Surviving Together: A New Legacy

Chapter 13 - The Plan

Upon entering his throne room, Vegeta found Garock pacing worriedly back and worth, as he knew he would. The unnerved man was trying desperately to make sense of the commotion.

"Sit down man, you are making me dizzy." Vegeta scolded as he walked past the timid man. The fact that Vegeta still sported Bulma and Nappa's blood did nothing to calm the advisor.

"S…sir." Garock stammered, the sight of the blood making his stomach churn. He bowed shakily before deciding to speak his mind. "With all due respect, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Vegeta growled. He didn't know how to respond so instead he walked to his throne and sat down with a tired sigh. "Are all of Nappa's associates dead?" Vegeta asked. He wanted confirmation that the local scum had been purged.

"Yes, sir. They… have been eliminated." Garock took a small breath before continuing, as he was never too comfortable with the idea of killing. "Your men fear you, sir. After the display in the training room, the executions you ordered, and the blood all over you… They think you have gone on a slaughtering rampage."

Vegeta massaged his temples tiredly as the man spoke. "Let them think what they want. It will do them well to fear me. Some fear has been grossly lacking around here. I will not run a planet where people dare to defy my laws!"

"Defy what laws, sir?" Garock asked, hoping the answer would provide a clue as to what happened.

"Send word to the science department that Bulma will not return to work until she chooses." Vegeta answered, ignoring the man's question.

"Bulma?" Garock repeated. "Who is Bulma?"

Vegeta paused, realizing that no one other than he knew her real name. "The woman from the science department."

"Bra." Garock corrected. "Has she taken ill?"

"Yes, you can say that." Vegeta brushed off any further questioning as he continued with business. "I want notification sent to all of my men; those from Merigh are to be as feared as the plague. If anyone so much as breathes on them wrong they will follow those who died today. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Garock nodded. "But I was hoping you could expla--"

"I want my private training facility converted into my new sleeping chambers." Vegeta continued issuing orders, completely ignoring Garock's questioning.

Garock stuttered in confusion. "Ar…Are you sure, sir? May I ask why you want the adjoining facility to your current sleeping chambers made into… ah… your new sleeping chambers?" He asked utterly baffled by the request.

"Because-" Vegeta grunted, as he hated defending his decisions. "The woman from Merigh and her son will be taking my current room."

Garock's jaw dropped as it took all his strength to keep his body from following. 'Perhaps he has lost his mind.' Garock was rather surprised by the protective manner the Emperor was displaying towards the woman and her child.

"But sir, that… Well… It's… your room. You've stayed there since you conquered the planet. Why are you passing it to this woman?"

"Since when do I justify myself to you Garock!?! You know my orders, now follow them!" Having no patience left, Vegeta roared as he flared his ki. He would put a stop to Garock's questioning and fast.

"Yes, sir. I'm sure you have your reasons." Garock decided that further questioning was not exactly a brilliant strategy.

Vegeta smirked as the man backed down. "I'm glad you understand. Now see that it's done."

"Yes, of course. Is there anything else sir?" Garock braced himself for another insane request.

"Yes," Vegeta said after a brief pause. "I want you to personally see to all of the woman's needs. Inform her of my permission to refrain from work for as long as she chooses, and tell her…" Vegeta paused taking a long breath.

"Tell her what, sir?" Garock noticed the hesitation in the man's voice; he dreaded to hear the next words.

"Tell her that Nappa's carcass is bleeding to death where she left him. If she wishes to finish him herself, it… it is her privilege. If she wishes to do nothing, so be it…his fate is her choice." His voice wavered a bit as he spoke.

Garock felt his heart suddenly stop. The generosity towards the woman, the unexplainable fury; it all suddenly made sense. 'I will not run a planet where people dare defy my laws!' Garock looked down in shame as he made all of the connections. "I will handle everything personally sir."

"Good," Vegeta said coldly as he dismissed the man. "And Garock, if you so much as breathe a word of what you know to anyone else…"

"You have my silence, sir." The man spoke honestly. He admired 'Bra' and couldn't imagine anyone hurting her. "I will take care of all you have asked of me." And with that final agreement he left to complete his tasks.

Once Garock left, Vegeta dropped his head into his palm. He breathed slowly trying to make sense of everything. In a matter of hours his past had become his present, leaving his future open to a plethora of possibilities. The woman, his woman, was alive. After all these years. But what does that mean? For all he knew she had long forgotten him, perhaps she wouldn't even want to see him. He knew he didn't want to see her. He feared his reaction. He feared wanting her.

Vegeta did not deal well with loss. He could be all-out selfish at times when he wanted something desperately. He feared what would happen if he confronted Bulma. He knew the temptation to take her and never release her would overwhelm him. For he knew the truth, she was the only woman who could make him feel…he wasn't even sure how to describe the feelings, but it was most definitely the pinnacle of pleasure.

She never treated him as 'Prince Vegeta' nor did she fear his power, but instead she cared for him, the being he was. With all his flaws she accepted him. No one had ever done that. Many had fallen for his strength, power, prestige, or dangerously handsome looks as he would all too arrogantly point out, but not her. She accepted him completely. She was the only one ever to do that for him. He imagined she'd be the only one.

Vegeta lifted his head as he rose from his throne and headed into his training facility. He figured a nice hot shower would help him calm his feelings. He thought perhaps the water would cleanse him of the blood and somehow help wash away the turmoil that plagued his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Trunks?" Bulma called after her almost soothing shower. She had never felt so dirty as she had just minutes ago. She mentally scolded herself as she refused to allow her mind to think about it. She had long ago learned to suppress her pain; blocking all the horrors out of her mind by acting as if they never happened. Her lips trembled slightly as she remembered where she learned the art of denial.

"Bulma?" A soft knock followed.

Instinctively, Bulma felt herself tense, before she recognized the voice. She relaxed slightly as she walked to the door and answered it.

"Durka," Bulma forced a smile as she stepped aside to allow the man to enter.

"You're a hard person to track down." He tried to sound innocent enough, as he wasn't sure how she would react to him. When she returned a contented look, he assumed he could continue. "How… are… you?" He gulped down the question, though he felt he had no right to ask at all.

Bulma sighed; she couldn't believe word had gotten around so fast. "I'm fine." She said quickly. "So who told you?"

Durka's head lowered in shame. "The Emperor said my fate is yours to choose. I failed to protect you… this is my fault. I will accept any punishment you see fit."

"Punishment?" Bulma couldn't believe what she was hearing. She slowly walked over to the man as she took his chin and forced him too look at her as a mother would a child. "This is not your fault. Look, I don't know why you feel that you had some obligation to protect me bu-"

"I did." He shook away from her grasp as if he was unworthy of it. "I was ordered to see to your safety. It was my j--"

"Ordered?" Bulma cut him off. "Who ordered it?"

"The Emperor. He ordered me to protect you until the completion of the project. Clearly, I failed him, and deserve punishment accordingly."

"Wait a second here Durka." Bulma stopped him immediately. "I don't now why his 'Highness' seems to be blaming you for this, but let me assure you this had nothing to do with you."

"Bu-"

"NO BUTS!" Bulma stopped him quickly. "Look, like I told my son, no one is at fault except the perpetrator. You should not feel guilty. You had no idea or any way of knowing what was happening." Bulma quickly continued as she saw Durka about to refute her argument. "Now… I'm a grown woman, and I'm fully healed. I intend to go on with life by treating this like nothing more than a nightmare." She sounded as though she was becoming more emotional. "So if you want to do me a favor, just drop it! I don't want to be looked upon as some helpless child who is nothing but a victim! I can take care of myself and I don't need to be pitied!"

Durka took a long breath before he wrapped his hand around the back of Bulma's head and pulled her small figure into his arms. "You don't have to be strong for me." He whispered as he felt the woman release the tears she had been suppressing since the moment he entered the room.

For a while, Bulma allowed herself the luxury to cry into his neck as she stood with her arms wrapped around Durka's torso. She was aware that Durka assumed she was crying because of the attempted rape. However, that was not the case. The trauma from Nappa's attack was something she had long ago learned to toughen herself against. No, she was weeping for the pain Nappa's words inflicted upon her. Hearing Nappa give voice to her suspicions made her feel Vegeta's loss all over again.

~*~*~

"You know nothing of what Vegeta and I shared, you never did."

"Is that so?" Nappa asked as he dematerialized and rematerialized directly in front of her. He grabbed her neck, pinning her to the wall. "You think I don't understand, huh? I understand perfectly well what that fool did for you. Getting you off the ship, to protect you! To bad it got him killed in the end." Nappa smirked. "Why yes, Freeza beat him to death right after you escaped. He spent hours pounding the life out of the boy. Freeza demanded to know where you both went, but the fool stayed quiet, so in a sense, you killed him!" Nappa roared.

~*~*~

Bulma's tears flowed faster as the words hit her as hard as the day she heard of Freeza's death. Even after hearing the news she had a hope that the man she had loved… still loved was alive, but now…now her hopes were shattered; leaving her to mourn her lost love once again. How cruel the fates to tell her like this.

"Bulma." She heard Durka speak softly, trying to console her.

Bulma sniffled as she pulled away from him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He wiped her tears with his thumb. "I'm glad you let it out."

"Yes." She forced a smile. "But, now I think I would rather get some sleep, so if you don't mind…"

Durka nodded in understanding before he turned to leave. "May I see you tomorrow?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course." Bulma tried to sound cheerful. "You still owe me dinner, remember?"

Durka nodded once again as he quietly left her alone to her thoughts.

As soon as he was gone, Bulma felt her knees give out. She placed her hands over her heart as she allowed her tears to return. "I would have waited an eternity for you, Vegeta." She whispered softly. "I will always love you." Bulma closed her eyes and for the first time in her life, allowed herself to truly mourn her lost love.

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"Hey! Watch where you're going." Trunks frowned as he crashed into the Emperors advisor.

"So sorry." The man apologized as he rose to his feet. "I didn't see you there… Trunks, isn't it?"

The boy nodded as he crossed his arms and eyed the man before him. "Garock, right?"

"Yes. I was on my way to see your mother."

"Oh?" Trunks asked suspiciously. "About what?"

"Just some things the Emperor wished me to address." Garock wasn't sure how much information the boy had so he kept his answer simple.

"Why isn't he addressing these things personally?" Trunks asked curiously. After all, up till now, the Emperor had taken care of his mother personally.

"He asked me to do it. The Emperor is a busy man. And he does have some damage control to run after today's events." Garock explained.

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "What damage control? I assumed he would have already killed the baldheaded freak."

Garock realized that Trunks, indeed, knew about the incident involving his mother and Nappa. "He did apparently." Garock felt a chill go down his spine at the thought. "But I was referring to the scene he caused in the training arena with Captain Durka."

"Durka?" Trunk's eyes widened with curiosity. "What happened between those two?"

"I believe the Emperor was displeased with how poorly the captain dealt with his duties regarding your mother. Apparently the Emperor ordered the captain to keep a close eye on your mother. He showed up at the training center and reprimanded the man for all to see. Many were scared to death. Your mother should feel honored; I've never seen the man so passionate about an issue in all his life."

"My mom is not an issue." Trunks clarified. "But she is lucky Emps and I arrived when we did. It was too close for comfort. I will not stand for a reoccurrence."

Trunks' determination impressed the man before him. "Yes, well I've been sent to assure your mother of that very fact.

"Oh?" Trunks said rather accusingly. "And just what are you promising her?"

"Just that word has been sent out that the Emperor will kill any who dare to look at the science wing the wrong way. After what happened today, I doubt a man on this planet will fail to take the Emperor seriously."

Trunks smiled lightly. "You know for a guy who has a reputation for being an asshole, he can be pretty nice when he wants to."

"He is an honorable man." Garock explained. "I have had the privilege of serving him these last ten years, and I can assure you that even though he may not be perfect, he follows a code that puts him far ahead of the rest. I have watched him progress over the years and I can say with all honestly that he has never done anything I'm ashamed of being a part of."

"Must be nice." Trunks thought. "To rule all this. Have all the power he does… Of course…" Trunks smirked as he wondered how to put his plan into action. "He must get awfully lonely."

"Lonely?" Garock thought a moment, having no idea where the child intended to go with this. "I suppose you are right, but I doubt he would see it that way. He doesn't let people get close to him."

"No?" Trunks frowned slightly. "Well, what if there was someone who he couldn't help but like?"

"Well, I suppose, if that were the cas-What?" Garock asked finally understanding the child's motives.

"Tell me something Garock, you know the Emperor pretty well, right?" Trunks asked.

"Ah… Well… I suppose. But I as-"

"So you would know if he had a wife or girlfriend or anything, right?" Trunks asked.

Garock stuttered. "Well… ah… Yes… I mean, No… Why are you asking-- "

"And he doesn't like guys, right?" Trunks ask, point blank.

Garock's pervious attempt to keep himself balanced failed. "What!?!? Where would you come up with such a question?"

Trunks shrugged. "The other day when I went searching for a training facility, I overheard some stuff. You know for a planet full of men, there sure is a lot of gossip going around."

"No." Garock argued defensively. "From what I know, the man does not… uh… swing that way." Garock coughed out, slightly embarrassed by the line of questioning.

"Good." Trunks smiled. "That will make things a lot easier."

Garock frowned at the child. "Look boy, I think I know where you are going with this, but I highly suggest--"

Trunks knew what Garock was about to say so he levitated to eye level with him. "Isn't it your job to do whatever the Emperor wants? You are supposed to make it so he is happy and doesn't go around killing people and stuff, right?"

Garock nodded reluctantly. "Yes, but I am not supposed t--"

"So, let's say you knew of something that he didn't ask for per se, but would be to his benefit--you would have to do that too, right?" Trunks smirked as he thought this was going to work out well.

"Well, I suppose, but if--"

"So, it's settled." Trunks smiled. "You will help me!"

"Oh please tell me you want me to help you with something other than what I think you're demanding." Garock moaned as he imagined the veins popping out of the Emperors head if he knew about this.

"Help me get my mom and the Emperor together!" Trunks unveiled his plan with pride. However the idea didn't sit too well with Garock.

"Trunks, are you insane!?" He shook his head. "If the Emperor found out I was tampering in his personal life--"

"He would probably be angry." Trunks understood completely, though it didn't have any real affect on his plan. "But look at it this way. You can help me and chance the Emperor's anger, OR…" Trunks paused as he grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him nose to nose. "You can suffer my anger right now… which sounds better?"

Garock gulped. He felt a chill go down his spine; the child could be almost as scary as the Emperor when he wanted to. "Alright." Garock backed away from the boy. "I'll help you. Just don't do that again."

"Good choice." Trunks smiled as the man agreed. "I can see why the Emperor keeps you around. You have practically no ki, which makes you easy to intimidate."

Garock scoffed as he straightened himself out. "I'll have you know, my telepathy makes up for my lack of ki." Garock said proudly.

"Telepathy?" Trunks raised an intrigued eyebrow. "You mean you can read thoughts and stuff?"

Garock nodded. "It's quite useful when dealing with interplanetary relations."

Trunks smirked. This new piece of information could be very useful. "So couldn't you just implant ideas in people's heads?"

"Forget it!" Garock stopped the boy before the wheels could spin any further. "That's dishonorable. Besides, no matter how much you threaten me I wouldn't dare go into the Emperor's mind. It would be much too intense, even for me. So think of something else. Preferably something that won't get me killed!"

"Alright." Trunks waved for the man to calm down. He crossed his arms and stood calmly thinking for a few minutes as Garock watched horrified, having no idea what might come out of the child's mouth next.

"I'VE GOT IT!" Trunks shouted in excitement.

"Oh I can't wait to hear." Garock said rather pessimistically.

Trunks glared at the man. He had no need for his negative attitude. "Trust me, it'll be good. You just have to do exactly as I say. Got it?"

Garock nodded begrudgingly before he poised himself to hear the 'brilliant' plan. "Alright, let me hear it."

And with that request, Trunks began to explain the master plan that would bring his unknowing parents right into each other's arms.

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Author's Note: Alright, so Trunks has a plan. Will Garock go along with it? Will it actually work? Or will Vegeta decide to show himself to his long lost love first? Hm? Don't know, I guess you will all have to wait to find out!