Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Stolen Past, Stolen Future ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Stolen Past, Stolen Future

Chapter Five

The room was silent as they gathered around the man who was concentrating with two fingers to his forehead. The man in the orange dogi felt the weight of hope settled upon his broad shoulders. He could feel all their emotions as he tried to locate their arrogant friend. "I can't do it," Goku finally exclaimed to the tense room. He took the two fingers down from his head.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" asked Bulma, her blue eyes clouding with disappointment. "Does this mean Vegeta is dead?"

Goku turned and put his hand behind his head and smiled at Bulma. "No, it doesn't mean Vegeta is dead, Bulma-san. It just means there is too many ki's concentrating on me, and it's hard to find the thread belonging to Vegeta."

Piccolo nodded. "Fine, why don't we all try to locate Vegeta's energy, that way we don't concentrate on Son as he tries to locate Vegeta using his technique?"

The group nodded and closed their eyes as they searched out with their energy for that of the missing Saiyajin prince.

Thirty minutes passed.

Goku opened his eyes and glanced toward Bulma. He shook his head and watched tears well up into her blue eyes. "Gomen Bulma-san," he whispered to his oldest friend. "I can't locate Vegeta anywhere."

"Maybe he isn't on Earth," said Yamcha. "I mean we are dealing with aliens. And if I was an alien I wouldn't want to stay around on Earth once I got what I was seeking."

"He's right Goku," agreed Kurilin. "It's no use to hunt for Vegeta on Earth, since the aliens came all this way to get his attention. Hell, we don't know where they took him after they disappeared into that dark oval."

Bulma clasped Trunks' hand into hers. "So what do we do now?" She refused to give up hope. "We have to do something; Vegeta may be in trouble."

Gohan turned to his father with a considering look on his face. "How far can you find someone using your Shunkan Idou?"

Goku frowned. "I don't know. Honestly, the furthest I've tested it has been to King Kai's planet. I haven't pushed it any farther than that."

Gohan nodded. "Why don't you try to see how far you can search using your technique? You can go to King Kai's planet and see if you can track Vegeta. I'm sure that with King Kai you'll be able to stretch the technique further."

"Okay," smiled Goku. He put two fingers to his head and concentrated on King Kai. Waving, to his gathered friends, he disappeared.

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Vegeta sat in his room meditating. He was unaware of the attempt to locate him. As a matter of fact he was unaware of several things. His mind was still not clear to him. It was almost as if his past experiences had been locked away. The constant searching and not finding was wearing on his already frayed patience. It was an unvarying battle not to scream in frustration and throw a tantrum like a spoiled child.

Vegeta turned his mind from his locked memories toward ones that were readily available to him. They were the memories his brother Zeric provided for him. Memories of a life his body didn't remember. His mind was temporarily in disarray, but his body was suffering no ill effects from his supposed crash. When he shook hands with Zeric and Zanik it was as if he was touching them for the first time. His body wasn't familiar with his brother or servant.

His younger brother Prince Zeric, crown prince of the Zu'un race, the simple thought caused his stomach to twist. Always an unforeseen hatred arose in him when he thought of this brother. But he didn't understand the hatred. Was it because he formerly thought the throne should pass to him? Did he hate his younger sibling for being next in line for the throne because he was pure of race, while he had been adopted into the Zu'un race? He would have to think on that line more as felt his way around the empire. Zeric was hiding something else from him. He just had to figure out what was what.

Vegeta opened his eyes and surveyed the room with its sparse décor functional furniture--even the room was wrong. Everything was wrong to him. He shut his eyes for a second time, maybe if he focused on his conversation with Zeric he'd remember.

It was all he had…

….for now.

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Prince Zeric looked into the clouded eyes of Vegeta. His little plan was turning out better than he expected. Vegeta's warrior strength and instincts were still intact. Their main obstacles of his memories were sealed away; he smiled and began the task of placing new memories in Vegeta's head. "Vegeta, I could be of some service to you if you allow it. I hate to see the distress that you are in."

Vegeta glanced at the individual in his quarters. He offered his aid to the lost prince. "I would like to know more about me. I would like to know why I believe I was on a planet and not on a ship. I would also ask you to address the burning pain in my head."

Zeric conjured up a sympathetic smile. "At least you ask questions I can answer. I can only hope my answers will be sufficient for the questions you are haunted with." Zeric sat in the plush chair next to the bed. "You disappeared on a scouting mission. We received a mayday from a nearby planet. However, it was a trap brilliantly laid by our enemies the Theoric. You were marooned on the planet for several months, before we were able to rescue you."

"Why did you have a problem rescuing me sooner?"

Zeric frowned. "This is hard and I hate to provide you more information than you are ready to handle."

Vegeta waved away his objections. "Continue Zeric; hold nothing back as I'm prepared to handle all kinds of information."

Zeric nodded. "I hate to say this to you Vegeta, but your companion Yaeun was ambushed and killed when she tried to rescue you. I'm so sorry to say this to you brother. I know how much you deeply cared for her, and she for you."

Vegeta flinched and clutched a hand over his heart. He felt some pain at the words, but it was more the feeling of loss of the companion. The name didn't stir any emotional feeling, however, to know that he had loss something so close to him…It was as if he was sympathizing with himself. "Please continue."

"Yes, well, after that we were engaged in several petite wars, before our Father thought of an ingenious way for me to rescue you, while keeping the attention away from my ship."

"You risked a lot for someone, who isn't truly your brother," murmured Vegeta, studying the man who called himself his younger brother.

Zeric let out a growl of outrage and spoke with contempt. "You are my brother, Vegeta, we may not be of the same flesh, but we are brothers." Zeric stood up; his agitation apparent. He stalked to the door, in anger he slammed his hand on the release button. "I would have risked much more than my life to save you." He left the room in a dramatic flair, softly smiling to himself.

Vegeta sat on his bed stunned.

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Vegeta opened his eyes as a repeated knock sounded at his door. "Enter," he commanded to the interruption.

Zanik stepped through the door opening and bowed. "Prince Vegeta, I've come to escort you to the medic, Zucha, he is going to check you over for any remaining injuries."

"I thought I was thoroughly checked when I brought on the ship?" Vegeta moved from the middle of the floor to regard unwanted intrusion in his chambers. "Why must I go again?"

Zanik grimaced. He wished no part of what Zeric and Zucha was doing with the Saiyajin's memories, but his planet badly needed aid. "Some injuries take awhile to manifest themselves. He is just doing a final check-up on your personage."

"I don't believe you, Zanik," said Vegeta candidly. "You speak like a well-trained soldier, but your eyes give too much of your emotions away. That is something we will have to work with, if you are going to continue to serve as the captain of the guard."

"My--My Lord," stammered the soldier. "What do you mean? I only relayed the information that Zucha required of me." Had the saiyan prince regained his memories?

Vegeta stopped tying his coat and smiled at Zanik. "As I said you are a loyal and well-trained soldier, but you need help." He finished dressing. "I know something is amiss, but I don't know what. Something in my life has changed, however, since I don't know what has changed I will follow this new path--until the truth reveals itself to me."

Zanik regarded the prince under heavily hooded eyes. He had a new found respect for the prince. "Sometimes, seekers of the truth oft learn more than they wished."

Vegeta stopped at the door and turned back. "Truth is never a pleasant feeling; a lie is more comfortable. Likewise, both can get you killed, but a lie gets you killed quicker."

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The Saiyajin prince lay unconscious on the medic table. They were doing some head trauma scans on him--at least that is what they told him they were doing. He had severe doubts, but he couldn't voice them least he alert them, Zeric and Zucha, to his suspicious feelings. Although, he'd already divulged his misgivings to Zanik, but he knew warrior to warrior that Zanik would not speak of their conversations to anyone else. Therefore, he had to maintain some kind of outward calm, so he could continue his part of this masquerade that have put him before him.

"So, why did we call Vegeta back to the medic chamber?" questioned Zeric as he walked around the medical room idly picking up objects and setting them down.

Zucha narrowed his eyes at the young princes' roaming hands. "There is a slight glitch in our program, but nothing I can't handle." He moved his hands quickly over his medical terminal and recalling Vegeta's memories. "Now, pay attention young prince. We were able to erase Vegeta's memories in the beginning with ease. However, when he was sleeping the other night my monitor picked up a disturbance in his cerebral cortex-this." The head medic brought up an image of the Prince's memories being reconstructed.

Zeric leaned closer to the foreign prince completely in awe as the metallic orbs struggled to realign themselves into their original spherical shape. He glanced at his head medical technician, "I thought we successfully erased Vegeta's memories. Why are they currently reconstructing themselves? This will seriously hamper my father's plan and our chances for victory if Vegeta regains his memories before he defeats the Theoric."

"I know, I know, Prince Zeric," said Zucha as he ran his gnarled fingers deftly over more buttons on his medic-console bringing up the memory of Bulma. "It seems that the erasure did work; however, this picture of the blue hair female has completely reconstructed itself and is causing a chain reaction among the other destroyed memories to realign themselves, too."

"So, basically the memories are remembering themselves," said Zeric. "Now, I want to know how you are going to correct this new crisis. I do not want anything to ruin my father's plan. My father has suffered too much because of this war and I refuse to hand him another defeat. We need to win this war against the Theoric and to do so the power of Prince Vegeta is required." Zeric arched a highbrow at his medic waiting for an answer.

Zucha mumbled and grouched under his breath as he moved around the room. "The other memories are still officially erased, but that blue hair one will not be so easy to erase, your highness. I'm going to have to try a new technique with that memory." Without waiting for his prince's acquiescence the medic moved with superb agility--belying his age--around the opulent tech center. Muttering curses as he went, Zucha finally stopped and let out an evil smile. "This should work perfectly."

Zeric leaned over the shoulder of his medic and glanced at the gnarled fingers transmit unknown binomial coding to the unconscious foreign prince. "What are you doing?"

"I'm placing a mental barrier over that memory. I can't deconstruct this image of her from his memory. Either Vegeta is refusing to have her memory erased or the memory is refusing the erasure process." Zucha moved to the other side of his medical terminal. "Stupid machine, I need my laboratory not some half-ass infirmary on a ship." Zucha sighed and continued to grumble. "Finally, something works around here." The medic pushed one final button before glancing at Zeric. "Your weapon is ready. He'll probably need one more check-up when we get on planet but otherwise he should be fine."

Zeric stared at the Saiyajin prince then he turned his attention to his medic. "Explain to what you did, so I understand this new process and can adequately explain to my father should he ask."

"Fine," said Zucha. "After noticing the reconstruction of the memories, I tried to break the memory ball of the female--like I did before. However, my attempts were futile as something impeded my efforts. Then I got frustrated and decided to throw a "towel" over the picture to cover it up and halt the regeneration of his memories. Now, his memories are gone and the ones he is generating are those from his time on this ship."

Prince Zeric gave the medic a bland smile. "With all the technology at your finger tips the best you could do was throw a towel over the memory?!" Zeric pinched his nose as he shook his head in disbelief. "Will the towel fall off?"

Zucha shook his head. "The towel is compressed of memorial residue and will engulf her memory ball. Also, since the prince's own mental barriers are constructing around her, I added an extra input and disguised it as a direct order from the prince himself to let nothing penetrate that orb. Meaning Vegeta's mental barrier will defend against even him wanting to see what's inside the orb."

"If you made the order from Vegeta's brain wouldn't the mental barrier break upon his command?" asked Zeric.

"No, because I made the order using Vegeta's original mind that held all his memories. If he tries to break that barrier with his new mind that we are creating for him then it will defend itself--most likely causing nightmares, headaches, and insomnia."

"So, Vegeta has two minds now?" questioned the Prince.

Zucha shook his head. "No, he has one mind, but two personalities: the personality we created and his original personality.

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Goku landed on top of King Kai's monkey with a noticeable crunch which was followed up with heart-felt whack to the back of his head courtesy of his mentor's bee friend.

"Sorry, King Kai," said Goku as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't mean to hurt your friends. I'm trying to locate Vegeta. Can you help me? I won't even ask for food this time."

The blue god looked at Goku and considered his former pupil. For Goku to promise not to ask for food meant the crisis was indeed urgent. "What happened Goku? I haven't been monitoring Earth these last few weeks."

"To tell you the truth, King Kai, I'm not exactly sure what happened myself," Goku stared off into the horizon trying to explain the strange occurrences. "So you see Bra was returned, but now we are missing Vegeta. And you know how strong Vegeta is so it must have been someone really strong that got him."

"You said the Earth was attacked by a demon child and elf-like creatures?" asked King Kai walking to stand next to Goku.

"Yeah, it was really weird the way it was planned," replied Goku. "We're trying to figure out where Vegeta is and if he's dead or not. I hope with your help between the two of us we should be able to locate Vegeta."

"Okay, kneel in front of me," said King Kai his usual joking-self set-aside for the immediate present. "Concentrate on Vegeta's ki." King placed his hands on Goku's shoulders and together they searched the galaxy for Vegeta.

With the help of King Kai, Goku was able to see the planets under the guardianship of King Kai, while looking for his prince's ki. But he felt nothing that was Vegeta. The arrogant little prince was not in the Western Kai's area.

King Kai took his hands away from Goku's shoulders. "I did not see Vegeta anywhere. I'll see if he is dead." The kai closed his eyes, while he placed his long distant telepathy call to King Enma and a few others.

Goku waited patiently while King Kai made his connections. He was getting hungry, but his stomach was going to have to wait. Why Vegeta? Why would someone go to such lengths to get Vegeta? And why just Vegeta? Why not any of the others on the Earth Defense Squad? Vegeta didn't know the being that they met on the beach, but the being knew Vegeta. How? Goku sighed. Too many questions and not enough answers. He should have insisted on going with Vegeta...he should have!

King Kai turned to Goku and placed a hand on the young Saiyan's back. He shook his head. "I contacted some other Kai's and haven't seen a Saiyajin in their sectors. However, King Enma has not taken possession of Vegeta's soul. So Vegeta is still alive."

"If Vegeta is still alive why can't he be reached and where is he?" demanded Goku.

King Kai shook his head.

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Back on Earth Son Goku looked into his oldest friend's eyes and cursed silently. "I am so sorry Bulma-san, I couldn't find Vegeta."

Bulma's heart sank. "Is he dead?"

"No, but neither King Kai or I could locate Vegeta or find any trace of him. It's like he has been erased."

Bulma fainted to the ground.

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End Ch. 5. Created [01/01/03] and Finished [07/08/04]. Please send all comments and question to me at pmchivas@hotmail.com Dark Shadow Princess.

Harebrained Annotations:

If you feel like I've cheated you with this chapter then you will be correct for it was cut short and for good reason, too. The other stuff that I was planning on for this chapter I decided to leave out, as I don't believe they are really needed for now.