help you.'

"That's it!" Bulma felt the bond with Vegeta grow stronger again, as well as a rush of energy seemingly coming from her Prince. It flowed through her body, giving her strength she'd never known before. She looked at him and smiled. Even when he was unconcious, he was still trying to help her. She then set her sights on the Amazon, who was moving towards Vegeta with intentions that weren't the greatest. She charged at him, ready to pull the only move she could think of that would stop the creature, even for a moment.

"Keep your eyes peeled, both of you. You're about to watch the second demise of the Prince of all Saiyans. I'm going to enjoy this, you know. It's not often that you get to kill this big a target twice. Time to die again, Veget-TAH! Ahhh, AHHHHHHHH! OhhhhhhhOHHHH!" Suddenly, his voice got a whole lot higher as he realized the source of the pain he was now feeling. His crotch was ablaze with a sharp, intense pain, the kind that only comes from a shot to the pills. "Wha... What have you done? You little... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH... Bitch... OhhhhhhhhhOHHHHH Ahhhh Owwwwwwwww!"

Satisfied with her work, Bulma turned her attention back to trying to contact Vegeta. 'If you're going to wake up, do it now, Vegeta. I don't know how long that'll hold him off...'

Her words echoed in his mind, and the light surrounding him vanished. Vegeta awoke from his dream world and slowly opened his eyes. Unlike in his dream, he was in great pain. As his eyelids slowly parted, he thought he saw someone bent over in front of him. His hearing came back as well, and was instantly bombarded with the horrid sounds of someone moaning as if they'd just been kicked somewhere unfriendly. When his vision cleared, he first saw the face of the Amazon. He looked to be in great pain. And then, without warning, he fell backwards and landed hard, rolling around and clutching his nether region, moaning like a soprano in heat.

"Vegeta! You're awake!" Bulma ran over to him and knealt next to him. She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, allowing some tears to well up before she calmed herself and tended to her work. "You're a mess, lunk head."

"Oh sure. Take advantage of me while I'm a bit run down. I see what kind of woman you are." Vegeta looked over at the Amazon for a moment, and smirked. "Did you do that, woman?"

"You're damn right I did. I felt a burst of energy and decided that I'd had enough. So I did the only thing I could think of that would slow him down for sure. But that's neither here or there. You need one of these." From her pocket she produced the bag of Senzu Beans that Krillin had given to her. She took one out and fed it to her fallen hero.

Swallowing the life giving leghume, Vegeta waited for it to take effect. The Amazon was slowly recovering, and he wished the bean's magic would hurry. Once his strength returned, he had one hell of a score to settle with his nemesis.

The Amazon stood up, collecting his wits and shunning what remained of the pain. "You're going to pay for that you little twit. When I've finished my mission, I'm going to make your death a slow, painful one. Mark my words, I'll..."

"You'll have to get through me first, Amazon. It's time for round two, and Vegas isn't giving you very good odds."

The creature turned to see Vegeta, still bloodied and bruised, standing and looking as though he was full of energy. "How... How in the hell did you recover so fast?"

"A little secret we have here in our dimension. A secret that will spell your undoing. Now, are you ready to go, or do I have to give you some more time to nurse your marbles?"

 

 

Episode 19

 

"It... It can't be. You were beaten nearly lifeless before that wench of yours kicked me. How the hell can you be this powerful so quickly? It's not possible!" The Amazon couldn't believe his eyes. He had just pummeled Vegeta to the point of collapse, yet the Saiyan Prince stood before him as if he hadn't felt any of the punishment he recieved. 'That bastard. He's even smirking. But how can this be?' The situation stunned him to the point of error, though. His inability to comprehend and react left him...

Vegeta wasted no time. He lunged at the Amazon with a sadistic smile, confident in his strength once again. His hand, still bloodied from their previous encounter, made solid contact with the creature's jaw, nearly knocking it clean off of his face. This sent the Amazon back through the wall into the main hangar, with the Saiyan Prince following right behind him.

Bulma watched in awe as Vegeta laid seige to the Amazon with an obvious need for vengance. It reminded her of the record of his arrival on Earth. She hadn't really been there to see it, but what she heard from the others was enough. Yes, Vegeta was a murderous, cold-hearted psycopath. But his encounter with Goku changed him forever. Had he gained his wish to become immortal, things would be very differant indeed. But that was not to be.

What did happen, though, was just as interesting. When he decided to go head to head with Freiza and joined forces with Gohan and Krillin, he learned to rely on the good in others. Sure, the means served the end. But in a way, he lost something. Freiza died by Goku's hand, not his own as he wished. And in the process, he himself was killed, though brought back by the very Dragonballs that he desired.

That had brought him to Earth. At first, he was still somewhat cold and very distant. He lived out in the wilderness for a time, training in remote areas and contemplating his place after the events on Namek. She knew he was proud enough to think of such things. But then he had decided to try and get himself a gravity room, like the one Goku had on the ship that took him to Namek. That brought him to the room next door to hers. Dr. Brief wasn't about to let his technology go with Vegeta, but agreed to let him use it on the Capsule grounds.

He broke it alot, so Bulma would end up fixing it alot. All the contact with the former killer had led her to this moment. As the thoughts and memories flashed through her mind, her eyes remained set on the man she loved as he dove into battle. He was no longer a selfish, heartless killer. He was a Prince, defending his princess at any cost, and setting right something that went terribly wrong. Whether he knew that or not, she didn't know, and thought that he probably didn't think of it that way. But she knew it. She was sure of it. She ran to the new hole that Vegeta had created with her captor and continued to watch the battle...

Vegeta walked over to his fallen opponent, who had managed to get himself to his knees. "Worthless Amazon." He drew his right leg back and kicked the beast in the ribs, then brought his fists down onto it's back. It hit the ground with a tremendous thud as the Saiyan continued his rant. "I don't care what dimension anyone is from. A Saiyan is a Saiyan. You made the fatal mistake of not knowing your enemy. You didn' take the time to realize that when Saiyans recover from severe injury, they become stronger. Freiza knew it, that's why he had me pulling chump jobs. But then again, that disgusting lizard is dead and gone." Gone at the hands of his own son, though he didn't know it. Yet...

Another swift kick to the face sent the Amazon flying to the far wall of the hangar. When the Amazon stopped sliding, Vegeta tensed up and began walking toward him. The look on his face was stern. The only emotion visible was anger and hatred, though from within, it was drivin by love. The end justified the means to him, though, and he looked beyond that love to the greater power it gave him.

"You... You're not normal. What the hell are you?" The Amazon's voice shook with fear as he spoke, staring at the Saiyan walking his way. "How can you have this much power? Saiyans are weak and pathetic."

"Maybe in your dimension. But here in mine, the Saiyans are among the stongest warriors in the entire universe. Here, there are few who could ever rival us. And even though there are only two of them left, we are still to be feared by all. If you think for one second that I'm a pushover, then that one second will seal your fate. It's too late for you, Amazon. Your fate was sealed the moment you took that woman away from me." As he reached the fallen creature, he stopped and looked down at him. "And to think. You brought about your own end."

Still in the back room, Rico felt the sudden surge of energy flow within his brother. 'Amazing. Vegeta is even more powerful in this world. The Amazon has no chance now. Even though I didn't do it myself, I'm at least happy that my mission is completed.' He had full confidence in his trans-dimensional sibling. There was nothing to stop him. Suddenly, the energy coarsing from Vegeta began to grow sharply. 'That's it, Vegeta. Harness it. It's yours for the taking, just learn to grab on to it...'

Vegeta's calm fury suddenly turned to visible rage as he laid into the Amazon with all that he had. Punch after punch sent the monster flying around like a rag doll. And with each crushing blow, the Saiyan Prince could feel himself grow stronger. The anger was taking over again. And this time, he had a release. "You come here to MY dimension, wanting to mess with MY DNA to create a super being, kidnap MY mate and use her to lure me here?" He followed each brief rant with a series of harsh blows to wherever his appendages would connect. "You admit to killing me in another dimension and laugh about it like I was some sort of trophy kill on a wild game outing.?" Again, he tore into his foe with reckless abandon. "You dare insult the greatness of the Saiyan race? You dare insult a Saiyan's pride? Not only that, but you dare insult the pride of the Prince of ALL Saiyans? You have NO RIGHT!"

The blows came swift and strong this time, and in great numbers. Punches, kicks, chops, knees, elbows, headbutts, anything Vegeta threw connected with tremendous force. When he finally stopped, he stood over the beaten Amazon, breathing heavily. For a moment, he felt something well up inside of him. He let out a scream like no other as this new feeling took over his body. His rage was out of control now, making his mind race with both fear and malice. It didn't matter what he had to do now. There was only one thought in is mind: Destroy the target. Vengance. By any means necessary.

And for a moment, almost the equivalent to the blink of an eye, it flashed outward...

Bulma, still with eyes fixated on the one she loved, saw it as well. The aura around him was now a steady golden color, but his hair had in fact gone gold, for a brief moment. For a stitch in time, the Siayan Prince she loved so much had achieved his goal. For that fraction of a second, he was granted his wish. And then, she saw it flash again...

Deep within himself, Vegeta felt the power surge through his soul. In small doses, he tasted the power he longed for. He felt it rise from deep down inside, only to withdraw before he could grab ahold of it. it was so close, yet so far away. This angered him, but that made it no less easy to control what he was feeling...

Bulma saw it. Again and again. Vegeta's transformation had begun. She smiled, but still had a sense of concern. Would he turn on them all if he was granted the power he wanted so badly? Would he revert to his old, ruthless self if he became like he wanted to be? If he ascended to the status of the legendary Saiyan warrior? It was clear that he was slowly becoming a Super Saiyan, but it was not clear where that power would be aligned.

Still, though, she felt thankful that he was getting his wish. If it made him happy, she was all for it. But then she noticed that as quickly as it had begun, the flashes began to happen with less frequency.

He couldn't take hold of it. Not yet. There was something preventing him from taking hold of the power he was feeling. As fast as it had come, it began to fall away from him. His breathing became subdued, and his heart slowed down. He looked back down at the Amazon, still laying on the floor in front of him. Having tasted the power he so desired, he turned the frustration of not achieving that desire towards the enemy at his feet.

"I might not be able to reach my goal, Amazon. But that will not stop me from putting an end to you. This has gone far enough. It ends, here and now. And I'll even do you a favor."

"I... I want no... Arrrrgh... favor from the likes... of you... Saiyan filth..."

"Ever adamant to the bitter end, I see. A trait normally worthy of respect in most battles. Even a Saiyan will respect that kind of resolve in their adversaries. But you, Amazon, you don't even rate a cup of coffee in that department."

"Go ahead. Send... send me back. I'll only escape and come back... to haunt you."

"No. I can't show that kind of mercy to a worthless piece of trash like you. But I will grant you this favor. Instead of years of rotting in a prison and a possible but slim hope of escape, I'll make your punishment short and sweet. It's time to die, Amazon. Time for your reighn of terror to end. It's time for the Saiyan race to finally win one again."

"Burn... burn in hell... Saiyan..."

"You first."

Far away on King Kai's planet, the portly Kai himself watched intently as the battle reached it's climax. "It's over. Vegeta has won. But he's still taking his vengance. He's still allowing what's left of his evil to surface. No matter if he directs it to right a wrong, it is still evil. And that's why he can't reach his goal. He has to purge the evil and let go of his selfish desires. Only then will he reach the plateau he was born to ascend to. Only then will he become a Super Saiyan..."

Bubbles and Gregory looked at the Kai intently. They had no clue what was really going on down on Earth, but judging by the tone of their boss' voice, it was something serious. They knew well enough that Vegeta was now winning, but as far as the conflict within the Saiyan warrior, they only knew that if it concerned the Kai, it should concern them all...

Four balls of energy grabbed the Amazon by his wrists and ankles, and picked him up off of the ground. In an instant, they carried him up to the high ceiling of the hangar, holding his back against it. He was weak, but he managed to open his eyes. What he saw would be his last memory, though, as Vegeta looked back at him from the floor with that cocky smirk of his.

Bulma knew what was coming. She ran over to Rico and tried to help him to his feet. "We've got to get better cover. Vegeta's about to pop."

"So, he's going to use it, is he?"

"Yep. And in the state he's in, it's gonna be a big one. Let's get to the back of the room." She managed to pick him up and move him to an L shaped closet and set him in the back, then shut the door and braced herself for the impact of Vegeta's energy wave.

The hangar began to shake violently as the Saiyan Prince began the energy build for his final attack. In a brilliant flash, a blue Ki field surrounded him and began to swirl as if they were clouds around a planet. At first, Vegeta merely growled as the energy built within him. But that growl gave way to a scream that echoed off of the vast walls with tremendous retort. Bolts of electricity shot off the walls and bounced around him as his energy swelled to its peak.

"GALLET GUN!" He raised his hands into the air and fired an enormous beam of pure energy directly at the Amazon. As the beam struck the creature, it didn't yet destroy him, but pushed him up into the ceiling and through the mountain above, finally coming to a rest somewhere in the core of the rocky mass. There, the Amazon was slowly disintegrated, a slow and painful death dealt by the Prince of All Saiyans, his personal signature of revenge - vengance for trying to steal his newfound love...

Vegeta moved quickly and raced to the room where Bulma and Rico were. Using the bond he now shared with her, he tracked them down and burst into the closet. "We've got to get out of here. Hang on tight." He picked up Rico and slung him over his shoulder, then took Bulma in his other arm and took off at blinding speed towards the exit at the other end of the hangar.

"What did you do to him, Vegeta? Why hasn't this place exploded yet?" Bulma looked to her Prince inquisitively, sadisticly curious as to what end he'd given her abductor.

"I needed to give us a chance to get out. It will explode soon, though, so be quiet and let me concentrate on saving our asses before we all share the Amazon's fate."

Bulma nodded as they raced down the long tunnel to freedom.

The Amazon's mind was still intact, but the rest of him was being slowly eaten by his adversary's blast. As he felt his existance fade away, his mind raced with what seemed to be a common theme in the final words of Saiyan's victims. "Just... a monkey... He was just... a... monkey..."

The explosion shook the enitre island, taking the whole peak of the mountain with it. It was a brilliant blast, sending debris flying in all directions. Far away in Aloha City, the residents were shaken from their daily duties, and looked out their windows to see a giant cloud of smoke rising from the once giant peak far in the distance...

Flames chased the trio as they raced towards the exit. Steel, rock and other such junk crashed down all around them. Vegeta dodged it all with expert precision, but even he thought that they might not make it. The exit was in sight now, and he quickened his pace. He felt his boots grow hot with the fires of the explosion mere inches behind him and closing fast. With one last desperate push, he lunged forward, trying to clear the last few dozen yards to escape...

 

 

 

Episode 20

 

When Vegeta opened his eyes, he quickly took in the scene and tried to piece together the events of the last few moments. He had been carrying Bulma and Rico out of the base, and just when they came upon the main exit the explosion's shockwave caught up to them, throwing them out of the tunnel and more or less to safety. Rico lay next to him, unconcious but still breathing, and Bulma still had a tight grip on his waist, holding herself close to him and whimpering. They were all alright.

"Vegeta. Is... Is it over?" Bulma opened her eyes and looked at the entrance from which they had just came. It was now engulfed in flames, and smoke was pouring into the sky. Looking upwards, she saw what was left of the mountain's peak, also smoking like crazy. "Geez, Vegeta. You sure were subtle. You can't even tell you were here."

"Very funny, woman. But the fact remains. The Amazon threat is gone. I suppose a mountain top is worth that." He turned to her and smiled. "And it's certainly worth your safety."

"Vegeta..." Bulma could only blush. Though the typical carnage that followed Vegeta around was present, it all seemed worth it this time. She was in fact OK, and so was Mizuki, not to mention the Saiyan race in an entirely different dimension. Not bad for a selfish, egotistical royal pain in the ass. Her flush ended quickly, though, as she turned her attention to Vegeta's interdimensional sibling. "Rico! Is he alright?"

It took them a few moments, but they managed to wake the valiant Saiyan from his state of unconciousness. As his eyes opened, he saw Vegeta and Bulma sitting next to him. The latter was all smiles, happy to see him awake and alright. And the former, well, he'd grown to miss his brother's scowl after he was killed. Seeing it again made him smile. "Did we do it? Did we win? Where's the Amazon?"

"You should rest now. The Amazon has been destroyed, I've seen to that one personally." Vegeta was always matter-of-fact about these sort of things. "You can go back to your dimension and tell your comrades that the Amazon threat is over."

"That's good to hear. Speaking of my dimension..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the dimensional travel device he'd been carrying. "You know, I thought for sure that I'd be taking that beast back there with me. Knowing that he won't be coming back is an unexpected bonus. I can't thank you enough, Vegeta."

"Hrmph." The Saiyan Prince was never big on recieving thanks, as it was rare that he ever heard those words spoken to him before, aside from Bulma and her incessant chattering about this and that.

"I'll take that as a 'you're welcome' then, alright? Anyway, I've got to be going back. We've got alot of rebuilding to do there." He looked over to his brother, and to the woman that he knew his brother loved. "You two are something else, you know that?"

"What do you mean, Rico?" Bulma looked at him inquisitively, wondering what exactly he meant.

"Well, I can't really say for sure. But if you and Vegeta have bonded... Let's just say that I've got a feeling you two are going to have one heck of a ride through life." Smiling, he hugged Bulma and turned his attention to Vegeta. "And you."

"Look. I'm not one for emotional drivel, so you can just keep your goodbyes to yourself." Ever the snappy crab, Vegeta barked out his response. After a short pause, he relaxed a bit and spoke again. "Though I may have no brother in this dimension, I'm proud to have one in yours. You and your compatriots fought like true Saiyan warriors, and I commend you. You have earned your victory, and earned it well."

A single tear welled up in Rico's eye, but he held it back and brushed it away. He didn't want his long lost brother to see his emotion. He thought it funny, though. While he was trying to do what Vegeta normally would have done in hiding his feelings, he saw that Vegeta himself was dealing with new feelings himself, showing them outwardly for the first time in his life. "Take care you two. I'll never forget what you've done for us. Your people are forever endebted to you, Prince Vegeta." He held the device up and pushed a button, which made it hum and whir rhythmically. As he started to phase out of site, Rico smiled and gave the Saiyan farewell sign, similar to the human "peace" sign, only with the index and middle fingers held together.

They stood there for what seemed like hours, looking at the spot where their friend and compatriot had just been. It wasn't every day that Vegeta had family come for a visit, especially family from another dimension. Bulma smiled at the thought, and turned to look at her Prince. She was surprised to see him already staring at her. Blushing, she spoke. So, how long have you been staring at me?"

"Not long enough, Bulma-chan." Ever the man of few words, even that little statement succeeded in what he wanted it to do. It made her smile.

After a moment and much more blushing, Bulma gathered her wits and responded. "Thank you, Vegeta. Thank you for coming after me. I knew the whole time you would, but all the same, I owe you one for this."

"You don't owe me a thing, woman. But you could do me one favor."

"What's that?"

"Learn how to cook a decent tasting meal every once in a while."

"Vegeta!" She smacked him in the shoulder, annoyed but amused. He was right, after all. Even she wouldn't eat her own cooking sometimes. "I'll see what I can do, alright?"

"Fair enough. Now, are we going to stand here on this island looking like tourists? Or are we going to go home already?"

Wrapping her arms around his muscular neck, she settled into his arms and got ready for takeoff. "Whenever you're ready, Vegeta. Let's go home."

Nodding, Vegeta powered up his Ki and lept into the air, headed back home after a short, and very odd, vacation.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

The Prince of Saiyans stood looking out his window, disgusted. Of all the things he still hated about the planet Earth, it was what he saw outside. It made him think of the time before he came to live in the Capsule Corp. compound, when he roughed it in the woods in the West District.

If he still had a tail, it would have been aggravated to no end. Saiyan tails, being the ultra sensitive organs they were, would react to the slightest environmental changes. But here on Earth, there was nothing subtle about this change. In the back of his mind, he found himself thanking that fat little waste of DNA, Yajirobi, for cutting it off during his first battle with Kakkarot.

As he watched the sky, he cursed under his breath. There was nothing about his new home that he hated more than what was falling on the other side of the glass.

Snow.

"To hell with this nonsense. Vegetasei was never like this." His home planet wasn't like Earth in the slightest. The red skies and patches of clouds colored orange by the near eternal sunset. "Damn this white nightmare. Damn it to hell."

"What was that, 'Geta?" Bulma had just walked into their room as Vegeta was cursing the cascade of frozen precipitation.

"Must you call me that? I don't call you 'Ulma, do I?"

"Oh, calm down, grouchy. I know you hate snow. But it's Winter! It's not like we can control the changes in the weather."

"Humph. On Vegetasei, if this ever happened, I'd get that weakling Kakkarot's father to come up with a way to control it. The man was a genius, too bad his son is just a third class ninny."

"You just can't give that up, can you? What is it with you and Goku? Why do you always have to be at odds with him?"

"He's a third class..."

Bulma had heard this nearly a thousand times before, and it never changed. As of late, she found herself finishing this thought for her Prince more and more, even sometimes imitating his sharp, raspy voice, as she did this particular time. "Nobody, and I'm the Prince of All Saiyans. Vegeta, you never change in that respect, do you. Oh well. You'd better put that childish idea out of your mind soon, because everyone will be coming over in a few weeks, including Goku."

"And why are they all coming here?" He continued to look out into the falling snow, his gaze unbroken as his mind continued to shoot insults at the falling menace before him.

"Well, Vegeta, it's almost Christmas time! Don't tell me that you've been on this planet for this long and not heard of Christmas."

In fact, Vegeta had heard something or another about this Christmas. It was a mostly western holiday, widely celebrated among the people of North America and Europe. While it was the observance of the birth of a particular religious icon, it was also known as a time of fellowship and gift exchange, two things he didn't particularly care for.

"Yes, Bulma, I know what Christmas is. And to be perfectly honest, I have no desire to spend it, or any other time, with Kakkarot. The only gift I'll ever give to that loser is my fist rammed down his throat."

Bulma smacked her Prince on the ass, which drew a small grunt of displeasure from him. "Well, grouchy, this time you don't have a choice. There's no way I'm missing my first Christmas with you, and you'll just have to deal with the fact that all of the Son family, including Goku, will be here for it. Not to mention the others will be here. Krillin, Tien, Yajirobi..."

"The little fat guy who cut off my tail? That little waste is coming here?"

"Yes, Vegeta, he is. He's our friend. And he'll be bringing Korin with him as well."

"Who the hell is Korin?"

"Nevermind, Vegeta. Just try and get rid of the 'bad boy' attitude in the next two weeks. They're all spending the week before Christmas Sunday, and you'll have to just behave yourself."

"The entire week? You mean I have to put up with this bunch of freaks for an entire week?" His lips curled and a frown started to form. But before he could go any further, Bulma came around in front of him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and planted a kiss that was right on target. "Well, given this new information, I suppose I could at least try..."


Later that night, Vegeta found himself where he always did, it the GT, working on his technique and trying like mad to improve himself. Whether Bulma wanted him to behave himself for Christmas or not, he was still going to reach his goal. He was still going to surpass Kakkarot.

As the training drones buzzed around his head, he tried to picture what Christmas with that bunch of misfits would be like. He chuckled as he imagined himself decking each and every one of them one by one, giving them each a "Merry Christmas" to go along with it. That would be a gift to remember he thought. As he continued to defend himself from and attack the drones, he secretly wished that Yamcha would be there. How grand it would be to have another go-around with that particular human. Their last encounter had been the night Vegeta told him to get out of Bulma's life and never return.

Now, he wished he'd never said that. Not because he was starting to like that moron, far from it. But he wanted to be able to drill him through the wall again, hang him several hundred feet in the air, and say it all over again. He'd played that incident over and over in his mind since then, and each time he pictured it, it amused him more and more.

Reality set in then, and he realized that Yamcha's chances of showing up were very low. He knew that weakling feared him, and rightly he should. The only thing that kept Vegeta from ripping his head off and feeding it to a wild animal was Bulma. Such is the price of love, I suppose. With such feelings must come restraint. But I think it's worth it.

Of course, the idiot might indeed show up. And if Vegeta could resist the urge to pummel him into oblivion, he would get a good laugh out of the squirming he would see every time he was around Yamcha.

A blast from behind shocked Vegeta back to reality and away from his thoughts. Damn. I lowered my guard and it got the best of me. I mustn't do that anymore... Resuming full concentration, he placed the matter in the back of his mind for future deliberation. After all, he had a few weeks...


"Oh my Kami. Two weeks to figure it out. All this genius, and my mind draws a blank on something that should be so simple!" Bulma was in a panic, that was for sure. While she tried to keep calm and cool around Vegeta, she couldn't escape the enigma she had set before herself.

What do you get for the Saiyan Prince who has nothing?

Half frustrated and her mind flooded with lame idea after lame idea, she picked up the phone receiver and dialed. Maybe Chi Chi could help her. After all, she had a Saiyan husband, who would know better than she would? While the line rang, she reached down and held the small charm Vegeta had made for her several months before. The tiny chunk of her lover's once-mighty home planet felt warm in her hand, like it always had. Finally, there was a click, and Chi Chi's voice came across the phone.

"Hello?"

"Chi Chi? It's Bulma." A few minutes of small talk and catching up on recent events ensued, and finally Bulma decided to bring up her little problem. "Anyway, Christmas is coming, and I have no clue what to get for Vegeta. I mean, what do you get for a Saiyan Prince? Or even just a Saiyan for that matter?"

"Well, I know how you feel. My boys aren't the easiest people to shop for. Gohan, well, he's a little bit easier since he's young. But Goku, well, since he lived alone with his Grandfather for all those years, I guess he became immune to Christmas. Every year he says 'You don't have to get me anything, Chi," and every year, I manage to come up with something."

"Wish I had your creativity, Chi Chi. We all know how Vegeta can be, and I'm afraid that if I get him the wrong thing, he'll rush out in a huff and lay waste to a small city. What the heck am I supposed to do?"

Ideas were thrown back and forth for what seemed like hours. Fishing equipment, a bust because Vegeta had no patience for such a thing. Forget a weight set, he could toss those around like paper airplanes. A new car? He had no clue how to drive, and besides, could fly to wherever he wanted to go.

He certainly wasn't the typical male, so tools, ties, and other such nonsense would be pointless. Chi Chi even had the insane idea of getting him a Hickory Farms Cheese Sampler, a popular Western gift for men. But Bulma scrapped that in a heartbeat. It was too corny. She needed something rather unique, seeing as how Vegeta himself was just as such.

After another round of gift discussion, the girls decided that a shopping trip was in order. But how to get Vegeta to go along without trying to kill anyone? They'd managed to get him to go on vacation, though that turned out rather sour. But he'd still managed to function in public without beating the ever-loving heck out of the first person that rubbed him the wrong way.

"The answer to that is obvious, Bulma! My Goku will go and keep him in line, and we might as well bring Krillin along, too. Those two got along pretty well on vacation, didn't they?" Chi Chi always had the knack for last minute solutions in the extreme.

"Yeah, he and Krillin really did work well together, at least that one time. But I don't know about taking Goku. Vegeta's always going on and on about fighting him and, well, you know the drill."

"I think Goku will keep him calm, Bulma. Vegeta wouldn't dare fight him now, not with the Androids coming."

"You're right. He had a real problem with the little bit of that kid's story, the part about him being killed. I doubt he'd want to risk that in a fight with Goku. I have faith in him, Chi, but I doubt he can take your husband. He hasn't managed to yet."

The decision was made. In three days, they would all hit the biggest mall in the East District. Now came the daunting task of getting Vegeta to cooperate and go along.


Out at Kame House, Krillin sighed as he hung up the phone. Oh great, he thought. Now I gotta try and deal with Vegeta in a mall. What the heck is it about me, anyway? Why do I get stuck with all the oddball jobs? And why is it that they suddenly all involve Vegeta? He was still recovering from his adventure with the pompous Prince during their supposed vacation. Another trip on the Saiyan Rollercoaster might just drive him over the edge at this point.

"Something on your mind, Krillin?" Master Roshi didn't look up from his "entertainment", simply speaking up without even looking at his discouraged student. He, as always, was watching the all-aerobics channel, stuck on the couch and glued to the plethora of cleavage and tight-fitting clothes on the screen.

"You know, Master Roshi, it seems like I'm the only one Vegeta will get along with long enough to try and do anything normal. Bulma and Chi Chi just roped me into taking him to the mall in East District in a couple of days."

"So what's wrong with that? I hear you and he made a pretty good team against those Amazons."

"Yeah, but that was him acting on his emotions. This is just plain old Christmas shopping. He isn't being wronged, unless he takes being drug through that whole process as an insult to his pride." He paused for a moment, letting out another sigh. "And as if that wasn't enough, Chi Chi mentioned that Goku would be going along, too."

"Well there, you have nothing to worry about, Krillin. With Goku there, Vegeta doesn't stand a chance of going off his rocker."

"Sorry, Master Roshi, but I can't agree with ya. Goku is the whole reason Vegeta does what he does. With him there, the chances of Vegeta flying off the handle pretty much quadruple. And I know why I get to go. It's so I can play referee. Here I am, Goku's best friend, and the only guy, for some reason, that can work well with Vegeta one on one. Jeez, you teach a man to dance and suddenly they think you can train him to do anything."

Roshi had lost his concentration early. The girls on the tube had changed their routine, and this particular one had really caught the lecherous master's attention. "What was that Krillin? Who'd you teach what?"

Krillin suddenly realized that he'd just blurted out the one secret he had promised Vegeta he'd keep. Thankfully, though, Roshi hadn't been paying attention, and Krillin let out yet another sigh. This time, it was in relief. "Nothing, Master Roshi. I gotta go get ready for all this."

"What the heck do you have to do three days in advance of a shopping trip?"

"I have to meditate. I want to be as calm and clear-headed as possible if I'm gonna be baby-sitting Vegeta in public again." With that, he walked out of the door and took off into the sky, headed for the only place he knew he could get any peace and quiet at: Kami's Lookout.


Vegeta stood on his favorite hilltop, overlooking the city he now called home. Sometimes the thought would sicken him, to know that he'd actually grown somewhat fond of this place, of the people he shared his life with. Another thought that sickened him to no end. The once proud and reclusive Prince, now opening up to a bunch of humans, and one in particular.

That was one thought that, no matter what, always made him smile. The one person who loved him for who he was, not wanting him to change. Well, the violent nature was one change, but it was one that Vegeta didn't seem to mind. Now that he was no longer destroying planets for that tyrant, he had plenty of time to focus on his goal of becoming a Super Saiyan, and his goal of besting Kakkarot.

These were the thoughts that pleased him, and brought him to decide that this new life of his wasn't so bad, after all. He could stand to live in this world, and tried his best to function as a normal part of it, when he wasn't training, that is. It was a world he was preparing to defend, whether his pride liked it or not. After all, dying at the hands of a machine didn't sit well with him.

December in Japan was a very cold time, and Vegeta powered up his ki slightly to keep warm. He'd managed to gain enough control of his energy that he could do something like this without the glow being noticeable to the human eyes below. Once he again achieved a comfortable temperature, he looked out over the city below.

While snow annoyed him to no end, he noticed that it made things look somewhat pleasant, from a distance. The Capsule Corp. compound took on a different charm. The remnants of the crater left after the GT explosion were invisible now, covered by a layer of soft white, as if it were never there at all. The evergreens of the outskirts were now flocked, and the contrast of white on green didn't look nearly as inhospitable as they did when he once walked underneath them. That time, looking up and yelling earned him a pile of snow in his face, a moment Bulma wouldn't let him soon forget.

The odd towers capped in saucer like office dwellings looked like codgery old men with tufts of rapidly disappearing white hair, and lit windows resembling their eyes completing the picture.

"Hmph." He growled as he realized his thoughts were becoming soft again. This planet was both a blessing and a curse to him, preserving the delicate balance within him that kept his emotions in order.

Seeking something that wouldn't make him soft, he turned his thoughts to the coming Christmas gathering that Bulma had planned. The only person he was halfway looking forward to seeing was Krillin. The little bald monk had surprised him during the Amazon Conflict. Despite the fact that Krillin clearly didn't trust him, he still fought by his side, putting enough faith in his abilities to go along with his plan. Before that, Krillin had done the same on Namek. If the bald guy could trust him enough in combat, then he was worthy of his trust as well.

Gohan was another one he wanted to see. Kakkarot's son was progressing in strength even faster than his father. His growth as a fighter was even starting to surpass the Prince's own development under Frieza. This intrigued Vegeta to no end. There was something deep inside that boy that he wanted to see for himself. It was possible that he was the key to unlocking the ancient power of the Saiyan Race.

While the Namek was of no real consequence to him anymore, Piccolo was still on his "to see" list. Perhaps a little sparring match was in order as far as gifts were concerned. He respected Piccolo's fighting ethic and would welcome a challenge from him at any time. Vegeta was growing tired of fighting the drones in the GT and wanted a little live competition.

His ears caught the distant sound of a snowmobile drawing close to his location. There was only one person who could possibly know that he was here, and now they were coming to join him. He must have lost track of time, wandering through his thoughts, oblivious to the passage of time.

Bulma was coming. She must be worried about him again.

The lights of her vehicle became visible as she made her way up the hill to the spot where Vegeta sat. He laughed to himself, amazed at how nothing, not even this cursed snow, could stop her from getting her way. Especially when her way was to be with him. Her love amazed him to no end, and fueled his own just the same.

His gaze returned to the clouded sky above. Winter's cloud cover wouldn't allow him to see the stars from which he came. He rather enjoyed looking out there, remembering where he'd been, what he'd seen. And now that the season's dreariness blocked his view, he grew annoyed. But his thoughts still took his vision beyond the silver cloud line, out to the stars he once called home.

The whine of the snowmobile's engine drew closer, and within moments she appeared out of the path, shutting the machine down and walking over to him. She took off her helmet and looked at her Prince, smiling. "How'd I know you'd be here?"

"This is where I always come. And this is where you always find me when you worry about me."

"Yeah, but this time, I'm not worried about you."

"Oh really now? What brought you up here, then?"

Bulma threw her arms around his waist and pulled herself closer to him. His ki was always so warm and comforting. And given this particular circumstance, she could use all the comfort she could get. "Well, you know how we talked earlier about Christmas coming and all. And you know that everyone is spending the week at the compound. And, well..."

"What's the matter, Bulma? What are you getting at?"

"Well, we need to take you Christmas shopping, and..."

"Shopping? Now you want me to go shopping?" His anger raised a bit. Whenever she wanted him to go out in public, something always turned it to ruins. Their fiasco with the Amazons was proof enough of that fact. "Every time you want to take me somewhere, something always happens at the most inopportune time."

"Well, I doubt anything will happen now. Even Evil has to take a holiday, doesn't it?"

"Why are you asking me that question, hmmm?" He looked down at her with that smirk of his, halfway being sarcastic. "What makes you think that I know anything about being evil?"

"Oh Vegeta, knock it off. Look. Krillin's going, and so's Goku. Chi Chi, my mom and I are going as well, and we figured that we could split off by gender. That way you have a couple of gift buying coaches who think at least something like you do."

"Kakkarot, eh? Baldie I don't mind, but Kakkarot? He's not going to act like a complete buffoon, is he?"

"Well, I can't promise you that he won't. But I'm sure Chi Chi will make sure he knows to stay on his best behavior. She knows how you get when you're around him, and doesn't want him coming home with more scars than gifts, if you know what I mean."

"Well, I'll try and keep my actions in check. I can't make any promises. But as long as Kakkarot doesn't make a fool out of me in public, I'll refrain from what you'd call 'overreacting' and beating the living hell out of him."

"You know, Vegeta, it's getting easier and easier to talk you into doing normal things. Maybe I should be worried about you."

Vegeta laughed and pulled her closer to him, powering up a little bit more until his ki surrounded both of them. "I don' think you should worry, Bulma-Chan. If I'm going to live on this planet, I'd better get used to being able to function like everyone else. No matter how much it disgusts me, I don't need to draw any unnecessary attention to myself now, do I?"

"I guess not. It's bad enough the business news programs are trying to figure out who my mystery man is. They've got cameras all over the compound, trying to figure out who the 'Forbes 500's most eligible bachelorette' is seeing now that her baseball playing ex is out of the picture."

"Are you serious? They actually say that about you?"

"What, don't you think I'm desirable?" She glared at him a bit, trying to bait him into saying the wrong thing so that she could call him on it and use it to her advantage over the holiday. But he was quick on his feet, and it wouldn't be that easy.

"Of course I do. After all, I am attracted to the 'Forbes 500's most eligible bachelorette', aren't I? And while I'm on that subject, I think it's safe to say that you're no longer eligible, don't you think?"

All she could do was sigh and lay her head on his shoulder. "You never cease to amaze me, Vegeta..."


The next few days were relatively normal enough, considering all of the fuss over the coming holiday. The compound was being decorated by the employees and the Briefs, while Vegeta trained the time away in the GT. Finally, the day of the shopping trip had arrived.

Vegeta knew that this day would somehow go wrong, and his premonitions were first confirmed as he awoke to the ever annoying sound of Bulma's alarm clock blaring it's harsh tone at an insanely high volume. Before, they'd had normal alarm clocks, and he would simply smash them to bits if they woke him the wrong way. But Bulma hadn't let the data from the GT go to waste, and developed a casing that could withstand anything short of a good-sized Ki blast.

After cursing Bulma's high IQ, he rolled himself out of their bed and made his way to the bathroom for a nice, relaxing shower. The second confirmation of his bad feeling came when he stepped in to what he thought would be a nice hot stream of water. Instead, the shower head was producing nothing but icy cold water, which startled the hell out of him. Cursing the computer systems that controlled water temperature, he resigned to taking a bone-chilling shower instead.

A very stiff and angry Vegeta stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Checking himself in the mirror, he noticed he was growing a beard again. Reaching for his razor, he began the shaving process. A process, however, that ended with him putting on several bandages. Once again, he'd lost to the only enemy he could never defeat without losing his dignity.

With everything else going wrong this morning, how could the shopping trip with Baldie and Kakkarot go any better? I have a feeling that it's going to be very difficult keeping my promise to Bulma. Vegeta, his pride beaten down a little by the dreaded razor, went to the closet to pick out some clothes. Bulma always brought home outfits people wore in public, hoping that someday Vegeta would actually get out of the GT and wear something besides his training gear. His recent vacation fiasco was the first such test, and aside from the trouble they had, it had gone rather well.

A friend of Krillin's had once given the monk some of his old clothes, and somehow they made their way to his closet. Apparently, while Bulma was visiting Master Roshi's island, Krillin gave them to her, stating that "they might fit Vegeta better." Bulma had mentioned that Krillin's friend was something she called a "metal head," and the outfit consisted of a pair of black denim jeans cut off at the knee along with a black T-shirt. The shirt had a strange symbol on it, with the word Journey above it. On the back, it had a list of cities across the world. Vegeta figured that it was a record of someone's travels, otherwise it wouldn't say Journey on it.

The shorts fit well enough, though he noted that they were a little tight. Flexing his muscles a bit, he managed to stretch the denim enough to be comfortable. The shirt fit just they way he wanted, however. His training gear was always nearly skin tight, accentuating his ever growing physique, a constant visual measuring stick that proved he was surpassing that clown Kakkarot.

By this time, Bulma had awoken and begun to stir about the room, getting her own day started. She noticed Vegeta in the closet, and decided to pop in and see what he was wearing. What she saw nearly sent her body into spin cycle. There stood Vegeta, his back to her, wearing what she thought was the simplest yet sexiest thing he had ever worn. She remembered getting the outfit from Krillin some time back. Boy, that gift paid off. Krillin's going to freak out when he finds out how right he was. Well, at least in my opinion, anyway.

"Ready to go shopping, 'Geta?"

Vegeta put his head down for a moment, then turned to Bulma, smiling. "Now, you know I don't like that nickname you've given me. It isn't fitting of a Prince, and..."

She put her finger up to his lips, stopping him mid sentence."I don't want to have this conversation again. You're going to live with me, you're going to get used to it. Just remember who's always cleaning up your messes and fixing the stuff you decimate. You can handle having a nick..."

Vegeta put his own finger to her lips, catching her off guard and getting her to release her own finger's hold. "Got you. If there's anything more that I love about you, it's the fact that I can get a rise out of you with just a thought. Now hurry up and get ready. The faster we get this day over with, the happier I'll be." With that, he walked out of the closet and back into the room to finish getting himself ready.

Bulma remained behind for a moment. He'd baited her again, and she even initiated it. She walked right into his trap, and she fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. Flushed, she still managed to laugh at herself for being sucked into Vegeta's little inside jokes. "Oh, Vegeta." She got her wits back and resigned herself to picking out something that would at least halfway matched what Vegeta was wearing. She herself hadn't banked on his wearing that outfit, and found herself unprepared. "While I'm out, I'm going to have to find something for that. KAMI did he look good..."


After they had finished getting dressed, the pair made their way down to the kitchen, where they found that Goku and Chi Chi had already arrived, and were now sitting at the breakfast table. Bulma's mother was there, cooking a mountain of pancakes and bacon.

"Oh, there you are, you two. Look who decided to come a little early for the shopping trip! Good thing I know how you Saiyans like to eat, Vegeta dear. That way my food stuffs are always stocked in bulk, so I'm ready for almost anything!"

"Mom, don't..."

"It's alright, Bulma. I don't mind. In fact, I've grown rather used to her calling me that." With that said, Vegeta sat down at the table, keeping his eyes on his rival the whole time.

"Wow, Vegeta." Goku had a big grin on his face as he spoke.Who'd have thought that you'd get used to everyday life on Earth. You didn't even complain about being called Vegeta de..." He was cut off by Vegeta's icy glare, not to mention the Prince's palm in his face. His grin changed to a look of surprise.

"While I don't mind our hostess saying it, Kakkarot, you are a different matter altogether. So I suggest you drop that line of conversation, now."

"OK, Vegeta, calm down. I was just kidding you know. Anyway, I can't wait to go shopping! It's been forever since I've been to a mall! I wonder if they still have that place they called the Arcade."

"I'm pretty sure they do, Goku. The mall we're going to has the biggest one in Japan, I'm pretty sure." Bulma made her way to the table after piling a good helping of food onto her plate. She set it down in front of her chair and seated herself. Picking up her fork, she continued. "But remember, we're not going to play the latest games. We're going to take care of Christmas shopping, and you and Krillin are going to help the Anti-Martha Stewart over here."

For a moment, Vegeta allowed his gaze to break from Goku and cast itself on Bulma. How he hated it when she called him these names, especially in front of his hated adversary. But he had promised not to make a scene, and his hunger had taken over, anyway. All he could manage before getting up for his food was his trademark "Hrmph."

Goku leaned over to Bulma and whispered to her. "Are you sure he's not going to flip out and blow the place sky high? He doesn't seem to be in a good mood today, you know."

Bulma giggled a bit, and whispered back to him. "I made him promise to be on his best behavior. I don't think he'll be any trouble at all, Goku."


After breakfast, the women resigned themselves to the kitchen, while Goku and Vegeta retired to the living room to wait for Krillin. Flipping on the television, Goku started channel surfing until he found a martial arts competition on a sports network. "Check these guys out, Vegeta."

"Hmph. Humans who think they're the epitome of strength and skill. If they ran into even the weakest of our group, they'd take off in the other direction, screaming bloody murder."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So anyway, have you figured out what you're getting Bulma for Christmas yet?"

This caught the Saiyan Prince off guard. He hadn't really given a thought to getting Bulma something, let alone trying to choose something special. He felt himself going flush with embarrassment, and resolved to enlist his rival's help in making a choice. "Actually, Kakkarot, since I don't know much about this whole 'Christmas' thing, I was going to ask for your input on the matter." Deep down within him, his pride began to boil as it screamed in defiance of the move, but he kept the urges at bay.

Goku himself was a bit taken back by the request. He'd never known Vegeta to ask for help with anything since the day he landed on Earth. "Sure, Vegeta, I'd be glad to help you. And I'm sure Krillin wouldn't mind lending a hand, either. This being your first official Christmas and all."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I appreciate your help in the matter, Kakkarot."

"Don't worry. I won't hold it against you or think of you as any less an opponent. I'm still going to hold you to your usual standards, and you know I'll always see you as my greatest rival."

"That's good, Kakkarot. Because if you let down your guard at all when it comes to me, you know I'll overpower you in half a heartbeat."

"Well, let's put that aside, alright? Krillin's going to be here any minute. He said he was coming from Kami's Lookout. And here I thought he was living with Master Roshi out at Kami House." Goku knew that it was rare for Krillin to visit the Lookout at all unless something big was happening. And while the coming Android threat was a big deal to everyone, it was still over two years off.

Before Goku could sort out any more reasons, the doorbell rang. Bulma's mother came running out of the kitchen to answer it, and as luck would have it, it was Krillin. "Oh, we were starting to worry about you, Krillin! Glad to see you made it."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss a Capsule Corp. Christmas party for the world! Hey Goku!" The tone of his voice softened a bit as his greetings brought him to the Saiyan Prince. "Hey, Vegeta."

"Hello, Baldiie. Ready for another shopping trip?"

That response set Krillin back a bit. While he'd seen Vegeta's more sociable side once before, he never expected to see it again. "Um, yeah, I guess I am. But this is a little different, seeing as how it's Christmas. Guess you've never done this sort of thing before, right?"

"What could go wrong. After all, you and Kakkarot are coming to help me, right?"

Everyone noticed the sarcasm in Vegeta's voice, a tell-tale sign that, while he was annoyed with the prospect of Christmas shopping, he was still trying to make the most of it. In his own little way, of course. Most of the group had learned to deal with Vegeta's methods of handling social interaction since he had come to live with the Briefs.

Goku, ever the innocent, fun-loving soul, simply started laughing. "Well, I think it'll be fun, you guys. It's been forever since we all did anything like this, not to mention it's Vegeta's first time. I for one can't wait to get started!"

At that moment, Bulma, Chi Chi and Mrs. Brief came in to the living room. With the breakfast dishes done and clean-up completed, the group was finally ready to shove off.

"You boys ready? We have alot of shopping to do today!" Bulma looked at Vegeta, who was sporting his usual frown. She knew he really didn't want to go, but then again, she also knew that he wouldn't try and get out of his promise. There was no honor in breaking a promise, not even to the most evil of Saiyans. After all, a Saiyan's honor was everything.

Chi Chi, on the other hand, was looking at Vegeta with a fair amount of disdain. She didn't trust him any further than she could throw him (which, for her being the strongest woman on Earth, was quite a distance). No matter how many times Bulma and Krillin told her about what he did during the Amazon conflict, she still didn't care for his presence. But her husband was here, and she knew he could handle Vegeta with no trouble. Still, she knew she would find it very hard to keep herself from attacking the Saiyan Prince herself. It wouldn't take much for him to set her off.

"Alright!" Krillin's smile grew as he rallied the troops. "Let's do some shopping!"


The mall. Home to hundreds of stores, dozens of food stands, den of teenage popularity contests. The place where one goes to find, well, everything. There isn't a specialty store that the mall doesn't have. Well, except for one.

The mall most certainly didn't have a store to cater to the crabby Saiyan-no-Ouji.

As the group walked into the superplex that is the West City Mega Mall, Vegeta couldn't help but frown. He knew that he had promised Bulma that he'd be on his best behavior, but this, this was a little more than the Saiyan Prince wanted to even try to handle. There had been alot of people at Club Zero, but not like this. There were literally thousands of people crammed into the halls of the shopping complex, and this made him very uneasy. He turned to Bulma and whispered to her.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Vegeta, if you're going to live on this planet, you'ld better get used to some of the customs. I can't have you blowing things up every time something new that you don't like comes along. Now, you and the boys go off and do your shopping. Chi Chi, mom and I will meet you at the food court around seven. And please, Vegeta, try not to lose your temper."

"Hrumph" was his only reply as he followed Goku and Krillin into the malls gigantic glass foyer.

The first store that the boys came to was a bookseller. Goku had gotten the third degree from his wife over getting books for Gohan, and he didn't want to tick her off. Despite being one of the strongest beings in the universe, Chi Chi was the only other person he truely feared. "Well, guys, I might as well get this out of the way. Help me pick out some good books for Gohan, would ya?"

Krillin went one way, Goku another, and Vegeta picked a random aisle for himself and began to see what this place had to offer. "Silly Kakkarot, afraid of his mate. 'Get a book for the brat' she says. She might as well have said 'jump,' because she knows he'll say 'how high.' Pathetic." Passing by books for teenagers, role playing game manuals, techno thrillers and refference books, he found it difficult to locate something that Gohan might like. "Now, what the hell do you get for a half-Saiyan brat?" It was then that he saw the book that he would get for Gohan, his gift to the son of his rival. He quickly snaked it up and took it to the counter. Thankfully, Bulma had supplied him with a Capsule Corp. credit line, so payment was swift and painless.

It was then that Krillin came up to his one-time partner and smiled. "Hey, Vegeta. Goku's going to shop for something for Chi Chi. This is the perfect time to go and get our gifts for him, don't you think?"

A gift for Kakkarot? "Alright, baldie. Let's go." He hadn't seen anything here that Bulma would like, and was itching to get somewhere where he could at least try to find something for her.


The Novelty Palace. The perfect place to get a gift for a dimwittted Saiyan, in Vegeta's opinion. Krillin thought it would be fun, too, and they headed there post haste. Upon arrival, they found hundreds of gag gifts, wannabe collectables, and other such nonsense. Krillin knew what he wanted to get for Goku, and ran striaght for it. Vegeta, on the other hand, once again resigned himself to looking around, trying to find something for his rival. It had to be something that would reflect what he thought of Goku, and of course, that was a baffoon. After a few moments of browsing, a clerk came up to him.

"Can I help you find soemthing, sir?"

Vegeta, for once, was impressed. This human had shown him the respect he thought he deserved, even though he knew that the man had no idea who, or what, he was. "Yes. I'm looking for a gift for someone, but I can't seem to figure out what to get him. What do you get for a blithering idiot?"

The clerk was a bit taken aback by Vegeta's remark, but composed himself and thought of something. "I think I have the perfect gift in mind, sir. Please follow me."

Vegeta cracked an evil smile, and raised his eyebrow a bit. This human didn't look too much smarter than Goku, so he thought that whatever he had in mind would fit perfectly. "Lead the way."

Krillin, in the meantime, had purchased his gift for his best friend, and was now looking around, trying to find the Saiyan Prince. "Jeez, you'ld think with a haircut like his he'd be easy to find." Up and down the aisles of the store he searched, untill, while walking down one particular aisle, he heard Vegeta's voice.

"Hey baldie. Come here and tell me what you think of this." It was coming from the next aisle.

Krillin looked back and forth, making sure noone was watching, and then lept up over the shelves seperating him from the next row, where he landed to find Vegeta and a store clerk, staring at an item and smiling devilishly. "What's up? Did you find something for Goku yet?"

Without breaking his smile or his gaze, he simple pointed his finger and spoke softly. "Do you think that works as a gift for Kakkarot?"

Krillin looked at what Vegeta was pointing to, and he himself smiled. "Perfect."


A short time later, the monk and the Saiyan were wandering the halls of the mall, looking into different stores for Goku. They finally found him in, of all places, a lingerie shop, standing in front of some racy underwear, scratching his head.

"Now this, Krillin, is just too much. Look at that idiot. Picking out some underclothes for his mate so he can get himself excited. Unreal."

"Now come on, Vegeta. You can't tell me you wouldn't like to see Bulma in some of this stuff, right?"

The Prince of Saiyans blushed for a moment, and then regained his composure. "Honestly, baldie, you're right. Now let's go see what's taking him so long."

They kept their power levels down to the point where Goku wouldn't notice them coming, not like he was paying attention anyway, and snuck up behind their companion. Krillin spoke first. "Hey Goku. I think Chi Chi would look good in that one over there."

Goku jumped, startled by his friend. "Uh, Krillin! Jeez you scared the heck outta me! Where's Vegeta?"

"Behind you, Kakkarot." Vegeta reached out and put his hand on Goku's shoulder, startling him again.

"Man, you guys are evil! Don't sneak up on me like that, OK? It's bad enough that I'm in this store and have no clue what to get for Chi Chi, which makes me nervous to begin with..."

"Oh, come on, Kakkarot. You know perfectly well that I expect you to be ready for me at all times. If I catch you off gaurd like that at the wrong time, you probably won't survive to reprimand me."

"Yeah, whatever, Vegeta. Now come on, guys, help me pick something out for Chi Chi."

They shopped around for a bit, looking at this and that, until finally, they decided on the ensamble that would best suit Goku's wife, and made Goku himself drool ever the slightest. After paying for it, the three left to do some more shopping. Just as they left the stor and headed down the mall's main hallway, Bulma came out of the shop's dressing room, carrying an armload of sensual garments.

"I don't understand it. We've been in here since we got here, and I can't find anything that I think Vegeta would like to see me in. Let's face it, Chi, I just don't have the body for this stuff."

"Sure you do, Bulma. Now come on, try this one on. I'm willing to bet it'll be the one, and we have to get done before your mom finds you in here checking out fancy lingerie to wear for Vegeta."

"Alright, Chi. Here we go again."

After finally deciding on a piece she liked, Bulma struck out on her own, trying to find a gift for Vegeta. While she had shopped for a Saiyan many times before, it was all for Goku, never for someone like Vegeta. In the months leading up to this day, she'd been dreading this moment. She tried and tried, but she couldn't come up with anything to get for him. She had hoped that browsing the mall's stores would give her some ideas.

For nearly two hours, she tried store after store, but came up empty. She'd easily found gifts for everyone else, but nothing for her Prince. At last, the time came to meet everyone at the food court. Dejected, Bulma headed off to meet the rest of the crew. She walked slowly down the monsterous hallway, people passing by her going both ways. But she was oblivious to them all, hanging her head low as she continued on. All these bags, filled with gifts for everyone, but the one gift she wanted to find the most was absent among them.

Arriving at the food court, she found everyone already there, waiting for her. Each of them had armloads of gifts, except for Vegeta, who had tricked Goku into carrying his packages.

"Did you find everything OK, Bulma dear?" Her mother's ever present smile and always cheerful attitude weighed heavily on her ears, but like it had every time before, it picked up her spirits a bit.

"Yeah, mom. Everything's good to go. Everyone ready to go home?"

"You bet! I can't wait to get this stuff to the car, get home and get some food. Standing around here made me some kind of hungry!" Goku lead the charge, and together the group left the West City Mega Mall, packages in tow.

As they walked out to the car, Vegeta cast a sly eye towards Bulma. He hadn't found anything for her, even though he himself had wandered the halls and stores. He wondered what she had gotten him, and felt a little down that he had not been able to do the same. As he crawled into the car, he closed his eyes and sat back, trying to figure out what he would do. Christmas was now only a few days away.


December 23rd. Two days before Christmas. The entire gang had gathered at the Capsule Corp compound for the holidays. Tienshenhan and Chaotzu had come down from their isolated mountain home. Master Roshi had taken the Baby Gammela and rode in, albeit a bit dizzy when he arrived. Yamcha, Puar and Oolong arrived just the day before (it had taken some persuasion on the shapeshifters' part, since Yamcha was still afraid after his altercation with Vegeta), and even the Ox King had made the trip.

Outside, the snow had finished falling for the day, and it was piled up in rather large drifts here and there. The air was crisp and cold, and a slight breeze carried some of the ligher snow around with it. All over the compound, decorations had been hung by employees and the Brief family, giving the entire place a healthy dose of Christmas cheer.

It was the perfect atmosphere, and everyone was in good spirits.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Brief, Bulma and Chi Chi were busy preparing dinner for the next night. Turkey always took a long time to prepare, and they wanted it to simmer overnight, just to make sure that it properly basted. Down in the GT room Vegeta sequestered himself, working up for a sparring match he wanted with his rival. Goku was training as well, in his own way: floating like a hawk around the kitchen area, waiting for extras and whatever else he could get his hands on, filling his neverending

Up in the living room, Krillin, Gohan, Chaotzu and Oolong were busy racing each other, playing a videogame while Puar, Yamcha and Tien looked on. The Ox King was busy trying to get his old Master's attention, since Roshi was glued to a TV in the den, watching a women's exercise program on TV.

The group decided that, since so much effort was being put into dinner for Christmas Eve, that this night's meal would be pizza. The delivery boy had a hard time bringing the boxes to the door, since there were so many. After all, they did have two full Saiyans and a half-Saiyan to feed. After two trips (that's to and from the pizza parlor, not just the car), the gang was ready to eat.

In their room that night, Vegeta and Bulma didn't say much. They weer both somewhat upset, having not been able to find each other gifts. But neither of them knew that the other had failed. Each was worried that the other had gotten them something, and they wouldn't be able to return the favor. After a while, the silence was broken.

"So, think you're ready for tomorrow's chaos, 'Geta?"

In Vegeta's mind, he resolved that this wasn't the time to be criticising her nickname for him. "I'm not sue. But as long as your moron ex and Kakkarot don't do anything stupid, I should be able to manage."

Bulma paused for a moment, thinking. "This is your first Christmas since you've been on Earth, isn't it..."

"Yes, Bulma, it is."

"Well, even though I know you're not into these sort of things, I hope you enjoy it." She rolled over and looked at him. "Happy memories are few and far between for you, and I hope you can at least use this time to make one for yourself."

Vegeta rolled over to face Bulma, and thought to himself. She was right. Happy memories weren't things that had occoured very often in his lifetime. He looked at her, and smiled. "As long as I'm here with you, I'll always have a happy memory. Now, get some sleep, Bulma-chan. We have a busy day ahead of us."

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight, 'Geta."

"Goodnight, 'Ulma." He chuckled to himself.

"Smartass." was Bulma's only reply.


At 4:45 AM sharp, the alarm clock on Vegeta's side of the bed sounded, and like a flash, the Saiyan Prince was on his feet, a smile already crossing his lips. Today, he would spar with Kakkarot, and today, he would not lose. And he wanted to get into his mind, so he chose the ungodly holiday hour of 5am to wake him up suddenly and get him into the GT. The moron had spent the entire day before hovering around the Kitchen like a jackal looking for prey. He had eaten almost one fourth of the food they had bought.

Bulma knew better, though, and everyone was thankful for it. She knew how Goku liked to eat. After all, she had known him the longest of anyone in the house. She had been there, right there fromt he very beginning. So she bought enough food to satisfy at least three hundred full course dinners. And in the day before alone, Goku had slammed down at least one hundred and thirty of them, give or take. Factor in Gohan and Vegeta, and you have the equivalent to a small army to feed in comparison.

Needless to say, Goku was well stuffed, and would be sluggish still. While a Saiyan can put down a mountain, it takes quite a bit to digest it when they're not fully active on a regular basis.

After throwing on his training gear, he made sure to totally supress his power level and opened his bedroom door, being careful not to wake Bulma up. Slowly, he crept down the hallway and managed to quietly gain entry into Goku's room.

Now it's my turn, Kakkarot. This is my Christmas Gift to myself. It's time to remind you who your greatest rival really is.

He powered up his Ki high enough to allow him to float over the still sleeping Goku. Chi Chi had fallen asleep downstairs with Gohan after spending the whole day cooking, so he was alone. He glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand and waited for the exact moment 5 AM hit. And when it did, he let go with everything he had.

"KAKKAROT!!! Time to get up, you pathetic excuse for a Saiyan! The Androids will be here soon, and I find you sleeping on the job! You need to be down in the Gravity Trainer room with me, now get up, get dressed, and move your sorry ass! Come on Kakkarot, double time!"

Goku, startled all to heck by Vegeta's tirade, shot out of bed, screaming bloody murder. He had no idea what was going on, he only heard the instructions the voice was shouting at him. Once he finally settled down (after getting all of his training gear on), he looked over his bed to see Vegeta, floating in mid air, laughing his head off.

"You know, sometimes Kakkarot," said the Saiyan Prince between fits of laughter. "It's moments like this that make me not want to kill you. If I did, who would I get some decent laughs from."

"Vegeta, you really are a creep, you know that? Now, do you want a sparring match or not."

"I thought you'ld never say that. After you."


Gohan awoke to the sounds of thunder and rumbling of the compound's main house unit.At first, his thoughts raced, and he looked over at his clock to make sure it was still Christmas and not the day the Androids were arriving. And then, he focused his senses and knew what was causing the disturbances.

"Wow. Dad and Vegeta are really going at it. Intense. They're not messing around at all."

Bulma had decided that, while the Gravitational Trainer was still of good use as a spaceship and part time training facility, it just simply not enough to suit Vegeta's long-term training needs. She knew that he'd need a bigger space to work in, and they just happened to have an underground lab that used to house the large-capacity storage capsule R&D unit. Leaving the original GT in it's old room, she copied the technology into a larger scale facility, about the cubic equivalent of two football fields. Here, anyone could work on their movements with greater freedom, and also face more opponents. From the original GT lab, she had an underground staircase built, leading to the new GT room, which was under the R&D Building itself.

Gohan had been given a new tour of the facility by Bulma earlier in the week, and found his way down to it's entrance behind the GT Ship unit. The door was already open, an oversight by his father and Vegeta. He suppressed his energy and made his way down the stairs, careful not to try and bother them. Everyone knew that Vegeta did not like to be disturbed when he was training. He reached the bottom of the stairs and into the locker area. Directly across from him was the entrance to the main chamber, a heavy, windowless door, no doubt locked. On the left wall, the entrance to the Control Room. From there, Gohan knew that he could watch what was going on within.

When he finally remembered the key sequence to bring up the monitor, he stood back and gasped at what he saw. His father and Vegeta were indeed going all-out, moving faster and fighting like Gohan had never seen before. Either they felt the urgency of the coming Android problem, or there was something more driving it. Their rivalry was strong and heated, this Gohan knew. But could it possibly take them this far?

Vegeta knew it would be time soon. The would have to end their match and rejoin the rest of the world. He wished he had more time, he was finally mathing Goku blow for blow. If it wasn't for his advantage in becoming a Super Saiyan, he would indeed have a chance to defeat him, once and for all. While that hope was lost to him at the moment, he did use the time to try and improve himself. Every time he fought Goku at his personal best, his strength increased by leaps and bounds. He longed for the day when the difference in their power levels would vanish in the blink of an eye, so he could finally challange his nemesis on equal ground.

His other worry, of course, was Goku's brat, Gohan. Even though only half Saiyan, he showed remarkable power. While he did not yet know how to unlock that power, he had shown glimpses of it many times. Even against Vegeta himself, Gohan exploded in a way that caught even his friends off guard. Could the halfbreed be stronger? Could it just be that when you cross a Saiyan and a Human, you get a brand new super species?

To have an offspring, Vegeta thought to himself as he reared back, powering up his ki for one last blast at Goku. A son that could challange Kakkarot's brat, one that would have the chance to be stronger and smarter in combat. A son that I could train, one that could carry on my legacy, the Saiyan legacy...

"Here you go, Kakkarot! An early Christmas Gift! Merry Christmas!" With everything he had short of his finishers, he let an incredible energy wave loose, and it headed straight for Goku. He was laughing now, thuroughly enjoying this last great effort.

At the last possible second, Goku powered up into Super Saiyan mode and caught the blast without even flinching, and collapsed it into nothing, ending the attack, and the match. "Sorry, Vegeta. But you still have a step to go. You'll get there, I know you will. You just have to get there your own way."

"One of these days, Kakkarot, it'll be you and me, for all the marbles. Someday, we'll fight on even terms. Until that day comes, I suggest you keep preparing yourself, because rest assured that's exactly what I'll be doing."

Goku powered down and reacquired his trademark childish smile and wide eyed expression. "Now come on, I've gotta get a snack before dinner, and the boys wanted to go outside in the snow for a little while. Are you going to come outside with us?"

"Certainly not. Why the hell would I want to go outside in that blistering cold, just to play with a bunch of frozen water molecules? Give me a break, Kakkarot. I'll see you at dinner." With that, Vegeta left the GT Lab and made his way back toward his room.

Goku himself left the lab and went into the locker area, still looking at the door Vegeta had left through. "Boy, even around the holidays, he's edgy..."


Thanks to Bulma's quick thinking, lunch on Christmas Eve turned out to be a foregone conclusion. She had purchased a large amount of lunchmeats, lettuce, and quite a few loaves of wheat bread in preperation for the defense of the main meal. Rather than have two and a half Saiyans attacking dinner before it was time, she decided that an abundance of sandwhiches could fend them off. It worked, and earned her a rare compliment from Chi Chi, who was impressed with her forethought when it came to living with a starving superbeing.

After Lunch, Vegeta found himself up in his room, tryind to decide what to do with the rest of his day. Everyone else had gone outside to roll around in the snow. He had already flipped through all the channels on the television, twice, and was quickly growing bored.

"Remind me to abolish holidays when I take control of the universe. This is insufferable."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by the quick turning of the knob. It could only be one person.

"'Geta?"

"What do you want?"

"Everybody's wondering where you're at. We're all outside. Gohan and Goku are building a snowman with Chaotzu, Tien and Krillin are..."

"Why would I care to go out into that frigid nonsense, and why should I care what the others are doing in it?"

"Vegeta."

"What did I say now?"

"Nothing. But you need to understand something."

"And what, praytell, is that?" He layed back on the bed, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

Bulma snapped. It wasn't the bad snap, though. She was hell bent on getting her point across to him, and it was all going to come out at once.

"I'm sure it's something you'll understand pretty well, actually. It's Christmas. Here on Earth, it's a time to be with loved ones, friends, and most importantly, family. And whether you like it or not, mister Prince of all Saiyans, you are now a part of this family. That's something you haven't had in a long time, Vegeta. You had your father taken from you, you had your entire race taken from you." She turned away from him and walked towards the balcony door.

"And now you're here, Vegeta. You're not without a family anymore. You have one right here.You have people who care about you despite all the hell you give them. Even Goku cares, Vegeta. But most of all..."

"Most of all, you care, Bulma. Right?"

She turned to see him sitting on the bed, staring straight at her. She hated it when he did that. When he gave her that look, she just couldn't help but melt. "Yes, Vegeta, I care. I want you to be with me this Christmas. I want you to be with me and all of my friends. I don't care what they think of us, Vegeta. They love me regardless. But I want to be out there with them." She paused, then walked over to him, kneeling down and taking his cheek in her hand. "And I want to be out there with you, too."

He couldn't believe what she was asking him. She was asking him to put his pride away, totally, even for just a little while, and go show the world that he loved Bulma, and cared enough to see her happy. Every part of his body seemed to say "hold up a second, here" as her words sank in. He questioned himself for the first time in a long time. Did he have the strength to leave his pride behind? Did he have the strength to show the world that the cold, heartless killer was in fact capable of an emotion such as love?

The answer came simply enough. He smiled, and took her cheek in his own hand.

"Let me get some gear on. It's cold as hell out there. But don't expect me to play nice with everyone, got it?"

"Fair enough. Now come on, hurry up!"


On the way down the satairs, Vegeta made sure that everything was in order. He didn't want to have to face another bitter cold Earth winter, and for the most part, he didn't have to. What he couldn't udnerstand is all the fun in going outside to fool around in the frigid weather. When he was sure that he was as air tight as he could get, he moved towards the sliding glass door that led out onto the western yard.

The west yard was nothing short of huge. Easily taking up enough space for a sports arena, there was plenty of room for shinanigans on this day. Large drifts of snow had piled up on the buildings bordering the yard, and had also blown up in smaller piles within they yard. Gohan and Chaotzu had abandoned their snowman in favor of digging tunnels and forts out of the drifts, aided by their super speed and strength. It didn't take them long to each hollow out a fortress.

Soon after, they had begun lobbing snowballs at each other, and for the most part, missed each other. But then, Chaotzu landed a shot right between the eyes, clouding Gohan's vision.

"I got you! I got you!" The marionette-like man laughed as he celebrated his small victory.

Gohan, sitll unable to see clearly, packed himself a snowball and prepared to fire back. "You're gonna get it good for that one, Chaotzu!" He couldn't see what direction he was throwing, but he let the snowball go anyway, and then tried to clear his eyes a bit.

And that snowball found it's way right onto the side of Vegeta's head, just as he was coming outside though the door.

Of course, Vegeta's first reaction was that of anger. After all, it's the way he'd reacted most of his life to most any situation. But then, he looked in the direction where the snowball came from. Closest to him was the little puppet kid, and beyond him he saw Gohan. So, Kakkarot's brat did this, eh? Quickly, he came up with his scheme for revenge.

Vegeta knew, as Goku did, that there was something about Gohan. They had both seen his incredible outbursts of power, and Vegeta even found himself on the receiving end of one of them. He dare not attack the boy, for he'd not only have him to deal with, but Bulma as well, not to mention Goku.

No, his revenge would be much sweeter, and he'd get everyone else in the process. The best part of it all was the fact that it'd be seen as nothing but harmless fun.

In a flash, Vegeta was on the ground, scooping up a handful of the cold, wet white menace he so dreaded, rolled it into a ball, and fired it at his rival's brat. Almost instantly, Gohan was knocked to the ground as the snowball hit him in the shoulder.

"If you're going to start a snowball fight, Gohan, at least tell me first! Now..." Vegeta looked around at the others in the yard, picking out his next target and preparing to make another snowball. "Who else wants to share some Christmas Cheer?"

With that began the biggest, most rowdy snowball battle that Capsule Corp., or the world for that matter, had ever seen. Snowballs flew wildly and at random, with the Earth Special Forces all going against each other. Hits, misses, splattered snow on the side of the house - it didn't take long for them all to dig up a good portion of the snow in the west yard.


Dinner that evening went off without a hitch, and everyone made their way to the living room afterwards to sit down and chew the fat. The standing rule this year was no talk of Androids, they were sure enough that they were coming and would pose a serious threat to them all. Instead, talk turned to memories of days long past, when the gang had first met and come together. And, in each and every case, it was Goku that had brought them to this point. He was thier common thread. Even Vegeta had to admit that.

Though it didn't really surprise anyone, Master Roshi managed to get in a few laughs after drinking too much egg nog. He pretended to fix his hair, or what hair he actually had left, in the reflection from Krillin's head, and then got the bright idea to get a marionette control and tie it up to Chaotzu, turning him into a puppet and having him act out comedic versions of ancient Japanese folk tales. Yamcha had a little too much nog himself, and soon passed out, sprawled out on the floor behind the couch.

As everyone talked, Vegeta remained on his chair, sulking just a bit. He didn't want to seem too unhappy to everyone, but he couldn't let his discomfort go unnoticed, either. Everyone else was being sentimental about thier times together in years past. But what did he have to wax nostalgic about? Christmas wasn't even a concept familiar to him until this past year, and the years prior to that didn't really yield many happy memories he could share with them.

Outside, the sky slowly grew dark, and a light snow began to fall. Vegeta turned his attention to this minor spectacle, thinking of how snow had never fallen on his homeworld. Despite the fact that he detested the white menace, he somehow found himself seeing it in a different light. If he concentrated his hearing, a feat not easily accomplished with Goku's mouth running, he could hear the tiny flakes of snow hitting the ground. In time, it came to sound like a tiny symphony of both chaos and serenity, causing him to relax a bit.

Bulma had begun to notice how distant Vegeta was, and had been turning to see what he was up to every now and again. She saw him looking outside, and even managed to catch a glimpse of the tiny smile accross his face. He never smiled much, and she'd learned to look a bit harder to try and find one on his usually sullen visage. It was small, but it was there.

Ever since the incident with the Amazons, Bulma had been trying to understand the bond she had with Vegeta. In the weeks following the debacle, she had spoken to Chi Chi at great lengths about her experiences with Goku, and had come to accept her connection with her own Saiyan lover. From what Chi Chi could gather, Saiyans developed a bond with thier mates through alot of one-on-one contact, something she and Goku had quite a bit of in thier younger days. When feelings began to develop, the bond only grew stronger, and it was then that she took notice of it. They could sense each other's feelings, even hear each other's thoughts from time to time. After thier wedding, the bond grew even more encompassing, giving them a nearly unbreakable link at all times. Not even distance could break this bond, and they could even feel each other during Goku's time in outer space.

Bulma's bond with Vegeta had grown by leaps and bounds since the Amazon incident, and she even figured out a way to control the ebb and flow of it, allowing her to create one way links to Vegeta. She never tried to pry into his depest thoughts, though. She figured that if he wanted to share those with her, he would, and he often did. But, at moments like this, she could sense what was going through his mind.

She felt his slight admiration for the falling snow outside, and how it made him feel more at peace despite the holiday insanity around him. At one point, she could even hear what he was hearing, and listened herself to the chorus of tiny ice crystles landing softly on the ground. Amazing, she thought. Sometimes, he never ceases to amaze me. He hates snow, and yet here he is, being lulled into a peaceful state of mind by it.

Deep in her own mind, she knew that tonight would be like no other night she had ever spent with Vegeta. What she had planned for him was beyond anything he would ever expect, of that she was certain. Tonight, after everyone else went to sleep, she would take her love of the Saiyan Prince to a level that neither of them had ever been. Tonight, thier love would break new ground, and she was bound and determined to make it magical...


By 11:30, everyone had found thier way to the spots where they would spend the night, and had fallen asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Bulma and Vegeta. Vegeta had gone to get a shower before he went to bed, and Bulma sat in her room, getting herself ready. The outfit she'd purchased the other day sat on the vanity before her, and she looked at it with a sense of hope. She wondered if it would make him happy, if she could make him happy. But in the end, she knew she would. If there was one thing Vegeta wanted more than anything in the universe, it was someone to make him happy. He'd gone his whole life without that, and now that he finally had it, she knew he wouldn't let go. Without delay, she began to change...


Vegeta reached down and turned the water off. He felt strangely good, given the fact that he had just spent this evening with Bulma's friends. Something compelled him to smile as he reached for his towel and began to dry off. Holiday sentiment. Worthless, but not at all harmful. You know, I could grow to like these silly Earth customs, especially if they mean I can pelt those weaklings with snowballs and not be reprimanded. His smile grew to a chuckle for a moment as he recalled the day's events, especially the snowball fight. He had managed to get in a few choice shots at his rival during the melee, but not without taking a few hits himself. Overall, though, he felt it to be a small victory, one of the few times he'd managed to get the better of Goku.

After brushing his teeth and throwing on his boxers, he turned off the bathroom light and made his way down the hall. Suddenly, he flet his bond with Bulma spring to life, and sensed her presence in his room. He tried to feel out what she was doing there, but she wasn't allowing him to sense it. Woman, you're deffinately full of surprises. What is it you could have planned for me this time? He reached the door to his room and, with a smile on his face, opened the door.

What he saw when he entered the room made his jaw drop. There, on his bed, was Bulma, wearing one of the more racy outfits he had seen the previous day at the mall. "Bulma..."

"Hello, my Prince..." She looked up at him adoringly. Hopefully, this would be the greatest gift he would ever recieve. They'd been together for a while now, and still they hadn't come together like this. Tonight, though, she would give him his gift. She whould show him how deep her love truely went.

Not another word was said for the moment. Once Vegeta made his way to bed, he and his mate were inseperable...


New Years Eve. Outside, snow covered the landscape, except in the yard where a late evening snowball fight, this time initiated by Vegeta himself, had decimated the three foot high drifts and nearly left the dormant grass below totally exposed.

Now the festivities had moved indoors. Everyone except Gohan was getting thier drink on, and a good time was being had by all.

Except for one person.

Bulma had kept to herself for the good majority of the day, and had resigned herself to a corner of the living room by this time of the night. She looked up at the clock. 11:45. In 15 short minutes, the new year would be upon them. Everyone else began to go back out to the yard to watch the city's fireworks display, but she stayed. How do I do this? What do I say? How will he take it? Oh Kami help me. Her mind raced with thoughts of how Vegeta would react to the news she had for him.

11:56.

Vegeta looked around and noticed that Bulma was not among his companions. "Where is that woman? Kakkarot, did Bulma come outside with the rest of us?"

"Gee," his rival replied, "I don't know Vegeta. Go check inside, maybe she had to run to the bathroom or something."

"Hrumph. Those fireworks had better wait until I get back out here." With that, he strode back accross the yard and reached down to open the door. After doing so, he stepped into the living room. "Bulma? Are you in here, woman? The fireworks are almost ready to start!"

11:57.

Vegeta checked the downstairs bathroom, but didn't find her there. He grew more and more annoyed as he searched the kitchen, living room, dining room, everywhere he could think of. No sign of her. She must be upstars, he thought, and took off flying to save time.

11:59.

He finally found her laying on her bed, crying. "Bulma, what's wrong?"

She managed to stifel back the tears for a moment, collecting her wits and trying her best to be brave."Ve... Vegeta? There's... There's something I... h-have to tell you..."

"What is it Bulma? Everyone's waiting for us in the yeard..."

"Vegeta..."

"Go ahead, Bulma-chan, I'm here..."

It was the last two seconds of the old year. These two seconds seemet to go on forever for both of them as Bulma turned her tearing eyes to meet her lover's gaze...

"I'm pregnant..."

Midnight struck, and outside, the night sky was instanly lit up with brilliant lights of all colors, the silence broken by the exploding shells...