Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Second Soul ❯ Chapter 14

"No…" Gohan said after a long silence, and turned away from the now-useless controls to where Trunks stood. "Bulma must have made a backup system somewhere in the ship, right?"

Trunks' light blue eyes widened slightly as if coming out of a dream… well, more like a nightmare. "I think… Kaasan made it so you could use any machine from any control panel in the ship. - We need to find controls that are intact and then we can heal Goten." He finished this eagerly.

Gohan relaxed slightly. Loosening his grip on his little brother at the same time. "Okay, let's find some controls," he said with determination. "The nearest shouldn't be too far. Let's just keep together and make sure he doesn't sneak up on us." There was no need to explain who he was.

Once again the small group left a room, and quietly they headed down the corridors. Eyes flickering left and right, making sure no on would sneak up on them.

Vegeta muttered under his breath. They were prey and he was definitely not enjoying it.

There had been a time he might have been happy to be in this situation as long as he was the predator, not some low class, though not anymore. In a few years of living on Earth everything had changed. The universe as he had known it had been turned upside and inside out, making him see things in a way he had never imagined. Opening up a part of him that he had long since thought Frieza had killed.

Whether he liked it or not Earth had got to him and he knew he would never do anything like that. Thanks to that little blue and green planet he had been given a mate and children. It had left a mark on him that nobody could see, but he knew it was there. In his heart he knew he would never betray it or its people. Maybe threaten a few of the inhabitants every once in a while, but never betray.

But if he wouldn't, why would Kakarot? The very man who claimed full of pride that he may have been born a saiyan, but he was an Earthling now. The very man who had defended the very ones he was attacking now with all his heart and soul.

It had taken Vegeta months to believe that the other saiyan was not trying to manipulate those around him with his acts of kindness and friendship. The prince had become so use to people lying and cheating around him that anyone who wanted 'peace', wanted everything else as well. Or so he had once thought.

It had taken Vegeta ages to realise that not everyone was like that and now one person he had believed was a prime example of that discovery had changed completely. Throwing all the beliefs that had taken Vegeta so long to understand out the window. (At this point Kakarot was running over them until it was as flat as a pancake.)

Then for more time, years, he had a terrible time learning to deal with constantly being the Earthling. It had made him sick. It had been burnt into him from a young age that the only way to live was to do whatever it takes and never, ever care about the consequences, and that was the only way you could survive. It scared him to realise that he there was a way around all that evil.

After all that anger, resentment and fear, he had come to respect his new allies, with Kakarot, the only saiyan to forsake all the evil pushed on their race, his closest... friend?

Could all of Kakarot's actions just been plain actions, without any true caring behind them? All just for the sake of his own power?

A control panel built into the wall ahead was seized by four sets of eyes including his own and Vegeta suppressed another growl when he saw the plastic covering melted, rendering it useless as well. Exchanging a glance with Gohan, he moved ahead going into the first room on the right. Inside was food storage and another broken set of controls.

"The baka," he muttered as he returned once more, "he knew we would need them. - There's at least one less set of controls there."

Gohan's face darkened visibly and Krillin blinked a few times, stunned.

"What was he thinking?" the human said after recovering himself. "He would be an idiot do destroy all the controls. If something happened the ship, he'd die without any chance of saving himself. It would be suicide."

"Yes, it would be suicide. Everything he's been doing has a point, I doubt he's insane enough to destroy all the controls. That means there has to be at least one set somewhere on the ship, probably where he can keep an eye on it."

Trunks looked up at his father, his mouth working soundlessly.

"Trunks?" asked Krillin, noticing the reaction.

"The controls, I know where they are." The boy paused as everyone in the hall faced him. "I saw them in main gravity room."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Krillin said. "Every second counts, right?"

"Wait a moment!" Trunks cried frantically, and backed into the wall. His small hands became little hard balls, clenching his now-sweat soaked gi. "You can't go there. It's too dangerous. I was there… The gravity really heavy. I couldn't even begin to move."

"We've handled intense gravity before," said Vegeta.

"Not like this, Tousan! You won't be able to breathe! That's how bad it is!" The boy spoke more to his father than to anyone else and with Vegeta's awkward surprise, Trunks rushed forward and grabbed him around the middle. The small body trembled against his father's.

Gohan looked at Trunks with a sympathetic look then faced Vegeta.

"Remember the tether that tied us up?" he said. "It is part of a spacesuit. If we find the suit we could use its helmet to give whoever uses it oxygen. The gravity will push the air to the bottom of the helmet, but it should be enough it to let the user breathe, not very well, but enough."

"Yes, and the user will be me," stated Vegeta, trying to not let his eldest's actions affect him, even when Trunks tightened the vice grip around his waist. He was not use to anyone treating him this way and

"What about my brother? He's going to die. - I am as strong as you. I have a right to go!" argued Gohan, a tint of familiar green-blue touched his eyes and his hair flashed golden, before quickly turning back to normal.

"I've got more fighting experience, and my son and daughter are at stake."

"True…." The Son seemed to consider this reluctantly, and swallowed down his annoyance. He took a rather forced thoughtful look. His dark eyebrows joining sharply in the middle and forehead wrinkling up his forehead like a wave.

"Neither of you are strong enough," Trunks said desperately. "Please Tousan, please Gohan, listen to reason! I saw him there. He was staring at me! He let me go! He knows that you are coming! - He wants you to come!"

"It has to be tried for Goten's sake. For the sake of us all. - We'll have the best chance if Vegeta goes!" stated Krillin. He didn't seem to like saying it though.

Trunks' head swivelled towards Krillin, and he glared ice. In a split second he turned full blown Super Saiyan, the new power making every word bellowed at the top of his lungs. "You just want him to save yourself! You rather he goes, risking his life, while you stay here, safe! You're a coward Krillin! A COWARD!"

The human in turn glared back. "Do you think I like being useless? Do you think I don't wish that I could go and fight and actually being some help? This isn't my choice, but if Vegeta goes, he can do more good that I can."

"Don't you get it? - He's not strong enough," yelled Trunks and tears seeped down his cheeks in bright shimmering groups.

Vegeta grimaced mentally. It was true; none of them was strong enough.

This reminded him too much of when own father had left him as a child. Father had gone to fight Frieza, a battle where he must have known he was going to lose, but he gone anyways and died quickly, all for the sake of his son. For many years Vegeta had hated everyone for it. Now his son was going through the same thing.

There had to be a way out of this with at least to keep some of them alive. The only way that was going to happen as far as he could tell was with Kakarot either winning, or suddenly changing his mind and going back to the nice little saiyan he had been before.

The argument between the two continued. It was like a leech; taking valuable energy out of their little group and only giving discord back.

"Stop it," said Gohan quietly.

Neither listened.

"STOP IT!"

A pair of shocked faces suddenly locked on the demi-saiyan. A man whose fury radiated in every direction like the sun, but more powerful and fierier. His entire body was like stone, and his eyes made stone look soft, yet he calmly surveyed his friends.

"I know nobody likes what is happening now. I certainly don't," Gohan started, "but do you honestly think this is helping? Goten is dying and you're both wasting time." This caused ashamed expressions. "Krillin, Trunks, I want you to take Goten and hide. I don't care where, but hide. - I mean it, Trunks. - And Vegeta, you come with me."

Vegeta nodded, and managed to pry a resistant Trunks off his waist. "You better do as he says," he ordered his son firmly, then followed Gohan out into the halls.

The walking was silent and they entered the residential area. It seemed eerily tranquil, and quietly Gohan rummaged the cupboards and closets until he found the spacesuit's helmet, a plain white helmet complete with a oxygen supply on the back.

"What's the plan, brat?" Vegeta asked.

"Remember fusion?" said Gohan. "All we have do is fuse, then we go to the main gravity room. We put this on and we'll be able to breathe and hopefully fight."

The prince raised an eyebrow. "So you're suggesting that we use a completely untested fusion to fight Kakarot in gravity that neither of us is use to, with a less than adequate air supply?"

"Yes."

"It's not a very good plan."

Gohan smirked slightly.

"No, it isn't."