Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted Past ❯ The Funeral ( Chapter 1 )

Haunted

Chapter 1- The Funeral

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ…if I did, Vegeta would be my love monkey

As the casket was lowered into the ground, Vegeta and Trunks fought with their emotions. Goku and Gohan consoled their weeping wives. `This must be my punishment,' thought Vegeta, `my wife and my little princess, gone.'

Trunks looked over at his father in time to see a tear slide down his cheek. It tore him up inside to see his father in emotional pain. He wanted to break down like Videl or Chichi but he had to be strong. He was a Saiyan; emotions had no place in his life.

He turned his gaze to his best from who was holding his niece, Pan. Goten looked as broken as anyone there but seemed to be holding himself together for the toddler in his arms.

Pan, even as young as she was, seemed to understand what was going on. She squirmed out of Goten's grasp and ran over to Vegeta. She started tugging on his pants until he looked down to see her standing there. `What does Gohan's brat want?' He sighed and picked her up gently. Vegeta shifted Pan to his left hip and stared at her as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

`If only my princess would have survived her birth,' his eyes misted, `she would've been just like Pan.'

Goku sighed softly as Chichi sobbed in his arms. Bulma had been her best friend. The day Bulma died, he had spent the entire day trying to explain to Chi why she couldn't be wished back by the dragonballs.

~*~*~*~FLASHBACK~*~*~*~

Goku walked into the house silently. "Chi, where are you? I need to talk to you about Bulma..."

Chichi ran to her husband quickly. She had a big smile plastered on her face, expecting to hear how Bulma and her baby were, what the baby looked like, how Vegeta acted, the usual. She saw the look on Goku's face and instantly, her smile disappeared. "What's wrong?"

He swallowed hard and summoned the courage to tell her. "Chi…there was a problem. You know it's hard to have a Saiyan baby. Her body just couldn't handle it. She…and the baby died."

She watched him for a moment. "No, you're playing a sick joke on me and it's not funny you monkey." The looked on his face confirmed it, he wasn't joking. She collapsed into his arms sobbing hysterically.

He smoothed her hair soothingly. "I'm sorry Chi; we couldn't do anything for her. We-"

"Goku, what about the dragonballs? Gohan and Goten gathered the last one last week. You can wish her and her baby back! Shenron will bring them back, right?!"

Goku sighed softly. "Chi, you know that we can't, she died of natural causes, it's impossible."

A choked sob of anguish escaped Chichi's lips as she sank to the ground and out of Goku's loving arms. He slowly knelt beside her and wrapped her protectively back into his arms.

~*~*~*~END FLASHBACK~*~*~*~

Goku looked over at his sons silently. Gohan was doing his best to comfort his wife, Videl. He had been crushed; Bulma had been like a second mother to him. Goten had taken it even harder. Bulma and, surprisingly, Vegeta had been there for him while his father was gone. Sighing quietly, Goku thought to himself about how much he would miss his best friend.

Videl gently broke free of Gohan's strong arms and kissed him tenderly on the chin. "Gohan, I'm going to go rescue Vegeta from Pan, he doesn't need to be bothered right now."

He looked down at her and nodded, letting her go completely. She walked over to her daughter and her captive. She felt sorry for her father-in-law's favorite rival. "I'm sorry Vegeta, she shouldn't be pestering you, she knows better, don't you Pan?"

Pan nodded her head shyly and reached for her mother. Vegeta watched the silent exchange between them. `So this is how Bulma and my daughter would've acted.' He huffed softly and shrugged. "Forget it woman, the girl caused no harm."

His eyes stared into hers, almost cold, emotionless. She shuddered under his gaze. `So, this is Vegeta grieving…you wouldn't even be able to tell if you didn't know him.' She nodded to him slightly and walked back over to her husband. Looking into Gohan's eyes, she started to speak. "You know Gohan, as much as I hate to admit it, Vegeta needs something to do, I almost wish we could have something invade again…"

He looked at her once more and lifted Pan into his arms. "No villain is going to bring Vegeta out of this…he just needs time Videl. Imagine yourself in his shoes. At least when I died, I could be brought back, Bulma can't."

She nodded silently and again looked over at Vegeta with a sympathetic smile on her face. She knew how much it had hurt her when Gohan had died, and like he had said, at least he came back to her. Bulma was gone forever, as was Vegeta's daughter.

~*~*~*~MEANWHILE~*~*~*~

A space pod hurdled its way toward the planet Earth. Inside, a small girl grumbled to herself. "Find your brother…he needs to know…you have a purpose. My Gods father, can we play the cryptic old man bit any better? Why should I find him, he never tried to find me…he doesn't even know that I exist. And what the HFIL is my purpose?!"

The pod slowly entered the atmosphere, headed towards Japan. The girl braced herself, waiting until she could land. She would find her brother as her father had asked of her on his death bed, but she wouldn't be happy about it.

~*~*~*~BACK WITH THE Z GANG~*~*~*~

The group had started to disperse. Trunks was waiting for his father, while Vegeta stared at Bulma's grave. Goku and Chichi were about to go home with Goten and Gohan, Pan and Videl were getting ready to lift off. Just as Gohan's feet left the ground, he spotted something flying through the air and crash with a loud bang against the ground, just out of sight. Goku and Gohan looked at each other and then at their families. Goku spoke first. "We'd better check that out. Videl, Chichi, you stay here with Pan. Trunks, Vegeta, Goten, Gohan and I will go check things out." He kissed Chichi's cheek softly as the five of them flew off towards the crash site.

As they landed, Krillen and Piccolo joined them. They all stood staring at a pod-like ship that was currently residing in a hefty crater. There seemed to be no movement from inside. Vegeta stepped forward and studied the ship more closely, talking as if to himself. "The ship…it looks to be of Saiyan origin…but that's impossible. Kakarot and I are the only Saiyans left." He turned to look at the others, question filling his ebony eyes.