Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of a Prince ❯ Sage Takes Over ( Chapter 4 )

Part 4 Sage takes Over

Sage awoke, feeling cold, wet, hungry and very, very alone. He screeched at the top of his considerable lungs, his ki flaring, demanding a clean diaper, food and for Kami's sake, would someone just pick him up???? He screeched again, feeling satisfied as he felt rather than heard pounding footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall. He hoped it was one of his parent's, not his brother or grandparent's. His brother was fun to play with, but he didn't often bring a bottle or a clean diaper with him. His grandparent's were ok, but they didn't smell as good as Papa and Mama did. He was in luck. It was Mama.

"What's the matter, sweetie," she cooed at him as she picked him up. "Wow, that is one wet diaper. No wonder you're so mad. Let's get that off of you."

She talked to him soothingly as she removed his diaper, grumbling as she realized that all the pre-cut disposable diapers were gone. She picked up an intact diaper, contemplated his bare bottom and wiggling tail and sighed in defeat. "Well, I guess its bare bottom for you for the time being until I can get Daddy to fix some more diapers for you." Sage wiggled and stretched ecstatically. "Don't get too comfortable" she warned him. "Your custom made cloth (here she made a disgusted noise) diapers will be here in a few days. Then," as she picked him up and whirled him around, "No more bare bottoms mister!" He giggled madly as she nuzzled him under the chin. He caught the familiar perfume of mama's milk on her shirt, as he remembered he was hungry. He screeched again and glared at her, making fierce grabs at her chest, wondering what was taking her so long to feed him. She got the hint, and sat down to feed him.

"Shall we go downstairs, little prince?" she asked him when he had finished. He grinned and tried to tell her, that yes, he would love to go downstairs, especially if Papa were downstairs, but all that came out was a slightly garbled squawk. Fortunately she took that for a yes as she carried him downstairs.

Papa wasn't anywhere around, thought Sage sadly. He couldn't smell him, or feel him anywhere nearby as his mother set him down on a bright blanket in the living room. Sage sighed and shoved some of his toys out of the way. He had only been home about a month, but already he was fed up with not being able to move on his own. He was sure, if he could just get his arms and legs to work the way everyone else's did that he would always be able to find his Tousan. Well this was as good a time as any to practice that rolling movement he had been working on. Mama left him with Grandma, saying something about her lab, and Sage focused on getting his arms to push.

Unbeknown to the little demi-Saiyjin, his Tousan was several miles away, sparring furiously with his favorite opponent, Kakkarott. The match had been going on all afternoon, the two Saiyjins almost equally matched. Vegeta hadn't been able to spar as much of late as he was used to, Sage rarely let him out of his sight. There, a fraction of a second's hesitation by Kakkarott, and Vegeta knocked him to the ground, ending the spar. Damn, it felt good to let go. "I win again, Kakkarott," he said smugly as he dropped down to the taller Saiyjin.

"Hai, Vegeta," said Kakkarott almost apologetically. "I don't think I am quite used to my tail yet," he admitted ruefully. "Yours just seems like such a part of you, and mine, well; it seems to have a mind of its own sometimes."

"I grew up with my tail, Kakkarott," said Vegeta. "Didn't you say that your tail was removed while you were still a child?" Kakkarott nodded. "Then it stands to reason that it would take you some time to get used to it. We can work on that next time if you like."

"That would be great, Vegeta," he sighed, and flopped down on his back. "So, full moon tomorrow night," he remarked.

"Do you think you are ready, Kakkarott?" asked Vegeta, observing the man out of the corner of his eye.

"Honestly Vegeta? No. The only way I made it through the first full moon after my tail grew back was to have Gohan knock me out." He sighed. "I'm worried; I just don't think I have a good enough grip on it. I thought the last time if I just kept the windows and curtains closed then it wouldn't be a problem. But it kept….calling to me. I could hear it in my blood." He shook his head. "It was so hard to go up to the boys' room and wake Gohan."

Vegeta snorted. "Well, it's not surprising, but I would expect that even a third class baka like yourself would be able to learn to control the Oozaruu transformation. I think you just need more time. I'll tell you what. You can spend it with me, we'll set up a capsule house somewhere and we can work on the techniques I have showed you and we'll see if you can control it or not. If you can't, then I will be able to subdue you, one way or another." He chuckled, a wicked glint in his eye.

Goku's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be terrific Vegeta!" He frowned suddenly and sat up, remembering…"Vegeta, how are you…"

"I'll bring him with me," shrugged Vegeta. "Kami knows that no one in the entire household would get any sleep otherwise. As long as he's close by me, he seems perfectly content."

"He's really attached to you," remarked Goku quietly.

"Hai, Kakkarott. And even though I will deny it if confronted by it, I am attached to the little brat too." Vegeta smiled faintly. "Ever since that little tail wrapped around my wrist…" His voice trailed off. "It's made my blood bond stronger with Trunks too," he remarked.

"That's interesting," commented Kakkarott, flopping back down on the grass beside his prince.

"Yes," said Vegeta absently. He didn't mention to Kakkarott that the closer he seemed to get to his sons, the more distant he seemed to feel towards their mother. He supposed it had something to do with the twelve week ban on sex the doctor had recommended. It seemed that birthing a demi-Saiyjin baby breech had really done a number on Bulma's insides. And then, not even a week after Sage's birth, Bulma had become very sick with a raging infection, and Vegeta had taken over all of Sage's care. At first, her mother had tried to help, telling Vegeta to get some rest, train, shower, whatever. But it didn't work. Sage absolutely refused to comforted or fed by anyone else. Kami, that kid had a set of lungs. And it was odd, but sometimes Vegeta could almost swear that Sage was talking to him, could almost understand him. At any rate, Vegeta simply put Sage in the carry-pouch and did everything while wearing him. That was all it took to stop his screeching. Sage did resist the bottle several times, in those cases; Vegeta took him to Bulma and helped the sick woman nurse him, taking him from the room when he was finished to let her sleep. When Bulma was well again, Sage seemed content to go to her as easily as to him, but Vegeta always felt a pang when he left Sage, even with Bulma. He felt it again, as he realized he should be getting home. Sage would be up from his nap and looking for him.

"Vegeta," came Kakkarott's voice, startling him. He had forgotten the younger man was there.

"What," he snapped, annoyed at himself for jumping.

"Why don't we bring all the boys tomorrow night, a little guy's night out?"

Vegeta was about to refuse, when quite suddenly the idea sounded good, even fun to him.

"All right, Kakkarott," he replied, smirking. "We'll meet at Capsule Corp, two hours before sunset tomorrow." He gasped, sitting up suddenly, a tearing pain in his scalp, as the screams of his infant son suddenly filled his head. "Sage," he whispered. "Kakkarott, can you take me to Sage, NOW?" he yelled. "Something's wrong."

"Sure Vegeta," said Goku automatically, a worried tone in his voice. He gripped the smaller man's arm tightly, pressed two fingers to his forehead and concentrated on that budding ki, now fluctuating wildly in pain.

An instant transmission later, they were standing in the nursery, where Bulma was desperately trying to remove a comb that was stuck in Sage's thick, coarse Saiyjin hair. In two steps, Vegeta was across the room, pushing Bulma out of the way and comforting his small son. Sage's screams of pain stopped immediately, and he rested his head against his father's neck, hiccupping slightly. Vegeta spoke softly to him in Saiyjin-o as he turned to face Bulma furiously.

"What on Kami's green earth do you think you were doing?" he hissed trying to stay calm so as not to upset Sage further. Bulma, torn between distress at the pain she had inadvertently caused her son, and anger at the way Vegeta had shoved her and was now speaking to her, came down somewhere in the middle and replied that she had given Sage a bath, and had been trying to comb his wild hair and the comb had gotten stuck. Goku winced, forgotten, standing back by the doorway to the nursery.

Vegeta was livid. "Woman," he said much too quietly. "Exactly how many times have you seen me comb or brush my hair?"

Bulma, startled, thought back and realized that she had never seen Vegeta, or Goku for that matter, or either of Goku's son's use any kind of hair implement on their wild locks.

"Um…I never have," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. "It was just habit Vegeta. I used to do it to Trunks' hair, and..."

Vegeta cut her off with a soft snarl. "Trunks has human hair. Human hair requires combing, to remove tangles, ne? But Saiyjin hair does NOT tangle. And it is obvious, is it not, whose hair Sage has?" He turned his back on Bulma, and set Sage down on the changing table, deftly removing the comb by breaking it into several small pieces. He took off his gloves, and taking a deep breath to calm himself, and Sage too, who was starting to show the signs of his father's barely suppressed rage, he beckoned to Bulma to come closer. "This is how you comb a Saiyjin's hair," he said as he gently ran his fingers through his son's baby locks, eliciting first a whimper of fear as the child remembered the recent pain, and then a soft purr as he finger-combed the boy's black mane, grooming it back into it's usual flame like appearance. The simple act of grooming the child had the effect of calming Vegeta too, and his anger was spent as he looked at Bulma. There were tears in her eyes.

"I'm really, really sorry," she choked.

He gathered her into his arms and let her cry for a few minutes. He knew she would have never deliberately caused their son pain, but for Kami's sake, the woman was a genius. You'd think she would have known better. She pulled away from him, to pick Sage up to snuggle him in her arms, and softly say in his ear, "I'm sorry little prince. Mama won't do that again."

Vegeta looked up as he noticed Kakkarott give a little wave and flicker out of sight.

"Oh, by the way, Kakkarott and I are taking the boys camping tomorrow night," he said in a casual voice.

She looked at him in surprise, obviously wondering whether to ask or let it lie. She chose to let it lie, and said simply, "All right. Make sure you take enough bottles, and by the way, you need to notch some more diapers. Sage has been diaper-less for the past three hours since he woke from his nap."

"It's good for him," muttered Vegeta as Bulma handed their bare son back to him, and turned to pick up a stack of diapers. Grumbling good naturedly, Vegeta tied on the carry-pouch, put Sage in it, and began to customize the diapers with a small notch for his son's tail by using a well placed bit of ki.

To be continued…..