Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ DBZ: Unlikely Romance ❯ The Kidnapped Saga ( Chapter 7 )

::( Episode 1 - Vanished... )::

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 - Menace Revealed )::

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 - More Saiyans?!? )::

"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 - Jungle Clash )::

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 - Yajirobi To The Rescue )::

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 - Foot Soldiers )::

"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 - Power Of The Saiyans )::

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 - Scratch One Amazon )::

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 - The Chase Is On )::

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 - Deul At The Base Entrance )::

"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 - They Don't Work )::

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 - Rico's Victory )::

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 - Lost... And Found! )::

"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 - An Old Score To Settle )::

"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 - Rivals )::

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 - Brother, My Brother )::

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 - The Journey Within Part 1 )::

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 - The Journey Within Part 2 )::

"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 - In The End... )::

"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 - Time To Go Home )::

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.