Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Obsession ❯ Different Times ( Chapter 16 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: HeartlessChild 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.11.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 501 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.11.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 501 | Status: Completed
~*~
“Thank you for everything.Take care Bulma.”
Bulma looked at Kor with a saddened gaze as he wished her farewell.She forced a small smile to grace her lips and nodded in reply.“You too, Kor.And there’s no need to thank me.I hope everything works out for you and your family, you deserve happiness in your lives,” she moved forward to hug the clean man, inhaling the sweet musky scent that penetrated her nose as she hugged him.He smelled uncannily like her father.
Bulma pulled away slowly, and turned to focus her gaze on Zarbon, who was holding Zora in his arms.It seemed that the green alien had miraculously healed overnight with Kor’s potions, and seemed to be in a stronger condition before.He was extremely lucky to be alive.She vaguely remembered packing her blue Porani in her rucksack, much to her relief. didn’t want to leave that little treasure behind.
She looked up and smiled at the towering green man, “Guess I’ll see you around, right Zarbon?Although you better not sneak up on me like you did yesterday!”
He grinned, holding his daughter tightly to his chest, “You can count on it, love.”He leaned to kiss the kind woman lightly on the cheek and Bulma accepted it with a shy smile.
“Try to be good on the job.I had to pull a lot of strings to get it for you,” she winked mischievously and reached out to take Zora’s tiny hand in hers’.“Are you going to be a good little girl for your Daddy?He’s got a lot more responsibility now that he’s working in the palace, guarding the King.”She said lightly, caressing the pale lilac skin of the young girl.
Zora simply nodded unhappily.
Bulma frowned, “What’s the matter sweetie?”
“I don’t want you to go,” Zora replied in a small voice, looking away.
Bulma knew this would be coming.She tried to hide a smile as she comforted the little girl, “I’ll visit,” she promised softly as she tugged at the girl’s lilac fingers playfully. course she would visit.Once the threat of the Androids was over, nothing was going to stop her from coming to Dran to see this beautiful little girl.Gods, she loved children…
She wondered when she would ever have one of her own.After all, she wasn’t getting any younger…The thought ebbed away into the hazy fog of her mind as she brought Zora’s fingers up to her lips.She lightly grazed her pouted lips over Zora’s tiny knuckles before leaning in to peck her on the cheek as she brushed the azure hair away from the little girl’s cheeks.
“Bye sweet pea,” Bulma said, trying not to chuckle as she saw the confused look on Zarbon and Zora’s face.
“I take it that’s a good compliment?”Zarbon asked with his brow furrowing.
And this time Bulma allowed herself a small laugh, before she gazed up at the clear Dranien sky.The small speck of Vegeta’s ship could be seen in the distance, as he had taken off before her.The ship was moments away from disappearing before her very eyes.
A pained expression etched its way onto her face, before waning without a trace of its remnants left upon her brow. face was smooth and pale as though it had been cut from marble, as she tore her gaze from the cloudless sky.Vegeta had taught her well in guarding her emotions.
She would be strong.
Without anymore parting words, Bulma quickly hugged the trio before boarding the Dranien ship that had been provided for her. She was a little sad that Drano and his father were busy in meetings, but she didn’t expect them to drop their duties in order to wave goodbye to her.She also felt bad for taking one of their ships on such short notice. Vegeta had encapsulated theirs and had taken it with him because of the training facilities in the ship.It figures that he would be too stubborn to even give up his training to visit his own people!It was all or nothing for the Saiyan Prince.
He hadn’t even bothered to introduce her to the two Saiyans that had accompanied him aboard the monstrous ship.It had been ten times the size of the ship that Bulma and Vegeta had brought to Dran, almost as large as Frieza’s.She was certain that more Saiyans had to be housed in the ship, as there was no point in bringing such a big ship if there were only three of them on board.Was there?
Not daring to take a backward glance at the planet and her newly formed friends, she let the door hiss shut behind her before she made her way to the take-off seat, with the sound of heavy drums pounding in her ears;
Thus ending another chapter in her life.
~*~
The days were passing so slowly.
Each day seemed to stretch further than the previous one, like a taut rubber band, ready to snap.Ever since Vegeta had left, Bulma had felt this way, so weary and so drained.
She was now back on Earth, having left Dran as soon as Vegeta had left for Bejiita-sei the next day.She couldn’t allow herself to stay on the planet any longer, without him by her side.It just wouldn’t have felt right.
Having left Dran with a heavy heart, she had gone knowing that Zarbon, Zora and Kor were safe and no longer living in the slums of Drizao.It had been a sad time for her when she left, but she knew it was inevitable and she said she would visit them.After all, she had a lot of work to complete on Earth and…Oh who was she kidding?
She had left because of Vegeta.She didn’t want to stay on Dran and remember their last night together.
It only would have brought painful memories to her.He was only going to be gone until the Androids came, and then he would be back.Well, he said he would be back.But she didn’t know if he would keep his word…
Of course he would keep his word; this was Vegeta, a warrior! always kept their word…Then again, this was Vegeta she was debating about.Prince of darkness, cruel man, evil, killer of innocent people for Kami’s sake!
The urge to scream ran through her.
No.
He had changed, he wasn’t like that anymore.He wasn’t bad.He was good.He was on their side and he was going to help them fight the Androids and win.And then he would kill Goku and the rest of the people on the planet.Wasn’t that his ultimate goal?To kill Goku?
She had been driving herself crazy with this way of thinking in the past nine months.
That’s right… Nine months had gone by, albeit slowly, and still no word from Vegeta.Couldn’t he even bother to contact her and let her know he was fine?No video message to say ‘I’m fine honey, but I’m going to be delayed because I’m too busy conquering planets for my people, my race, than call and worry about you…’Well, maybe not the honey part, this was Vegeta she was thinking about, but he could have left a message…
She yanked at the long strands of her cerulean hair, clutching the roots fervently as she tugged.She was doing it again!!She was thinking crazy thoughts, bizarre thoughts.Since when did she ever act like that?!She was always rational.
But why couldn’t she think that way?
After the final night they had spent together, she should be allowed.It was far from magical and special, as partings from lovers should be.It was raw and animalistic.He had let her run rampant that night…And he hadn’t said a single word about her behavior. had just ignored her rabid ways and had shown her a few of his own primal maneuvers. say that their last night together was odd would be the understatement of a lifetime.
The next morning, they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.Not of his leaving, or of her going back to Earth.They just knew what was going to happen.And although Bulma knew that they weren’t committed to one another, it still strangely pained her to see him leave and go off without her.And so she did the same.She left Dran without a backward glance, leaving the memories of that night behind her.
But he hadn’t left without giving her present.And oh boy, what a present it was…
Bulma looked down at her largely rounded stomach, covered by her blue laboratory overalls.She lightly rubbed the round curve of her stomach and grimaced, “Thanks for the gift, Vegeta,” she murmured ironically.Her back ached and she was almost certain she was going through pre-natal depression, not post. feet wouldn’t even fit into her favorite pair of pumps for the love of Kami!
She didn’t know at the time, but he had left her on Dran, pregnant.He had gone and left her all alone, and so fucking pregnant that it wasn’t even funny.
Just a few weeks and this baby would be ready to pop out of her like a ball of gum, with her being the big gumball machine.She snorted at her stupid thoughts.Wouldn’t she make a wonderful mother?
Just fucking wonderful…
All alone, with a baby on the way and two homicidal Androids, about to be resurrected in a just a year’s time to annihilate the entire planet;
And still no sign of Vegeta.
Just fucking wonderful…
But she was coping. would be fine.She was strong; she would be a good mother to her child… Wouldn’t she?
A knock on her laboratory door forced away the doubtful thoughts, and Bulma gratefully accepted the intrusion.Even if it involved speaking.She wasn’t much of a talker these days, and this seemed to worry her family and friends.Not that she could blame them…
“Come in,” she called out lightly, trying to make her voice sound bright and unaffected, rather than with the doom and gloom mentality that had been going on in her mind.
The door slowly slid open and she watched briefly as her father shuffled in, with his shoulders slumped.He always felt a little claustrophobic being underground in their scientific base of Ground Zero, but Bulma loved it.
She turned away from her desk, leaving the metallic shrapnel alone for the moment, to converse with her father.“What’s up Dad?”She asked calmly, no trace of true anxiety or depression could be seen through her airy façade.
Dr. Briefs shook his head and mumbled under his breath, “Nothing dear, just came to check up on you.”
Bulma forced herself to smile, “I’m fine, and I couldn’t be better!”
“Now you know that you can flash that smile at your mother and she’ll believe you, but this is me we’re talking about.A genius can’t fool another genius Bulma.”Her father stated in a reprimanding tone.He took off his glasses and used the corner of his lab coat to rub them clean.
“Why would you say that, Dad?”She asked, her façade slipping slightly.
“You’ve been down here an awful lot in the past couple of weeks, or months would be a better guess.Is everything ok?”He asked, the concern clearly showing on his face.
“Yeah, just eager to finish this project,” she waved at the bits of metal lying across her desk.
Dr. Briefs raised a skeptical brow, “And what project is that exactly?”
Bulma found herself hesitating at that moment.What project was she working on…?She wasn’t working on a project…
Her father slowly walked towards her and took one of the pieces of metal scrap from her desk, into his hand.He examined it carefully before placing the piece of metal back on the desk.“I see you’re disassembling your mother’s…‘Fat A-go-go’ machine,” a hint of amusement softened his voice as he looked at his daughter.“She’ll be looking for that when she starts piling on the pounds at the end of the week, y’know.Your mother’s always been sensitive about her weight.”
Bulma felt the color drain from her face.Oops…And she hadn’t even been paying attention when she had been taking it apart.It would take her more than a week to fix it, long enough for her mother to find out.Double oops.She threw the spanner that was in her hand, onto the desk with exasperation.
“Sorry, Dad,” she muttered, “I just don’t know what’s gotten into me!”She looked at her father with pleading eyes, “Will you fix it for me, before Mom finds out?I don’t think I’m in the right mind to work with metal,” she offered a flat chuckle.
“No problem dear,” he said.
Dr. Briefs paused, staring at his daughter for a moment.“Still thinking about you know who?”
“All the time,” she whispered, looking away from her father’s penetrating gaze.Her chest tightened in pain at the words she forced out.
He placed a comforting hand on the top of her head, “He’ll be here when the Androids come, mark my words sweetie, he will be back.”
Bulma closed her eyes as her father’s soothing hand caressed her hair softly, “You’re not mad at him for leaving me pregnant?”She asked with as much humor as she could muster.It was failing painfully.
“You’re darn right I’m mad,” he replied, his voice tightening before it loosened again, “But I can’t stay angry forever.After all, he didn’t know you were pregnant, did he?”
She shook her head.
“Well then, I guess you’ll see him when he comes to our aid in the fight, right?”
She nodded.Maybe.
Dr. Briefs smiled slightly before leaning down to kiss the top of her head, “He won’t abandon you, pumpkin.And if he does, he’ll have to answer to me in the fighting ring!”He had been a keen boxer in his day; he figured he could fight Vegeta if he had to.
Bulma snorted, rolling her eyes as she laughed heartily for the first time in months;
“Daddy, you wouldn’t be able to go two rounds with him!He’d knock you into outer space before you even jiggled your way into the ring, old man!”She added with her impression of Vegeta’s voice.
“Alright, alright, no need to attack my age!” exclaimed, trying to sound as indignant as he could.Although he knew it was true.It was just good to hear his little girl laugh again.It seemed as though she hadn’t laughed like that in a long time.It tore his heart apart to see her so desolate and lost.
As Bulma wiped away the ‘laughter tears’ from her eyes, she stood up and hugged her father as best as she could.It was hard to hug a person when one was nine months pregnant.It was no easy feat.
They burst into another round of laughter as she tried to hug him, before they grew tired of finding the best way to hug.
She leaned in to kiss her father’s cheek gratefully, “Thanks for the talk, Daddy.”She smiled, and this time he noticed that it wasn’t forced.
“You feel better then?”He asked, taking her hand into his.
“I do,” she replied enthusiastically, “And I know he’ll be back.I’m just worried that he won’t accept our child,” her voice tapered off sadly and she sighed as she pulled her hand from her the tight grasp of her father’s.
“He’d be a fool not to.I have to go, but don’t spend too much time down here from now on, ok?”He said worriedly, “You’re going to go into labor any time soon and I don’t want you being stuck in Ground Zero for the birth of my grandchild!”He kissed her forehead, before shuffling out of the lab the same way he had entered.
Bulma watched him go, feeling slightly more at ease than before.
But her talk with her father still hadn’t squashed the doubt away from her mind.And soon, she was back to mulling out her bleak analogies.
She turned around and slumped down into the chair by her desk.Her fingers traveled over the shards of metal strewn across her desk.She fingered them lightly, once more allowing the ghostly troubled thoughts to enter her mind.
He had disappeared.
He was gone.
He had left them, her and her baby, had left them and deserted them to be with his own people, his own race…Possibly even left them to fight the Androids alone.Why should he care about the trouble of another planet, when he had his own to rule?He was a Prince.She was just a wealthy heiress to a company that didn’t even belong to her.
He had royal blood in him, Prince of all Saiyan.Who was she?The woman carrying his illegitimate child.She was alone, so alone.But she hadn’t always been alone.
For a brief time, she had the sound of drums pulsating in her ears.
They had started pounding when she was on Dran.Their trembling noise had almost swallowed her the night she learnt he was leaving, devoured her until she had to hearken to their call.They had followed her all the way through the ship as she left; alone.In the beginning, it was irritating.But gradually, the sound of the beating drums grew on her, they became a part of her.
The sound of drums she had heard in the first few months of his absence had now finally faded; they too had gone and left her alone.
And now she felt empty and dry, like a desert pining for the merest drop of rain water to sate its thirst.They had been so comforting to her when she had learned of her pregnancy, but now they were gone as well.Just like Vegeta.She wasn’t asking for much, but why hadn’t he even been in contact with her?That was the one thing that stood out most in their separation.She had so many questions to ask him about his planet, his people.
Had he been reinstated as Prince?Would they make him their King?Was he already conquering other planets to add to his empire, like his father had?Was he ok?And more importantly… Would he accept their baby?Would he be willing to act as a father, could he do it?Or would he turn a blind eye…
She didn’t know.She just didn’t know.
All she felt was emptiness.
The shards of metal pieces glinted preternaturally in the stark light of the plain laboratory, as though minuscule ice crystals had formed in tiny bundles on the metal pieces.Shadows were cast beneath the shards, seeming to hold a precious secret in them, one that couldn’t be shown to the dazzling light that shone from above.As she gazed at her mother’s machine, skewed and torn apart, she wondered for the millionth time what was wrong with her.
Dark, cold, icy---Emptiness.
And it engulfed her.
~*~
A roar tore from his throat as he completed yet another push up in the unimaginable gravity.The rogue Saiyans’ ship proved to be large enough to house the entire ship he and Bulma had used to travel to Dran.For the past three months, he had been training himself to the point of no return.Every time he felt too exhausted to move, he knew he had trained to his greatest ability, and he knew that he was one step closer to achieving his goal.
Radt had told him that it would take approximately six months to reach Bejiita-sei in the Nikora fleet spaceship.It was a long time for Vegeta to go without training, and so he had decided to bring along the space ship with the internal gravity machine.Of course, without Bulma to fix the blasted thing when it broke, he had to be extremely careful when training.
Bulma…
Now there was one woman who had actually managed to claw her way under his skin.For three months he had been trying to forget about her, trying not to imagine her former mate pawing at her…He had almost over worked the gravity machine the day he thought about her and the worm.From that moment, he disciplined himself to ignore all thoughts of her.
Of what he had done to her.Until now, he had been successful.
He growled as the effort of pushing on his own body weight in three hundred times Earth’s gravity, took its toll on his arms.They shook feverishly under his weight as he pushed up once more.“ARRGH!”Another feral roar exploded from his throat, leaving it dry and coarse.
It was too much.
He collapsed from the pressure, feeling his body stick to the floor.He was tired, and the added gravity wasn’t helping his condition.If he didn’t stop his training at that moment, all of the work he had been doing up until now would be lost; wasted.
A clot of blood sprayed from his mouth, sending him into a hysterical fit of coughing.It didn’t bother him that he trained so much.But it seemed to bother the other Saiyans of the Nikora fleet.He had been surprised to find more Saiyans aboard the ship.They had been told to remain on the ship whilst Radt and Rhuba spoke with him.They were highly interested, yet anxious about his intense training methods.
It still felt strange.
It was surreal to see other Saiyans, pure blooded Saiyans like him, other than Kakarott, walking around the ship.He had thought that Rhuba and Radt were patriotic, but the Saiyans on the ship had been more than courteous to him.And each and everyone paid their respects, as though they knew exactly where their loyalties had been for the past twenty years!
It was…Amazing!There was no other word for it. hadn’t felt this way for such a long time.The feeling of belonging.He hadn’t been a part of Earth’s Special Forces, nor would he ever be.He would never lower himself to join their band of clowns and freak shows.He was a Prince for fuck’s sake, not a lackey to those imbeciles.
So then why was he training so hard to fight their battle with the Androids?Why should he care?He had his own planet after all, why should he care about a worthless ball of mud, which contained the most idiotic bunch of species in the entire universe?!They should all just burn in hell for all he cared.
Bulma.
Super Saiyan.
Goku.
That was the reason he was training.To beat the shit out of, and kill, that moronic Saiyan.The Saiyan that had robbed him of his destiny and his birth right.
“Bested by a third class baka,” he growled weakly under his breath, clenching his fists as he crawled on the floor.It wasn’t fair!He would not be insulted in such a manner and turn a blind eye to it.
That’s why he was going back to Earth, he reasoned to himself, to show them all that he could be the strongest, that he could be better than Kakarott.That he could be Super Saiyan…
He finally managed to reach the control panel of the machine.Slowly but painfully, he raised his to switch the gravity down to ‘one’.
The heavy weight suppressing his shoulders finally lifted, and he felt lighter than he had before entering the machine that day.Another day was over, another week.
Only three more months left.
And then he would be on his planet.He had spoken to various Saiyans on the ship that had seen Bejiita-sei, and they all claimed that Bejiita-sei was exactly like their old planet.Even the royal palace had been constructed in the same manner as before.Before Frieza had destroyed Vejita-sei…
No.He wouldn’t let those thoughts haunt him.Right now, he was the one in charge; he was the one in control.
Bloodied, exhausted and weary from the day’s exertion, he slowly made his way to the control room to check on the course of the ship.After all, since he was their Prince, he was commander of this ship.
His chest seemed to swell in pride.The Prince was back in his element.
A passing Saiyan soldier bowed his head respectfully, touching his fist to his heart, as they crossed paths in the corridor leading to the control room.Vegeta nodded his head in acknowledgement as he continued to walk, the feeling of superiority washing over him as an ocean lapping up against an orange glazed beach.
This was the way his life was supposed to be.Not playing second fiddle to a third class Saiyan and his string of idiotic friends.With a keen eye, Vegeta noticed the young Saiyan soldier staring at his bloodied arms with awe and admiration as he walked away.
He smirked to himself as he entered the control room, receiving a look of curiosity from Radt and his brother Rhuba. had learned that they had been in charge of the Nikora fleet and that there were many other fleets of Saiyan ships like this one, roaming the universe in search of other rogue Saiyans.
Rhuba lowered his head, placing his clenched fist against his heart.“Your highness.Finished for the day?”
Vegeta grunted an affirmative.He still felt slightly out of his element in conversing with Rhuba.His brother Radt seemed to be more reserved, and that appealed to the Saiyan Prince more than the forwardness of his brother.
“We’re on course, I take it?” asked, circling the control room with an air of authority.Yes, he could get very used to this.
Rhuba nodded, “We’re exactly three months away from Bejiita-sei.I’ve informed them of our arrival.”
Vegeta nodded, “Good,” he turned to gaze out of the porthole, into the black void of outer space.There were no stars nearby; no other planets could be seen from the ship.Everything was clouded by the dark shadow of space, tucked safely away from prying eyes.“I will have six months on Bejiita-sei, before I have to leave for Earth again,” he calculated to himself under his breath.
But with sensitive Saiyan hearing, Radt caught the Prince’s self uttered memoir.“What was that, your highness?”
Vegeta frowned, turning away from the man size window, “Not that it is any of your concern,” he growled in a reprimanding manner, “But I said, I shall spend six months on Bejiita-sei before I have to leave the planet in order to deal with unfinished business on another planet.”
Radt looked troubled for a moment.“This planet; it’s Earth, the one that you mentioned whilst speaking to yourself?”
The Saiyan Prince glared indignantly at the outright behavior of the rogue Saiyan, “Watch your interests’ boy,” he snarled.“They are to be of no concern to you!”
Rhuba and Radt exchanged their troubled looks with one another.Rhuba spoke hesitantly, “Well, if it isn’t urgent business calling you to Earth then…”
Vegeta was now thoroughly confused.Urgent business?!Of course it was urgent business!He had a battle to win, a score to settle for fuck’s sake.“Yes it is business, and it is urgent.”
Once again, the two brothers shared equally fearful and troubled glances.
“What is it?”Vegeta exploded finally, unable to take their secretive gestures.It was irritating beyond a doubt.
“Sire,” Radt said slowly, “Time moves differently when one travels in space to different planets.”
“Your point is?”Vegeta questioned idiotically.
“Well, three months may have passed here in this ship and on Bejiita-sei but…Time and planets revolve differently when in space.It all depends on the ship.Our ship is coordinated with the time of Bejiita-sei’s rotation, and because of the distance between Earth and Bejiita-sei, three months have not passed on planet Earth.”
“Then how many months have passed?”He grated out impatiently, a sense of apprehension building up in his veins as he stared at the solemn faced Saiyan.
Radt shook his head, “Not months have passed, your highness…Years.”
The warm blood flowing through to his heart froze solidly.
“Years?”He croaked out after what seemed an eternity of silence.
Radt nodded, “Some years have passed on Earth, but only three months have passed in this ship and on Bejiita-sei.It seems as though you have missed attending to your ‘urgent business’,” his voice lowered, along with his head.
Time seemed to stand still for the Saiyan Prince.He remained rooted to the spot, staring at the rogue Saiyan blankly, as though the news had not registered in his mind.“How many years have passed on Earth?”He managed to whisper out, afraid of what the answer would be.
Rhuba managed to reply to Vegeta’s questions.“If my calculations are correct, then Dran was a few planets from Earth so…Five years approximately?”
Five years.
Five years.Five years.Five years.
He had been gone from Earth for five years, in only three months on the ship.But how?And why hadn’t he thought of such a thing as space travel’s complicated schematics?!
Because he had always traveled in one of Frieza’s Saiyan pods… That’s why.They altered according to the planets around them but, this ship could not alter.It was programmed to Bejiita-sei’s rotation, not Earth’s.And Bejiita-sei had a slower rotation than Earth.
Oh God.
Five years.
Bulma.
Kakarott.
Five fucking years!!
All color and sense of feeling drained from his body as he stood silently with the two other Saiyans.It was heavy, suffocating him like being buried alive.He strangely felt as though he had done when he clawed himself out of his grave after Frieza had killed him.The life being formed within him once again, the total darkness surrounding him.The dirt covering his face, suffocating…
“You’re highness?Prince Vegeta?”
He could vaguely hear Radt’s voice in the distance, but he wasn’t sure at that moment.
And then, he blinked.
The panic fell away like a broken puzzle, the pieces no longer wanting to stay adjoined.He blinked again, continuously, “How fast can you get this ship to go full throttle to Earth?How long will it take?”
Radt knew there was no room for argument.And he certainly was not going to quarrel with the irate Prince.“The ship can get us there in about one and a half months, the most, at full throttle.In the ship, that is.”
“How many years on Earth is that?”Vegeta spat out through gritted teeth, anger being the key emotion he felt.It rose in him, warming his frozen blood like molten lava washing over the arctic ice caps.
“About three years.But it is dangerous to go that fast!” replied, panic hitching his voice to a higher pitch.
Three years!
Vegeta growled, uncaring. “Do it.”He whirled around, leaving the room in a blaze of fire.
Rhuba and Radt shook their heads, both knowing better than to question their Prince’s orders.If he wanted to go to Earth, then so be it.After all, it would only be a few months on Bejiita-sei.Not years like Earth.
Vegeta stormed down the halls of the ship, marching straight for the room that held gravity simulator ship.His strength had returned full force, no longer feeling weak.Without a second thought, he resumed his training.He had exactly one and a half months to train himself to death, to obtain Super Saiyan before he faced Kakarott.
He had promised Bulma he would be there to fight the Androids…But of course, they were now probably defeated, with Kakarott saving the day as usual!She wouldn’t need him anymore.But then, she probably thought he had been too cowardly to face them!He would never let his pride fall in front of his woman.But she wasn’t his anyway.So why the hell was he so eager to go back?!
He knew why.
Because he didn’t want Kakarott thinking he had chickened out and run away from the battle with the Androids.Or their own battle.He desperately wanted a one on one with his rival, and by hell he was going to get it;
And damn everyone to hell, who would get in his way.
~*~
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.
They were all gone…All dead.Every single one of them;
Like pretty little dead petals, wilting from the flower to fall softly onto the soiled ground.Only they didn’t fall so softly…They were crushed and crunched, until all the sap had left through veins in their trampled little petals.
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.
Every single one of them.
Vegeta.
Disappeared.
He was a pretty little vision in the sky, no more. like the rest of them, except he hadn’t fallen with them.He was just…Gone.
Vegeta?Where are you?You promised!You promised!
A cackle, a cold, cold cackle.She had stood, watching as each one fell, as each one withered and died before her very eyes.
She would have nightmares about that cackle until the day she died.
“Bulma-san?”A weak voice was calling to her.
Not all gone!One of the petals had not been crushed!
“Bulma-san!”The voice was growing stronger; it shouted and woke her from the spell of her mind.She could now see clearly.
“G--Gohan?”She whispered softly, coming out of the daze that had engulfed her as she sat by clutching her baby to her chest, watching each of her friends die as they fought the two maniacal Androids.
Goku!
She remembered now.
His heart disease had affected him at a crucial moment in the battle and…And there was no way that the Android would let him leave for the medicine.Instead, both androids had stood by and cackled… Cackled as they watched her poor Goku fall to his knees.And then, they had killed him.And then, they had slowly, one by one, killed the others.
Except Gohan.
So here she was, running, running for her life whilst clutching her baby son, Trunks, to her chest.Gohan had survived.Oh sweet child!He had been the only one to survive! madness had driven her to watch their fight, with her one year old son?!She had just assumed they would win like always.She hadn’t thought they would lose… Hadn’t thought…
Gohan was tugging at her hand as they ran, trying to hide from the searching eyes of the Androids.He was so strong, so strong for a child.He shouldn’t have seen his father die, shouldn’t have seen that…He still hadn’t cried as she had.She was supposed to be the grown up.She was supposed to be the stronger of the two emotionally.Not him.He was just a child!
And yet she was the one falling apart.
Falling apart.
They ran into the nearby by crevice, a cave hole, open like a gaping mouth ready to swallow them in its darkness.They ran in and waited there, patiently.Time held no meaning for them in that dark, damp little cave. just hoped they had outrun the Androids.The idiotic machines had given them a head start for fun!What fools!
Bulma’s chest was pounding as she pressed her back into the cool stone wall of the cave.She bounced her baby son up and down, trying to stop his whimpering, trying to soothe him in the way she could not sooth herself.
“A--Are you ok, Gohan?”She managed to ask shakily, finally finding her voice.Had she just witnessed her son from another dimension die as well?No!It couldn’t be possible!Tears threatened to stream down her face as she looked at the little boy in the darkness.Her own son had even died.Gods she didn’t know what she would have done had her little baby Trunks perished alongside the others.
She could see Gohan’s shadow a few feet from hers in the dark and shrouded cave.Stumbling her way through the darkness, still trying to sooth and calm her own little son, she reached out and brought the little boy, Gohan--he was a little boy after all, no matter how strong he was--close to her body.
She cradled his head with a trembling hand, against her stomach and together and sank to the gravelly ground, heaving muffled sobs into one another’s shoulders taking comfort in their misery and desolate state together, quietly; desperately trying not to alert the enemy of their location.The two evil Androids that had brought their world tumbling down.Killed everyone they loved.
And through the entire traumatic ordeal, through all of the deaths and screams of pain that had been ripped from her throat, one thought took precedence in her mind above everything else;
Vegeta…
Where are you? She had screamed out in her mind. You promised you mother fucker!!
You promised…
You promised.
~*~
“Thank you for everything.Take care Bulma.”
Bulma looked at Kor with a saddened gaze as he wished her farewell.She forced a small smile to grace her lips and nodded in reply.“You too, Kor.And there’s no need to thank me.I hope everything works out for you and your family, you deserve happiness in your lives,” she moved forward to hug the clean man, inhaling the sweet musky scent that penetrated her nose as she hugged him.He smelled uncannily like her father.
Bulma pulled away slowly, and turned to focus her gaze on Zarbon, who was holding Zora in his arms.It seemed that the green alien had miraculously healed overnight with Kor’s potions, and seemed to be in a stronger condition before.He was extremely lucky to be alive.She vaguely remembered packing her blue Porani in her rucksack, much to her relief. didn’t want to leave that little treasure behind.
She looked up and smiled at the towering green man, “Guess I’ll see you around, right Zarbon?Although you better not sneak up on me like you did yesterday!”
He grinned, holding his daughter tightly to his chest, “You can count on it, love.”He leaned to kiss the kind woman lightly on the cheek and Bulma accepted it with a shy smile.
“Try to be good on the job.I had to pull a lot of strings to get it for you,” she winked mischievously and reached out to take Zora’s tiny hand in hers’.“Are you going to be a good little girl for your Daddy?He’s got a lot more responsibility now that he’s working in the palace, guarding the King.”She said lightly, caressing the pale lilac skin of the young girl.
Zora simply nodded unhappily.
Bulma frowned, “What’s the matter sweetie?”
“I don’t want you to go,” Zora replied in a small voice, looking away.
Bulma knew this would be coming.She tried to hide a smile as she comforted the little girl, “I’ll visit,” she promised softly as she tugged at the girl’s lilac fingers playfully. course she would visit.Once the threat of the Androids was over, nothing was going to stop her from coming to Dran to see this beautiful little girl.Gods, she loved children…
She wondered when she would ever have one of her own.After all, she wasn’t getting any younger…The thought ebbed away into the hazy fog of her mind as she brought Zora’s fingers up to her lips.She lightly grazed her pouted lips over Zora’s tiny knuckles before leaning in to peck her on the cheek as she brushed the azure hair away from the little girl’s cheeks.
“Bye sweet pea,” Bulma said, trying not to chuckle as she saw the confused look on Zarbon and Zora’s face.
“I take it that’s a good compliment?”Zarbon asked with his brow furrowing.
And this time Bulma allowed herself a small laugh, before she gazed up at the clear Dranien sky.The small speck of Vegeta’s ship could be seen in the distance, as he had taken off before her.The ship was moments away from disappearing before her very eyes.
A pained expression etched its way onto her face, before waning without a trace of its remnants left upon her brow. face was smooth and pale as though it had been cut from marble, as she tore her gaze from the cloudless sky.Vegeta had taught her well in guarding her emotions.
She would be strong.
Without anymore parting words, Bulma quickly hugged the trio before boarding the Dranien ship that had been provided for her. She was a little sad that Drano and his father were busy in meetings, but she didn’t expect them to drop their duties in order to wave goodbye to her.She also felt bad for taking one of their ships on such short notice. Vegeta had encapsulated theirs and had taken it with him because of the training facilities in the ship.It figures that he would be too stubborn to even give up his training to visit his own people!It was all or nothing for the Saiyan Prince.
He hadn’t even bothered to introduce her to the two Saiyans that had accompanied him aboard the monstrous ship.It had been ten times the size of the ship that Bulma and Vegeta had brought to Dran, almost as large as Frieza’s.She was certain that more Saiyans had to be housed in the ship, as there was no point in bringing such a big ship if there were only three of them on board.Was there?
Not daring to take a backward glance at the planet and her newly formed friends, she let the door hiss shut behind her before she made her way to the take-off seat, with the sound of heavy drums pounding in her ears;
Thus ending another chapter in her life.
~*~
The days were passing so slowly.
Each day seemed to stretch further than the previous one, like a taut rubber band, ready to snap.Ever since Vegeta had left, Bulma had felt this way, so weary and so drained.
She was now back on Earth, having left Dran as soon as Vegeta had left for Bejiita-sei the next day.She couldn’t allow herself to stay on the planet any longer, without him by her side.It just wouldn’t have felt right.
Having left Dran with a heavy heart, she had gone knowing that Zarbon, Zora and Kor were safe and no longer living in the slums of Drizao.It had been a sad time for her when she left, but she knew it was inevitable and she said she would visit them.After all, she had a lot of work to complete on Earth and…Oh who was she kidding?
She had left because of Vegeta.She didn’t want to stay on Dran and remember their last night together.
It only would have brought painful memories to her.He was only going to be gone until the Androids came, and then he would be back.Well, he said he would be back.But she didn’t know if he would keep his word…
Of course he would keep his word; this was Vegeta, a warrior! always kept their word…Then again, this was Vegeta she was debating about.Prince of darkness, cruel man, evil, killer of innocent people for Kami’s sake!
The urge to scream ran through her.
No.
He had changed, he wasn’t like that anymore.He wasn’t bad.He was good.He was on their side and he was going to help them fight the Androids and win.And then he would kill Goku and the rest of the people on the planet.Wasn’t that his ultimate goal?To kill Goku?
She had been driving herself crazy with this way of thinking in the past nine months.
That’s right… Nine months had gone by, albeit slowly, and still no word from Vegeta.Couldn’t he even bother to contact her and let her know he was fine?No video message to say ‘I’m fine honey, but I’m going to be delayed because I’m too busy conquering planets for my people, my race, than call and worry about you…’Well, maybe not the honey part, this was Vegeta she was thinking about, but he could have left a message…
She yanked at the long strands of her cerulean hair, clutching the roots fervently as she tugged.She was doing it again!!She was thinking crazy thoughts, bizarre thoughts.Since when did she ever act like that?!She was always rational.
But why couldn’t she think that way?
After the final night they had spent together, she should be allowed.It was far from magical and special, as partings from lovers should be.It was raw and animalistic.He had let her run rampant that night…And he hadn’t said a single word about her behavior. had just ignored her rabid ways and had shown her a few of his own primal maneuvers. say that their last night together was odd would be the understatement of a lifetime.
The next morning, they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.Not of his leaving, or of her going back to Earth.They just knew what was going to happen.And although Bulma knew that they weren’t committed to one another, it still strangely pained her to see him leave and go off without her.And so she did the same.She left Dran without a backward glance, leaving the memories of that night behind her.
But he hadn’t left without giving her present.And oh boy, what a present it was…
Bulma looked down at her largely rounded stomach, covered by her blue laboratory overalls.She lightly rubbed the round curve of her stomach and grimaced, “Thanks for the gift, Vegeta,” she murmured ironically.Her back ached and she was almost certain she was going through pre-natal depression, not post. feet wouldn’t even fit into her favorite pair of pumps for the love of Kami!
She didn’t know at the time, but he had left her on Dran, pregnant.He had gone and left her all alone, and so fucking pregnant that it wasn’t even funny.
Just a few weeks and this baby would be ready to pop out of her like a ball of gum, with her being the big gumball machine.She snorted at her stupid thoughts.Wouldn’t she make a wonderful mother?
Just fucking wonderful…
All alone, with a baby on the way and two homicidal Androids, about to be resurrected in a just a year’s time to annihilate the entire planet;
And still no sign of Vegeta.
Just fucking wonderful…
But she was coping. would be fine.She was strong; she would be a good mother to her child… Wouldn’t she?
A knock on her laboratory door forced away the doubtful thoughts, and Bulma gratefully accepted the intrusion.Even if it involved speaking.She wasn’t much of a talker these days, and this seemed to worry her family and friends.Not that she could blame them…
“Come in,” she called out lightly, trying to make her voice sound bright and unaffected, rather than with the doom and gloom mentality that had been going on in her mind.
The door slowly slid open and she watched briefly as her father shuffled in, with his shoulders slumped.He always felt a little claustrophobic being underground in their scientific base of Ground Zero, but Bulma loved it.
She turned away from her desk, leaving the metallic shrapnel alone for the moment, to converse with her father.“What’s up Dad?”She asked calmly, no trace of true anxiety or depression could be seen through her airy façade.
Dr. Briefs shook his head and mumbled under his breath, “Nothing dear, just came to check up on you.”
Bulma forced herself to smile, “I’m fine, and I couldn’t be better!”
“Now you know that you can flash that smile at your mother and she’ll believe you, but this is me we’re talking about.A genius can’t fool another genius Bulma.”Her father stated in a reprimanding tone.He took off his glasses and used the corner of his lab coat to rub them clean.
“Why would you say that, Dad?”She asked, her façade slipping slightly.
“You’ve been down here an awful lot in the past couple of weeks, or months would be a better guess.Is everything ok?”He asked, the concern clearly showing on his face.
“Yeah, just eager to finish this project,” she waved at the bits of metal lying across her desk.
Dr. Briefs raised a skeptical brow, “And what project is that exactly?”
Bulma found herself hesitating at that moment.What project was she working on…?She wasn’t working on a project…
Her father slowly walked towards her and took one of the pieces of metal scrap from her desk, into his hand.He examined it carefully before placing the piece of metal back on the desk.“I see you’re disassembling your mother’s…‘Fat A-go-go’ machine,” a hint of amusement softened his voice as he looked at his daughter.“She’ll be looking for that when she starts piling on the pounds at the end of the week, y’know.Your mother’s always been sensitive about her weight.”
Bulma felt the color drain from her face.Oops…And she hadn’t even been paying attention when she had been taking it apart.It would take her more than a week to fix it, long enough for her mother to find out.Double oops.She threw the spanner that was in her hand, onto the desk with exasperation.
“Sorry, Dad,” she muttered, “I just don’t know what’s gotten into me!”She looked at her father with pleading eyes, “Will you fix it for me, before Mom finds out?I don’t think I’m in the right mind to work with metal,” she offered a flat chuckle.
“No problem dear,” he said.
Dr. Briefs paused, staring at his daughter for a moment.“Still thinking about you know who?”
“All the time,” she whispered, looking away from her father’s penetrating gaze.Her chest tightened in pain at the words she forced out.
He placed a comforting hand on the top of her head, “He’ll be here when the Androids come, mark my words sweetie, he will be back.”
Bulma closed her eyes as her father’s soothing hand caressed her hair softly, “You’re not mad at him for leaving me pregnant?”She asked with as much humor as she could muster.It was failing painfully.
“You’re darn right I’m mad,” he replied, his voice tightening before it loosened again, “But I can’t stay angry forever.After all, he didn’t know you were pregnant, did he?”
She shook her head.
“Well then, I guess you’ll see him when he comes to our aid in the fight, right?”
She nodded.Maybe.
Dr. Briefs smiled slightly before leaning down to kiss the top of her head, “He won’t abandon you, pumpkin.And if he does, he’ll have to answer to me in the fighting ring!”He had been a keen boxer in his day; he figured he could fight Vegeta if he had to.
Bulma snorted, rolling her eyes as she laughed heartily for the first time in months;
“Daddy, you wouldn’t be able to go two rounds with him!He’d knock you into outer space before you even jiggled your way into the ring, old man!”She added with her impression of Vegeta’s voice.
“Alright, alright, no need to attack my age!” exclaimed, trying to sound as indignant as he could.Although he knew it was true.It was just good to hear his little girl laugh again.It seemed as though she hadn’t laughed like that in a long time.It tore his heart apart to see her so desolate and lost.
As Bulma wiped away the ‘laughter tears’ from her eyes, she stood up and hugged her father as best as she could.It was hard to hug a person when one was nine months pregnant.It was no easy feat.
They burst into another round of laughter as she tried to hug him, before they grew tired of finding the best way to hug.
She leaned in to kiss her father’s cheek gratefully, “Thanks for the talk, Daddy.”She smiled, and this time he noticed that it wasn’t forced.
“You feel better then?”He asked, taking her hand into his.
“I do,” she replied enthusiastically, “And I know he’ll be back.I’m just worried that he won’t accept our child,” her voice tapered off sadly and she sighed as she pulled her hand from her the tight grasp of her father’s.
“He’d be a fool not to.I have to go, but don’t spend too much time down here from now on, ok?”He said worriedly, “You’re going to go into labor any time soon and I don’t want you being stuck in Ground Zero for the birth of my grandchild!”He kissed her forehead, before shuffling out of the lab the same way he had entered.
Bulma watched him go, feeling slightly more at ease than before.
But her talk with her father still hadn’t squashed the doubt away from her mind.And soon, she was back to mulling out her bleak analogies.
She turned around and slumped down into the chair by her desk.Her fingers traveled over the shards of metal strewn across her desk.She fingered them lightly, once more allowing the ghostly troubled thoughts to enter her mind.
He had disappeared.
He was gone.
He had left them, her and her baby, had left them and deserted them to be with his own people, his own race…Possibly even left them to fight the Androids alone.Why should he care about the trouble of another planet, when he had his own to rule?He was a Prince.She was just a wealthy heiress to a company that didn’t even belong to her.
He had royal blood in him, Prince of all Saiyan.Who was she?The woman carrying his illegitimate child.She was alone, so alone.But she hadn’t always been alone.
For a brief time, she had the sound of drums pulsating in her ears.
They had started pounding when she was on Dran.Their trembling noise had almost swallowed her the night she learnt he was leaving, devoured her until she had to hearken to their call.They had followed her all the way through the ship as she left; alone.In the beginning, it was irritating.But gradually, the sound of the beating drums grew on her, they became a part of her.
The sound of drums she had heard in the first few months of his absence had now finally faded; they too had gone and left her alone.
And now she felt empty and dry, like a desert pining for the merest drop of rain water to sate its thirst.They had been so comforting to her when she had learned of her pregnancy, but now they were gone as well.Just like Vegeta.She wasn’t asking for much, but why hadn’t he even been in contact with her?That was the one thing that stood out most in their separation.She had so many questions to ask him about his planet, his people.
Had he been reinstated as Prince?Would they make him their King?Was he already conquering other planets to add to his empire, like his father had?Was he ok?And more importantly… Would he accept their baby?Would he be willing to act as a father, could he do it?Or would he turn a blind eye…
She didn’t know.She just didn’t know.
All she felt was emptiness.
The shards of metal pieces glinted preternaturally in the stark light of the plain laboratory, as though minuscule ice crystals had formed in tiny bundles on the metal pieces.Shadows were cast beneath the shards, seeming to hold a precious secret in them, one that couldn’t be shown to the dazzling light that shone from above.As she gazed at her mother’s machine, skewed and torn apart, she wondered for the millionth time what was wrong with her.
Dark, cold, icy---Emptiness.
And it engulfed her.
~*~
A roar tore from his throat as he completed yet another push up in the unimaginable gravity.The rogue Saiyans’ ship proved to be large enough to house the entire ship he and Bulma had used to travel to Dran.For the past three months, he had been training himself to the point of no return.Every time he felt too exhausted to move, he knew he had trained to his greatest ability, and he knew that he was one step closer to achieving his goal.
Radt had told him that it would take approximately six months to reach Bejiita-sei in the Nikora fleet spaceship.It was a long time for Vegeta to go without training, and so he had decided to bring along the space ship with the internal gravity machine.Of course, without Bulma to fix the blasted thing when it broke, he had to be extremely careful when training.
Bulma…
Now there was one woman who had actually managed to claw her way under his skin.For three months he had been trying to forget about her, trying not to imagine her former mate pawing at her…He had almost over worked the gravity machine the day he thought about her and the worm.From that moment, he disciplined himself to ignore all thoughts of her.
Of what he had done to her.Until now, he had been successful.
He growled as the effort of pushing on his own body weight in three hundred times Earth’s gravity, took its toll on his arms.They shook feverishly under his weight as he pushed up once more.“ARRGH!”Another feral roar exploded from his throat, leaving it dry and coarse.
It was too much.
He collapsed from the pressure, feeling his body stick to the floor.He was tired, and the added gravity wasn’t helping his condition.If he didn’t stop his training at that moment, all of the work he had been doing up until now would be lost; wasted.
A clot of blood sprayed from his mouth, sending him into a hysterical fit of coughing.It didn’t bother him that he trained so much.But it seemed to bother the other Saiyans of the Nikora fleet.He had been surprised to find more Saiyans aboard the ship.They had been told to remain on the ship whilst Radt and Rhuba spoke with him.They were highly interested, yet anxious about his intense training methods.
It still felt strange.
It was surreal to see other Saiyans, pure blooded Saiyans like him, other than Kakarott, walking around the ship.He had thought that Rhuba and Radt were patriotic, but the Saiyans on the ship had been more than courteous to him.And each and everyone paid their respects, as though they knew exactly where their loyalties had been for the past twenty years!
It was…Amazing!There was no other word for it. hadn’t felt this way for such a long time.The feeling of belonging.He hadn’t been a part of Earth’s Special Forces, nor would he ever be.He would never lower himself to join their band of clowns and freak shows.He was a Prince for fuck’s sake, not a lackey to those imbeciles.
So then why was he training so hard to fight their battle with the Androids?Why should he care?He had his own planet after all, why should he care about a worthless ball of mud, which contained the most idiotic bunch of species in the entire universe?!They should all just burn in hell for all he cared.
Bulma.
Super Saiyan.
Goku.
That was the reason he was training.To beat the shit out of, and kill, that moronic Saiyan.The Saiyan that had robbed him of his destiny and his birth right.
“Bested by a third class baka,” he growled weakly under his breath, clenching his fists as he crawled on the floor.It wasn’t fair!He would not be insulted in such a manner and turn a blind eye to it.
That’s why he was going back to Earth, he reasoned to himself, to show them all that he could be the strongest, that he could be better than Kakarott.That he could be Super Saiyan…
He finally managed to reach the control panel of the machine.Slowly but painfully, he raised his to switch the gravity down to ‘one’.
The heavy weight suppressing his shoulders finally lifted, and he felt lighter than he had before entering the machine that day.Another day was over, another week.
Only three more months left.
And then he would be on his planet.He had spoken to various Saiyans on the ship that had seen Bejiita-sei, and they all claimed that Bejiita-sei was exactly like their old planet.Even the royal palace had been constructed in the same manner as before.Before Frieza had destroyed Vejita-sei…
No.He wouldn’t let those thoughts haunt him.Right now, he was the one in charge; he was the one in control.
Bloodied, exhausted and weary from the day’s exertion, he slowly made his way to the control room to check on the course of the ship.After all, since he was their Prince, he was commander of this ship.
His chest seemed to swell in pride.The Prince was back in his element.
A passing Saiyan soldier bowed his head respectfully, touching his fist to his heart, as they crossed paths in the corridor leading to the control room.Vegeta nodded his head in acknowledgement as he continued to walk, the feeling of superiority washing over him as an ocean lapping up against an orange glazed beach.
This was the way his life was supposed to be.Not playing second fiddle to a third class Saiyan and his string of idiotic friends.With a keen eye, Vegeta noticed the young Saiyan soldier staring at his bloodied arms with awe and admiration as he walked away.
He smirked to himself as he entered the control room, receiving a look of curiosity from Radt and his brother Rhuba. had learned that they had been in charge of the Nikora fleet and that there were many other fleets of Saiyan ships like this one, roaming the universe in search of other rogue Saiyans.
Rhuba lowered his head, placing his clenched fist against his heart.“Your highness.Finished for the day?”
Vegeta grunted an affirmative.He still felt slightly out of his element in conversing with Rhuba.His brother Radt seemed to be more reserved, and that appealed to the Saiyan Prince more than the forwardness of his brother.
“We’re on course, I take it?” asked, circling the control room with an air of authority.Yes, he could get very used to this.
Rhuba nodded, “We’re exactly three months away from Bejiita-sei.I’ve informed them of our arrival.”
Vegeta nodded, “Good,” he turned to gaze out of the porthole, into the black void of outer space.There were no stars nearby; no other planets could be seen from the ship.Everything was clouded by the dark shadow of space, tucked safely away from prying eyes.“I will have six months on Bejiita-sei, before I have to leave for Earth again,” he calculated to himself under his breath.
But with sensitive Saiyan hearing, Radt caught the Prince’s self uttered memoir.“What was that, your highness?”
Vegeta frowned, turning away from the man size window, “Not that it is any of your concern,” he growled in a reprimanding manner, “But I said, I shall spend six months on Bejiita-sei before I have to leave the planet in order to deal with unfinished business on another planet.”
Radt looked troubled for a moment.“This planet; it’s Earth, the one that you mentioned whilst speaking to yourself?”
The Saiyan Prince glared indignantly at the outright behavior of the rogue Saiyan, “Watch your interests’ boy,” he snarled.“They are to be of no concern to you!”
Rhuba and Radt exchanged their troubled looks with one another.Rhuba spoke hesitantly, “Well, if it isn’t urgent business calling you to Earth then…”
Vegeta was now thoroughly confused.Urgent business?!Of course it was urgent business!He had a battle to win, a score to settle for fuck’s sake.“Yes it is business, and it is urgent.”
Once again, the two brothers shared equally fearful and troubled glances.
“What is it?”Vegeta exploded finally, unable to take their secretive gestures.It was irritating beyond a doubt.
“Sire,” Radt said slowly, “Time moves differently when one travels in space to different planets.”
“Your point is?”Vegeta questioned idiotically.
“Well, three months may have passed here in this ship and on Bejiita-sei but…Time and planets revolve differently when in space.It all depends on the ship.Our ship is coordinated with the time of Bejiita-sei’s rotation, and because of the distance between Earth and Bejiita-sei, three months have not passed on planet Earth.”
“Then how many months have passed?”He grated out impatiently, a sense of apprehension building up in his veins as he stared at the solemn faced Saiyan.
Radt shook his head, “Not months have passed, your highness…Years.”
The warm blood flowing through to his heart froze solidly.
“Years?”He croaked out after what seemed an eternity of silence.
Radt nodded, “Some years have passed on Earth, but only three months have passed in this ship and on Bejiita-sei.It seems as though you have missed attending to your ‘urgent business’,” his voice lowered, along with his head.
Time seemed to stand still for the Saiyan Prince.He remained rooted to the spot, staring at the rogue Saiyan blankly, as though the news had not registered in his mind.“How many years have passed on Earth?”He managed to whisper out, afraid of what the answer would be.
Rhuba managed to reply to Vegeta’s questions.“If my calculations are correct, then Dran was a few planets from Earth so…Five years approximately?”
Five years.
Five years.Five years.Five years.
He had been gone from Earth for five years, in only three months on the ship.But how?And why hadn’t he thought of such a thing as space travel’s complicated schematics?!
Because he had always traveled in one of Frieza’s Saiyan pods… That’s why.They altered according to the planets around them but, this ship could not alter.It was programmed to Bejiita-sei’s rotation, not Earth’s.And Bejiita-sei had a slower rotation than Earth.
Oh God.
Five years.
Bulma.
Kakarott.
Five fucking years!!
All color and sense of feeling drained from his body as he stood silently with the two other Saiyans.It was heavy, suffocating him like being buried alive.He strangely felt as though he had done when he clawed himself out of his grave after Frieza had killed him.The life being formed within him once again, the total darkness surrounding him.The dirt covering his face, suffocating…
“You’re highness?Prince Vegeta?”
He could vaguely hear Radt’s voice in the distance, but he wasn’t sure at that moment.
And then, he blinked.
The panic fell away like a broken puzzle, the pieces no longer wanting to stay adjoined.He blinked again, continuously, “How fast can you get this ship to go full throttle to Earth?How long will it take?”
Radt knew there was no room for argument.And he certainly was not going to quarrel with the irate Prince.“The ship can get us there in about one and a half months, the most, at full throttle.In the ship, that is.”
“How many years on Earth is that?”Vegeta spat out through gritted teeth, anger being the key emotion he felt.It rose in him, warming his frozen blood like molten lava washing over the arctic ice caps.
“About three years.But it is dangerous to go that fast!” replied, panic hitching his voice to a higher pitch.
Three years!
Vegeta growled, uncaring. “Do it.”He whirled around, leaving the room in a blaze of fire.
Rhuba and Radt shook their heads, both knowing better than to question their Prince’s orders.If he wanted to go to Earth, then so be it.After all, it would only be a few months on Bejiita-sei.Not years like Earth.
Vegeta stormed down the halls of the ship, marching straight for the room that held gravity simulator ship.His strength had returned full force, no longer feeling weak.Without a second thought, he resumed his training.He had exactly one and a half months to train himself to death, to obtain Super Saiyan before he faced Kakarott.
He had promised Bulma he would be there to fight the Androids…But of course, they were now probably defeated, with Kakarott saving the day as usual!She wouldn’t need him anymore.But then, she probably thought he had been too cowardly to face them!He would never let his pride fall in front of his woman.But she wasn’t his anyway.So why the hell was he so eager to go back?!
He knew why.
Because he didn’t want Kakarott thinking he had chickened out and run away from the battle with the Androids.Or their own battle.He desperately wanted a one on one with his rival, and by hell he was going to get it;
And damn everyone to hell, who would get in his way.
~*~
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.
They were all gone…All dead.Every single one of them;
Like pretty little dead petals, wilting from the flower to fall softly onto the soiled ground.Only they didn’t fall so softly…They were crushed and crunched, until all the sap had left through veins in their trampled little petals.
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.
Every single one of them.
Vegeta.
Disappeared.
He was a pretty little vision in the sky, no more. like the rest of them, except he hadn’t fallen with them.He was just…Gone.
Vegeta?Where are you?You promised!You promised!
A cackle, a cold, cold cackle.She had stood, watching as each one fell, as each one withered and died before her very eyes.
She would have nightmares about that cackle until the day she died.
“Bulma-san?”A weak voice was calling to her.
Not all gone!One of the petals had not been crushed!
“Bulma-san!”The voice was growing stronger; it shouted and woke her from the spell of her mind.She could now see clearly.
“G--Gohan?”She whispered softly, coming out of the daze that had engulfed her as she sat by clutching her baby to her chest, watching each of her friends die as they fought the two maniacal Androids.
Goku!
She remembered now.
His heart disease had affected him at a crucial moment in the battle and…And there was no way that the Android would let him leave for the medicine.Instead, both androids had stood by and cackled… Cackled as they watched her poor Goku fall to his knees.And then, they had killed him.And then, they had slowly, one by one, killed the others.
Except Gohan.
So here she was, running, running for her life whilst clutching her baby son, Trunks, to her chest.Gohan had survived.Oh sweet child!He had been the only one to survive! madness had driven her to watch their fight, with her one year old son?!She had just assumed they would win like always.She hadn’t thought they would lose… Hadn’t thought…
Gohan was tugging at her hand as they ran, trying to hide from the searching eyes of the Androids.He was so strong, so strong for a child.He shouldn’t have seen his father die, shouldn’t have seen that…He still hadn’t cried as she had.She was supposed to be the grown up.She was supposed to be the stronger of the two emotionally.Not him.He was just a child!
And yet she was the one falling apart.
Falling apart.
They ran into the nearby by crevice, a cave hole, open like a gaping mouth ready to swallow them in its darkness.They ran in and waited there, patiently.Time held no meaning for them in that dark, damp little cave. just hoped they had outrun the Androids.The idiotic machines had given them a head start for fun!What fools!
Bulma’s chest was pounding as she pressed her back into the cool stone wall of the cave.She bounced her baby son up and down, trying to stop his whimpering, trying to soothe him in the way she could not sooth herself.
“A--Are you ok, Gohan?”She managed to ask shakily, finally finding her voice.Had she just witnessed her son from another dimension die as well?No!It couldn’t be possible!Tears threatened to stream down her face as she looked at the little boy in the darkness.Her own son had even died.Gods she didn’t know what she would have done had her little baby Trunks perished alongside the others.
She could see Gohan’s shadow a few feet from hers in the dark and shrouded cave.Stumbling her way through the darkness, still trying to sooth and calm her own little son, she reached out and brought the little boy, Gohan--he was a little boy after all, no matter how strong he was--close to her body.
She cradled his head with a trembling hand, against her stomach and together and sank to the gravelly ground, heaving muffled sobs into one another’s shoulders taking comfort in their misery and desolate state together, quietly; desperately trying not to alert the enemy of their location.The two evil Androids that had brought their world tumbling down.Killed everyone they loved.
And through the entire traumatic ordeal, through all of the deaths and screams of pain that had been ripped from her throat, one thought took precedence in her mind above everything else;
Vegeta…
Where are you? She had screamed out in her mind. You promised you mother fucker!!
You promised…
You promised.
~*~