Surviving Together: Retribution

Chapter 3 - Family Reunion

"Now if you are quite finished raping my ship, I would like to catch up with my mate," Radditz hissed the crude comment at Garock before spinning on his heel and heading off towards the castle that Vegeta and Bulma had disappeared into.

"Not so fast," the elder man insisted before dismissing the crew who had found nothing of suspicion onboard the craft. "I have a few questions that need to be answered first."

Raising his brow in an accusing manner, the bulky Saiya-jin asked, "And just what may those questions be?"

Crossing his arms in a similar style as his counterpart, Garock explained, "Vegeta perhaps showed little interest in your resurrection, but I am not so lax in my curiosity. I remember reading the report from the Garchian invasion; even Vegeta himself witnessed the ki beam that blasted you into oblivion. So, if you do not mind, I would enjoy hearing a more extensive explanation of how you survived such an assault." The low growl that reverberated from the man's throat was not lost on Garock as he quickly realized the topic was not one the man enjoyed speaking on. Fortunately, he answered regardless.

"As I told Vegeta earlier, the blast did not kill me, but I was severely disabled. Foolishly I had thought for some time one of my crewmates would come to my aid, but after two days of lying in a fungus infested swamp, I realized if I wanted to live, I had to take matters into my own hands. So, using what little energy I had left, I crawled to my keypad that had been thrown several meters away from my body after I crashed. It took me several hours of blood and sweat to pull my broken bones to the controller, but once I did I summoned my ship, and then, with my last breath of energy, dragged myself inside. I did not have the strength to punch in a course so I turned the ship on autopilot and then let it do all the thinking for me as I finally allowed myself to pass out from all the pain." He paused, seeing a burning question in his listener's eyes, he allowed him to speak.

"So you ran away, that is not a very Saiya-jin thing to do," the comment invoked an infuriated reaction from the spiky haired man as he was quick to defend.

"I had no other choice! And since Vegeta and Nappa seemed thoroughly uninterested in my state, I felt vindicated in my actions!" Once Garock recoiled from the larger man's angry response, he decided to briskly finish the rest of his story so he could be on his way to seeing his mate once more. "Anyway, it was not until months later that I awoke in the comfort of a bed, surrounded by an alien species that had been kind enough to care for me. I was fortunate that I, by sheer luck, landed on a planet of peaceful peoples, and once I was well again, I took back off to space, and as you can see, have done very well for myself in the past few years," he gestured to his ship as proof.

"Then you have given up the life of purging and universal domination to become a what? A space pirate?" The skepticism in the elder's voice was prominent; he knew there had to be more to the story.

"In a manner, yes," Radditz confirmed the truth with a repressed smirk. "Believe it or not, I am an impressive force in the western realms. I control much of the territory."

"Ah, I see, then you are here because you wish to make claim on Vegeta's region." Now the pieces were adding up, "And of course you wish to seek revenge as well since you seem very adamant about blaming Vegeta for your failure. Plus, judging by the appearance of your lovely mate, I would venture to guess you were also envious of Vegeta's affair with Bulma all those years ago, which is why you found yourself drawn to a female who is nearly her replica."

Shrugging complacently the husky male confessed, "I will not lie, I do hold some aversion to my former prince, and obviously no red-blooded man could deny that Vegeta's former whore was quite a piece of ass, but I have no desire to claim Vegeta's holdings. I mean, after all, how could a low class Saiya-jin ever dream to match up against the great Super Saiya-jin prince?" Finishing the question with a laugh, Radditz felt he had no further need to speak on the subject of his past. "Now if you do not mind, my mate has been stolen by your emperor, so if you would so kindly guide me to her." He stepped aside to allow room for the man who held a better understanding of the grounds to guide him. Bulma had been in the presence of her former lover for much too long. It was more than time to put an end to it, and begin his plot to destroy his rival.

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"What's wrong?" Bulma asked of her unknowing mate as she witnessed him nervously stop their journey outside of two massive doors.

Taking several long breaths, Vegeta turned back to the woman who was the spitting image of his lost mate, and quietly explained, "Nothing is wrong, per say, I just think it would be wise to warn you before you go in that-"

"Dad, what took you so long?" Trunks managed to complete the question as he threw open the doors, Vegeta's ki having already alerted him of his father's presence. Stopping dead in his tracks, he raised an eyebrow as his narrowed line of vision took in the sight before him, "what are you doing with a baby in your arms?"

The young female in question began to giggle, as she seemed to focus her eyes on her brother, reaching an arm towards him, it almost appeared as though she was waving to him gleefully. "She's my daughter," the oblivious female forced the boy's attention upon herself as she tried to explain. "I know this must seem strange but, I am-"

"Mom!!" Trunks cried as he instinctively tackled the woman to the ground in a tight bear hug. Tears began to fill his eyes as he buried his face against her chest. "You're back!! I can't believe it!!" Too thrilled by the news to care about rational explanations, the boy was also much too excited to notice the woman he embraced attempting to pull away from him.

"Boy!" Vegeta used a somewhat harsh tone to assure he would gain the child's attention, once he did, he ordered, "let her go."

As mother and son rose to their feet, a joint sense of confusion spread over the two, but for very different reasons. "Why does he think I am his mother?" Bulma asked somewhat nervously as she looked from son to father. Something was clearly being kept from her.

"What do you mean I 'think' you are my mother? I know you are!" Trunks informed the woman before turning back to his father for guidance, but the look upon the elder Saiya-jin's face sent a grave feeling of foreboding through him, "Dad?"

Silently walking over to the mother of the child he carried, Vegeta gently returned his daughter to her caretaker before apologizing, "I am sorry about this, but I will be more than happy to explain after I have spoken to my son."

Nodding compliantly, Bulma adjusted her daughter comfortably in her arms, and following Vegeta's guidance, headed into his private dining hall, leaving father and son to discuss what had just been witnessed.

"Why did you make Mom leave?" Trunks glanced from the closed door back towards his father.

Shaking his head, Vegeta placed a strong hand on his son's shoulder, slowly explaining, "your mother is dead, Trunks, you know that. You saw her after I returned from Cooler's ship, at the funeral, and when we," he paused, "and when we laid her to rest." The admission was more difficult for him to confess then he would have imagined. "The woman you just saw is named Atae. She is the mate of an old associate of mine, and will temporarily be staying on this planet. Now if that is going to be too difficult for you-"

"It's Mom," Trunks shook his father's hand away as he disagreed assuredly, "it looked like her, it smelled like her, it sounded like her, it felt like her, it is her! No two people can be that identical in this universe!"

"People do not just rise from the dead and take on new identities, Trunks," Vegeta spoke calmly. He understood the boy's desire for the impossibility to be a reality, but he could not allow the false hope to prevail. The consequences could parallel the original devastation felt upon his mate's loss. "Look," he sighed while slowly lowering himself to one knee, putting him just below his son's eyelevel. "I know this is strange, hell, I am having a hard time processing it myself, but a fact is a fact. Your mother is gone, and the woman you just saw merely bears a striking resemblance, so do not let your hopes build a false sense of security. Now tell me you understand."

Shaking his head Trunks crossed his arms as he nodded slowly. "I understand what you are trying to tell me, Dad, but I am not nuts. I saw Mom, I helped you bury her, I know what happened but," the young man blinked a few times before continuing, "look, I may not have all the answers but I know that was Mom. I am her son! Up until her death I spent nearly every waking minute with her, I would know if it was just some person that looked like her!"

"Trunks," Vegeta cut in a little less patiently as he rose to his feet, "I am her mate, do you not think I would know if it was her? Yes, I too feel a connection with her, but it is only because her appearance invokes old memories within me, as I am sure the same is occurring within you. Now I will only say one more time, your mother is gone. So when we go into the dining hall, you will be polite and respectful to the woman in there, but do not dare attempt to insist your fantasies upon her. Are we clear?"

After mumbling a "yes, Dad," Trunks stomped his way over to the massive doors and then threw them open to allow himself access. Once inside, he walked over to the dining table, and took a seat next to his mother and sister. "I am sorry about earlier," he first apologized before any questions could be asked about his seemingly strange behavior. "It is just that you look a lot like my mother, and in my stupid hope of seeing her ghost, I suppose, I tackled you. I am sorry."

Nodding quietly in limited understanding, Bulma ran her fingers briefly through the boy's hair, before raising his chin to look upon her. "It's all right. No harm was done. Your father told me her death was recent, but if I had any idea she looked similar to me-"

"Not similar," Trunks interrupted quickly, "exactly. You could be her twin-hey, what planet are you from?!"

"Trunks," Vegeta grunted the boy's name as he took a seat across from the group. "She came here to eat, not to be badgered with your questions." When the boy sunk away from his mother, and in his own seat, the emperor added, "Besides, your mother's planet was destroyed along with all its inhabitants. Even if she had had a twin, we would not be looking at her alive and well today."

"Way to rain on my parade," the half Saiya-jin muttered as he began to fill up his plate. It seemed none of his questions would be answered while his father was so dead set against learning the truth, a truth Trunks knew deep down in his heart. Deciding to take a more neutral route, the boy instead questioned, "so how old is your daughter?" he pointed to the blue haired girl, suddenly wondering what it would be like to have a little sister.

"Oh, um," Bulma stuttered as she lowered the spoon of soup she had been tasting prior to the men's entrance. The situation was awkward enough, remaining silent she estimated would only make matters worse. Bouncing the quieted girl upon her knee, she answered pensively, "almost two months". It is very exciting to be a new mother. Little Bra here is my first."

"Bra!?" Trunks spit the food he had rammed into his mouth out as soon as he heard the name. Glaring at his father, angered that this important fact had been kept from him, he then turned back to his mother. "You named you daughter Bra?" he wanted to reaffirm the fact, though already knowing he had heard right after seeing the irate look upon his father's face.

Blinking in confusion, Bulma hesitantly answered, "Yes, what is so strange about the name that everyone seems so up in arms about it?"

Jumping upon his chair, Trunks happily explained, "My Mom used to go by the name of 'Bra' on the planet we lived on before this one. She picked that name because she was always so fond of it. So much so, in fact, that she always told me if she ever had a daughter, she would name her 'Bra!'" Even Vegeta had been taken aback by the admission; he had no knowledge of his mate's fondness of the name. He had always assumed her selection of it was sheer arbitrary.

"Well that is some coincidence," Bulma responded nervously, she could think of no other response to the bizarre parallelism. Pulling her eyes from the young boy she quietly returned to eating her meal, hoping the subject would pass, and the Saiya-jins seated with her would let things be. Unfortunately, the youngest of the pair was having none of it.

"So, what planet are you from again?"

"Trunks!" Vegeta hissed more violently than before, the child seemed unable to follow simple directions. He would have further scolded the boy had the group not suddenly been enlarged by two people.

"Atae," Radditz called to his mate as he walked over and placed an elongated kiss upon her lips. "I hope you did not miss me too much," he boasted before taking a seat next to her, uninterested in receiving permission from his host.

Suppressing the growl Vegeta felt catching in his throat, he beckoned Garock to him so they could quickly compare notes. Once they briskly whispered their findings to one another, Garock took a seat across from Trunks.

"Who the hell are you?" the demi-Saiya-jin demanded rudely as he glared at the man acting much too cozy with his mother.

Shifting his gaze from Bulma to her son, Radditz forced himself to suppress a smirk as he looked upon his enemy's firstborn. "My, my, my, what a mouth you have. He sounds just like you, Vegeta, when you were a brat."

Raising his eyebrow, the young man turned to his father for guidance, "How does this guy know what you were like as a kid, Dad?"

Knitting his brows, Vegeta glared at his subordinate for being so brash with his intrusions, before turning back to his son. "Sitting across from you is a second class Saiya-jin named Radditz. He used to be on a squad with Nappa and I back when we worked for Freeza."

"Nappa, ne? How is the old man?" Radditz questioned with a tight smirk, fully aware that he had rudely prevented the half bread from questioning his father further. Intelligence had already told him the man was dead, but he had not received all the details of his former superior's demise.

"He's dead," Vegeta answered, allowing the interruption because it arose in him memories of his deceased beloved. With a half smile elevating his lips, he finished his explanation, "Bulma killed him." Though technically he had ensured the man's death, she had shown an impressive amount of courage against the brute, earning her sole credit.

A blusterous laugh filled the room as the burly man slammed his hand down on the table in mirth, "Bulma?" He nearly choked on the word as he held his stomach to control his cackling, "The weak earthling? She couldn't kill a foot soldier let alone an elite! You can't possibly expect me to believe that ludicrous-" his thought was swiftly cut short as one lavender haired son of the presumed dead woman sprang across the table and tackled the insulting man, effectively throttling him across the room with one swift rage invoked movement.

"Trunks, no, stop," Vegeta sarcastically made the command as he remained unworriedly seated, not in the least bit displeased when his son opted to ignore the suggestion. If he had not jumped across the table, Vegeta would be asphyxiating the life out of the disrespectful bastard himself.

"How dare you disgrace my mother! She was a stronger person than you could ever dream to be!" the young man bellowed as he threw a series of punches at the man. For some time he felt his blows were having the desired effect upon his victim, but his beliefs were brutally crushed when he felt his arms being stopped mid-punch by the larger man's tight grasp.

"Rule number one of Saiya-jin battle, boy, never attack unless you are sure you can win," the warning came with an almost sadistic smirk as the once second class Saiya-jin returned the boy's attack by pummeling him across the room.

Vegeta's quick reflexes prevented what would have been a dangerous assault as he sped across the room; just fast enough to catch his son before he could be sent through the wall. Once the dizzy boy was securely placed back on his feet, Vegeta turned his fury towards his fellow pure blood as he dematerialized and rematerialized to catch the elder man off guard, roughly slamming him against the wall. "How dare you come into my home, insult my mate and assault my son! I should kill you where you stand for such an outrage!"

"I'd like to see you try," the fast challenge was enough to ensure a bloody battle right in the middle of the dining hall, but fortunately the voice of reason seemed to squelch the fire.

"With all due respect, gentlemen, this is neither the time nor the place for such a display of Saiya-jin egotism, especially not in front of an innocent woman and her crying child." Garock's nod simultaneously twisted both Radditz and Vegeta's heads towards Bulma, who was gently bouncing her daughter against her chest, attempting to calm the clearly distressed child.

Forcing his anger to diminish, Vegeta released Radditz, though not before whispering that the battle was "far from over." Walking to the mirror image of his mate, the emperor was the first to apologize. "You will have to excuse my manners; I should not have acted so violently in the presence of an infant."

"Please do not apologize," Bulma's voice could be lowered as her daughter's wailing slowly lessened to silence. It was as if the child knew her father and brother were no longer in danger. "The only person who was out of line here was Radditz," she shot an ashamed glare towards her believed mate as she strolled past the former prince to quietly scold Radditz. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that the three other men in the room could all still hear her icy words even though they were a few decibels below normal, "How the hell dare you attack a child!" Those surrounding got the distinct impression she would have slapped the man along with her comment had she not have been holding Bra.

"That child attacked me first!" Radditz gritted his teeth to control his anger at her accusation. She may be his mate, but she had no right to publicly scold him for an action which was in his full right to take.

"He would not have attacked you if you had not insulted his mother," Bulma reminded wisely as she shifted her daughter to a more secure hold in her arms. She calmed her tone so as not to startle her daughter once more. "And even if his actions were unprovoked, you are a grown man who should have had the fortitude to control his anger."

"You do not know of which you speak," the burly man growled, hoping to finish the humiliating exchange as swiftly as possible. "The boy is Saiya-jin, not a weakling like that of your kind. Child Saiya-jins do not need the fierce maternal protection you falsely insist upon."

Blinking for several long moments, Bulma felt herself at a loss for words. She had never felt more afraid in her short recollection of life with the man. "I seriously hope you do not mean that." Her gaze lowered to her daughter then back to her false mate, "because if this is foreshadowing how you intend to treat our daughter then perhaps I should consider seeking out a new place of dwelling, since I sure as hell will not stand by idly as you implement such an apathetic philosophy of fathering."

Silence filled the room as the threat filtered through the minds of him who the comment was directed to and those individuals who were eavesdropping. It seemed her final words left a profound impression upon more than just the focus of her caution. "This is not the time, Atae." The brawny man took a menacing step closer to his mate, silencing any further comment on the matter. "Go to our room, we will finish this later," he ordered so quietly that both Vegeta and Trunks had strained to hear the command.

Bulma, for no other reason than to extract her daughter from the volatile situation, sidestepped her mate and headed for the exit at a sluggish speed, refusing to allow him the belief that he had intimidated her into leaving. Once nearly departed, she twisted back towards her hosts, offering abbreviated goodbyes before disappearing from the room with a grace that had commanded all male attention. "Make certain she is all right," Vegeta quietly ordered of his diplomatic liaison, who bowed obediently and immediately proceeded to follow after the female.

Following Garock's departure, Trunks stormed over to the lower level Saiya-jin and hissed warningly, "You may have caught me off guard with your slightly less than pathetic strength, but I am warning you, if you so much as make either of them unhappy again, I'll kill you myself!" Trunks poked the man in the stomach before proceeding with his own departure. He did not even have to look at his father to know the man wanted to have a 'private chat' with the bastard. He hoped it would be a long one.

Vegeta kept his arms tightly crossed as he glared at his subordinate. He had to admit a chill of excitement sped down his spine as he saw the blatant problems the couple shared. Radditz was never worthy of a proper mate, especially one that likened his own so much. He did not even have to be intimately acquainted with the woman to know she deserved better. He could only hope, for her sake of course, she would quickly learn so. "Your mate seems very wise; I can not imagine what she sees in you."

Gritting his teeth, Radditz attempted to compose himself. "What she sees in me is none of your damn business. In fact nothing about Atae is any of your business, so why don't you make the wise decision here and stay a healthy distance away from her. After all, I would hate to have to challenge you to a Kyousou Netoru. The foreboding threat was completely lost on Vegeta as he belted out a laugh of his own.

"You challenge me to a Kyousou Netoru? I dare say, man, you would be quite stupid to do so. It would serve only to gently place your lovely mate and daughter into my arms. So be very careful what bullheaded decisions you make, for they might just end up benefiting me," Vegeta tossed an empowered smirk towards the second class Saiya-jin as he began his descent towards the exit. Not bothering to turn his back towards the man, he casually threatened, "And do not ever lay a finger on my son again, because if you do, your mate and daughter will be left alone in the universe faster than you will have a chance to see my attack coming."

Clenching his fists, Radditz took several long deep breaths as he found himself left completely alone in the dining hall. 'Savor your false sense of superiority while you can, Vegeta, because once I reveal my true power, your son will not be the only one outclassed.'

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Translations: Kyousou - Competition or Contest

Netoru - To steal another's lover

Atae - Gift or Godsend

Author's Note: Oh… Sounds like Radditz has a plan. Is he really as strong as he thinks he is? Will he be a serious threat to Vegeta and Trunks? But more importantly, will Vegeta use this little incident of trouble in paradise between Bulma and Radditz to bring himself closer to his unknown mate? Find out next time…