Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Darkness Within ❯ Kiss of Darkness ( Chapter 3 )

Author: Dark Serapha

email: Mononokehime@gmx.net

Archive: Yes, but always ask first!

Warnings: angst, angst... and... umm... angst? *gg okay, there's also some (poor) attempt at humour and slight voyeurism

This is Yaoi. Male x male love. If you don't like it, why the hell have you red it so far?!?! Baka!

Did I mention that this story contains almost every possible spoiler..?

A/N

Thanks to my lovely translator Azurite, and to Rogue who did the grammar and spell-checking for this chapter! I luv ya both!

Dedicated to Azurite, Rogue and Talon Sage. You rock! Always defend the dream… Yaoi forever!

Disclaimer: So I don't own them. No reason for you to laugh! I can still do my worst.. *evil grin

The Darkness Within

Part 3: "Kiss of Darkness"

Vejita awoke. He didn't feel Kakarott's presence near him anymore. His ki signature was a fair distance away and Vejita registered with satisfaction that he obviously had gone home.

But why the hell did I fall asleep in the first place?

The thought shot straight through his mind. It was really strange, but near Kakarott his vigilance seemed almost lulled.

He wouldn't know the ki-hypnosis, would he?

No, impossible, this was a way too advanced technique that no low class warrior could possibly master, least of all such an untrained telepath like the earth-grown Saiyajin. Nevertheless, Vejita would have preferred this explanation to every other, because that would imply that maybe … he trusted the younger Saiyajin. He dared not trust anyone, that was absolutely out of question! Trust would always be broken and betrayed, trust was weakness!

Vejita felt weird, like some things had happened lately, which he should definitely remember… He had a strange feeling on his lips and a spot on his pillow was wet, just as if he had been crying while asleep.

Oh, no, please! At least not in front of HIM!

Vejita shuddered and felt how the well-known darkness threatened to overwhelm him. When he gave in to that darkness, he was never able to remember what he had been doing afterwards, and he always felt strung out… It seemed to him as if unknown things lurked within, that watched him with derisive eyes, as if a shadow was creeping around his conscious part of mind, searching for an entrance, and as if this shadow had a hissing voice which made fun of him mercilessly. Once the darkness had overcome him while he was in the middle of a sparring match with Trunks… He had regained his senses when they were leaving the sparring ground, and Trunks had looked at him in a peculiar way, and he had been injured more critically than usual… Vejita hadn't wanted to think about it then - what if I had…my son…by mistake …- nor did he want now.

Vejita heard a door close downstairs and knew Trunks had returned. Bulma's parents were currently on a holiday by the sea for three weeks and wouldn't be back before two or three days. Vejita was still feeling exhausted. Morose, he decided to take a shower and then examine his injuries.

Steam was still rising from his body from the hot water as he eyed himself in the mirror. He had been under the shower for an unusually long time, because he had felt dirty in a way which couldn't be cleaned off so easily. Of course, this did not bring back memories of the long frantic showers of a child which was trying to clean something from the numerous claw marks covering his body, something which would just not wash away.

Nope, none of that childish humbug, not in the least bit…Yeah. Certainly. Everything is under control. Confidently he looked at himself through the mirror, his arms folded in front of his muscular chest, most of the superficial wounds already closed and healing.

It never would have crossed Vejita's mind to smile at his reflection. As much as he trained and groomed his body, this was not an action of vanity. Much more, he treated his body like he would treat a precious sword, always freshly sharpened and polished. Vejita's body was his weapon, the last barrier, the only thing he could depend on in the end. His body wouldn't disappoint his expectations. And yet… every time he was fighting Kakarott, his body refused to obey. Like today… he had fallen - goddamn - unconscious, like a boy attending the first blood rite! Things like this always happened with Kakarott. Maybe this was the reason why he was fighting against him so grimly, because it was also a fight against himself.

Clothed only in loose training pants, Vejita walked into the homely kitchen of the extensive complex of rooms which was the Capsule Corporation.

Trunks was nowhere to be seen. Vejita almost sighed. He guessed that he had to solve the issue with the boy. It was… inconvenient, when they had a major quarrel going on.

Shortly before the final fight with Boo, Vejita tried to concentrate all of his energy. He knew that he would most likely sacrifice himself, that he could not survive this battle, that he did not even want to. All the pain might finally end… Strangely enough he had come to peace with the world which he hoped to save, and now he was waiting for the demon to arrive at the battle ground he had chosen, suddenly a small voice called out his name. Then he saw his son, a child of barely eight years, running towards him, accompanied as always by his best friend Son-Goten, Kakarott's youngest whelp. Before Vejita had gotten over his initial surprise - where did Trunks come from? He had thought him safe with his mother! - the boy clung to Vejita with all the strength a child fearing to lose his father could muster. Frowning, Vejita looked down at the lavender hair which was so very unlike his own, and he felt that the boy was shivering very slightly. Vejita could not recall trying anything like this with his father, Vejiita-no-ou. Obviously, he had spoiled the brat… Vejita felt Boo nearing with every second and fear - real, true fear! - coursed through him as he thought that the demon would hurt his son if he found him here. Frantically he thought it over while Trunks glanced up at his father with a trusting smile on his face, just like he wanted to say: "As long as I'm with my father, nothing can happen to me - my father is the strongest in the world!" This look touched Vejita deeply. He still wanted to tell his son so much, but time was slipping away. Maybe he would never see him again. Vejita knelt down and took his son by the shoulders: "Trunks… never forget that I am your father, that we're both Saiyajin, spawns of the best warriors in space and that I am proud of you. Look after your mother. I lo… umm… grow strong, my son." He saw the understanding grow on the childish face, the horror and the grief blooming in the imploring eyes, and before he could decide against it, he dealt a blow to his son's temple as carefully as he could. Trunks doubled over, sagged and lay motionless at his feet. Vejita's heart constricted for a moment - but it was better this way. Goten began to cry and to yell that he wasn't allowed to hurt Trunks, and Vejita silenced him with a blow into his stomach. Taking into account that Goten was Kakarott's son, he tried to not hurt the child more than necessary. Then he gestured at Piccolo who had watched the scene from a distance. The Namek's alien eyes lay on Vejita with an unreadable expression, then he nodded once as a sign for understanding, seized both children, placed them over his shoulders and flew away without words and without turning back. Unconsciously Trunks was carried away and he didn't see his father die way back then and there…

Vejita finished his small dinner, which had consisted of six portions of curry, five portions of ramen and other small things, and leaned back. The day left a bad aftertaste, even more so every time he thought it through. Something had happened while he was out cold, he could just feel that. He would have to pay Kakarott a visit tomorrow and try to get the truth out of him. This uncertainty gnawed on Vejita's confidence. He felt extremely uncomfortable when he wasn't in control of the situation.

For some time now he had felt the ki signature of Trunks, who was leaning at the door-case and watching him from under his long lavender tresses which hung in his face. Vejita acknowledged his son's presence and he entered the kitchen. He went straight to the fridge and vanished inside of it almost to the waist, searching for something suitable for dinner. Like all human-saiyan-crossbreeds Trunks had inherited the appetite from his father, even if he was not that difficult to sate. Vejita watched him with crossed arms as he balanced a big baguette and one more pot with ramen to the table and began to eat hungrily. Both of them did not say a word.

Vejita noticed the weariness in his son's face and the hard quality of his mouth which had never been visible so plainly.

"When did he become so bitter?", he thought.

After Bulma's death? Or already before? After his mother's death their relation had definitely worsened. Vejita's thoughts stopped as he glanced up and found his son's gaze on him, with a passion that could harbour hatred as well as love. The look in his eyes was so hungry, and that wasn't because the baguette and the ramen hadn't sated his appetite.

"What's the matter with you? First this conflict with Trunks and now that. You are so cold to him, Vejita…"

Vejita knew that his son needed something he could not give him, could not show him.

Understanding.

Love.

Apart from the sparring he had never taken part in the boy's life, always left all of that to Bulma. And when she had died, he indeed had taken care of Trunks' physical needs, but he had never been able to talk to his son about all that had happened or to share his emotions. To Vejita all of this was not new, to be accurate he saw it all too clear, but it was still impossible for him to give up the impermeable wall, built during decades and to take a step towards his son. Not even for Trunks could he give up his coldness, his most effective protection. Over the years, Vejita had seen his son despair over this, and he was sure that the love and admiration Trunks might once have held for him, meanwhile had changed into disappointment and maybe even hatred.

He had not the slightest idea of how his son's life was going and he didn't ask. Trunks was almost grown up and had already for a long time been on his own in all the things which extended the vital topics and the sparring. Vejita didn't see anything weird in this, as he descended from a race who sent even small children to other planets on their own and to complete their mission - usually to rid the planet of its population. Maybe he would never have pondered about this if he had not ended up on this strange planet named Earth, where the parents still watched over their children even if they were already adult and where love and affection were supposed to build the basics for education. He had seen how Bulma had treated their son and he had seen how Kakarott and Kuririn and later Son Gohan did with their children. It had not passed by him unnoticed. Even if he thought many rites and sentimentalities to be absolutely useless, he still had caught himself wishing that he had felt something like that for himself when he was a child - having been able to talk like this with his father or having been comforted once. These fits where short and when he realized them, he suppressed them immediately, but still… It had been enough to let him realize how bad his relationship with Trunks was. And from time to time, deep inside, a sting of regret would fill him. Suddenly he asked:

"How was the performance?"

"What?!?" Trunks looked at him utterly baffled and this unbelieving amazement gave Vejita another sting.

Argh. There it is again. Weakness!

"Well, you did have something at school today, didn't you?" he muttered, actually unwilling to continue the conversation but as always too proud to draw back.

Trunks still looked at him slightly irritated, then lowered his head quickly so that his hair covered his eyes and said:

"It went well. Everyone was impressed."

Vejita tried to remember what the boy had been doing today. He knew that Trunks had tried to tell him not so long ago. He had been very excited and he had tried to convince Vejita to show up to the event. Vejita had asked him if it had to do anything with fighting, this … umm… "Romeo and Juliet", now he remembered, and as Trunks had tried to explain it to him, he had not even listened to the chattering boy anymore.

"So… did Romeo win against Juliet in the end?", Vejita asked just to be able to say something. It only baffled him more as Trunks first looked at him strangely, and then suddenly and unexpectedly broke into loud laughter. It had a somehow shrill, hysterical undertone, but at least he laughed and somehow, this relieved Vejita.

Trunks wiped a few tears from his eyes and visibly struggled to calm down.

"But tousan, Romeo and Juliet don't fight against each other. They are lovers! It's a very tragic love story by William Shakespeare. They both die in the end."

"Both die? But that's quite a waste, isn't it? Then they couldn't have been very strong. Who kills them?"

Trunks grinned.

"Nobody. Well, not directly, anyways. It's about an intrigue between their families, and in the end Romeo believes that Juliet has died and kills himself. But Juliet was not really dead and as she sees Romeo lying at her feet, deceased, her heart breaks and she kills herself too."

Vejita didn't really understand this weird story.

"She was dead and then again she was not? Did this Shaakspier-guy have dragonballs, too?"

Now Trunks couldn't hold back. Helplessly he broke down, laughing so hard that he almost fell under the table. Vejita looked at him darkly. The question really hadn't been that stupid! He decided to change the topic.

"And whom did you play?"

Trunks calmed down and proudly puffed out his chest.

"I played Romeo!"

"So you rather killed yourself, instead of taking your woman and get rid of her family when they were in your way?"

"Eh, yes, if you put it like that, but it was the part I had to play."

"Hrmmmpf", was Vejita's only comment. Strangely enough, Trunks didn't look offended by that. He rummaged around in his bags and finally found a videocube in it.

"One of my classmates taped the performance. Want to see?"

Vejita nodded. Trunks put the videocube into the recorder and pressed a button. The flatscreen flickered and the picture appeared. It was a heartbreaking love scene between Romeo and Juliet on a balcony. The pictures had been recorded from the audience and therefore were somewhat shaky, which was why Vejita could not recognize everything immediately.

"Who is that guy in the skirt pining for the girl?"

"Umm... that's Romeo... well, that's me.....!"

"What?!? My son wears skirts?"

"That's no skirt! That's a garment! People wore things like this in the past!"

"Don't give me that shit, fellow, I know a skirt when I see one! And tights! And a wig, damn! My son doesn't wear skirts and tights! Don't ever go near that Shaakspier-guy again! My son is no sissy!" Vejita shuddered at this thought, but simultaneously he watched Trunks carefully, hoping he hadn't spoiled everything again.

But Trunks didn't seem upset about his father's words, no, he kept smiling - SMILING! - on. Vejita was, he had to admit, indeed quite pleased. It was a good feeling to see Trunks smile.

Meanwhile Trunks thought inwardly that it had been a good decision not to tell his father that one suggestion had been to play it originally like in Shakespeare's time, where all roles, even the females, had been acted by men. He smiled as he recalled Son Goten's expression as someone suggested him for the role of Juliet…

Later in the evening they watched TV together. Vejita sat stiffly on the carpet, arms crossed as always, while Trunks slouched on the couch. He could sometimes feel curious and a bit helpless looks from his son on his back, just as if Trunks asked himself if his father had really changed his perception and how long this would last. And what could have been the cause.

Some days later - for a reason he chose to keep unknown, Vejita had hesitated to follow his first thought and visit Kakarott right the next morning - Discomfort? Or even fear?? Rubbish, what should he, the prince of all Saiyajin possibly fear?Ridiculous! - Vejita stood up before dawn and prepared to leave the house. He chose his clothing carefully. First he thought about wearing the jeans and the leather jacket he wore at most times, but then -

I can as well use the whole damn affair for a sparring session!

- he decided to wear his usual training outfit, the closely fitting dark blue pants and the dark blue shirt. But the gloves and the white boots he left out for good and still put on his black leather jacket while going, because it was still cold outside from the morning breeze.

Trunks was fast asleep, today his school lessons started off later, and a strange impulse had brought Vejita to leave him a note on the kitchen table. "I'm at Kakarott's for training", was written on it.

Vejita's and Trunks' relationship had visibly improved over the last days, and Vejita had noticed with satisfaction that the deep shadows around Trunks' eyes had faded a bit. He also smiled more often now.

Vejita was trying for a - even to himself - not really understandable reason, to keep his usual cold demeanour and his hotheadedness down a bit more, and to spend more time with his son. To his surprise he realized how similar Trunks was to him. Though he could see nothing in the boy's hobbies - he had inherited the inventor's spirit from his mother and permanently kept himself busy with technical devices or playing videogames - to his amazement Vejita found that he somehow enjoyed watching his son do whatever he was into at the moment or listening to him when he talked about school. Both trained more frequently together now again, and Vejita had gotten over his injuries from the fight against Kakarott completely and was at full strength again.

Vejita went outside, the sun had just risen and the sky was clear blue. The day promised to be nice. Vejita closed his eyes and breathed in deeply the scent of dewfall, humid soil, grass and trees. The shadows of the past seemed to back away from it all. Did he really want to know what had happened? Just now he actually felt pretty good… at his best, even… But - yes, he needed to know what had happened, only this way he could convince himself that everything was okay - as it should be.

Much slower than his usual speed, Vejita took off and flew conveniently in the direction of Kakarott's house. During the flight he let his eyes wander over the landscape and saw, for the first time after endless pondering of depressing thoughts, the beauty of this planet again. The last time he had noticed it like that had been shortly before Bulma… Vejita didn't want dark thoughts and so he shut this one off quickly. Nevertheless he could not avoid the strange feeling he got for a moment, almost something like pain accompanying the thought that his memory of Bulma was only connected with grief and darkness, though he would rather have recalled the good things, the light that she had been for him.

Soon he reached the house. He landed, went to the door and entered the house after a short knock. But he already knew Kakarott wasn't home. Instead, Son Goten glanced up sleepily from the kitchen table. He was just eating his breakfast, which consisted of ten muffins and a dozen of eggs, while he almost fell asleep over a book with the title "Practical Physics". Obviously he had an important test today and was not really prepared.

Smiling sleepily, he waved at Vejita. By experience he knew exactly why the older Saiyajin had come.

"He's in the mountains, at the waterfall, for morning training! You know the place?"

Vejita nodded, of course he would find Kakarott everywhere on this planet.

He turned and closed the door behind himself, leaving Son Goten to the cursed physics and an awful fate again.

He could already feel Kakarott's ki signature from far away like a beacon. The connection between them was as strong as it hadn't been for a long time, so strong that Vejita could already feel the other Saiyajin's emotions very clearly from this distance. Irritation…concern… and… guilt? What had happened to the younger one that he was in such emotional turmoil?

Vejita landed silently on the edge of a deep, long valley with steep cliffs, carefully suppressing his aura. Before talking to Kakarott, he wanted to know what had gotten him this upset and irritated. There wouldn't be a new danger coming for us, would there? The sun had just reached the bottom of the valley, where there was a huge waterfall. The river was rushing over the cliffs and fell to the earth in a wide glittering arc, where it drew together in a pond before continuing its way throughout the land. The valley was covered in surprisingly lush vegetation, nourished by the nearby water. Vejita shaded his eyes from the blinding sunlight and looked out for the other Saiyajin. Suddenly he discovered him, he was steadily swimming through the pond. Vejita narrowed his eyes. He could not make out any peril, nothing to explain the turmoil inside the younger saiyajin's emotions that he could feel even more clearly now.

Vejita already wanted to step out from behind the rock and give himself away, but he suddenly hesitated.

Son Goku swam to the other side of the pond, where a big, smoothly abraded rock lay just below the waterfall, and leaped onto it vigorously. Vejita saw he had been bathing nude. But that wasn't the reason he had hesitated… was it?

Oh my…

He watched as Son Goku stood on the rock straddle-legged for a secure foothold and let the waterfall rain upon his shoulders, his face upturned and his eyes closed.

Involuntarily, Vejita's falcon eyes wandered over the younger Saiyajin's muscular frame. Every detail suddenly seemed unnaturally sharp. Every perfectly chiselled muscle was conspicuously visible. Vejita's eyes slid from the marked chin, which was turned upwards relishing the rushing water, over the sinewy neck and broad shoulders and down his mighty torso. From time to time Son Goku moved slightly and the morning sun in combination with the falling water reflected glitteringly with the fine movements of his muscles. Against his will, Vejita's gaze slid further downwards, over the firm, muscle-covered stomach and the slender hips to…

Vejita trembled like under a strong currented impulse. Arousal coursed through him from his head to his toes, as he eyed the incredible body of the man standing down there so completely unguarded. At this very moment, he suddenly understood clearly that the wish to be equal to Kakarott, to finally beat him, to…dominate him - also spread on another level, and had been there all the time. Desire struck from behind, and the strength of the feeling almost swept him off his feet. He wanted this body, this strong spirit full of light, wanted them both for himself, wanted to possess them… and at the same time he wanted to belong to him, to do everything for him, if he only…

No…

Was this the reason, this secret desire, the reason for the numerous times he had been beaten by the other warrior? Was this his real weakness? Vejita almost couldn't keep himself down, the force of this realization and the contradiction within had scrambled his conception of the world so thoroughly in a mere second, that nothing remained in its old place.

No! Please no…

Terrified at his thoughts and yet almost against his will, Vejita tore his gaze free from this view and sagged against the rock he was hiding behind for a moment. His heart hammered, inexplicable to him, against his ribs in a steady staccato. He felt very warm. He moaned slightly. What were those strange feelings? They did have to be still the after-effects of his injuries, he was probably not fully recovered, he must have hit his head harder than he remembered…

How else could he explain looking at Kakarott THIS way?

It wasn't the fact that it was a man that bothered and terrified Vejita to the core. From his short childhood on Vejita-sei he still knew that the Saiyajin had no problems with same sex pairings. If it served pleasure, they gave themselves to each other, despite the partner's gender. It was actually common that a male Saiyajin lived in a more or less permanent relationship with one or more other men, and only dealt with women for reproduction and vice versa. Bisexuality was standard among the Saiyajin, because monogamy was seen as a hindrance for the aggressive potential of the race. The Saiyajin were a race of extremes, in everything they strived for the highest level, in battle as well as in sex and no morals and taboos should or could restrain them.

So that wasn't the reason for Vejita's unusually trembling knees and the way he suddenly felt weak. Rather, it was the fact that he was thinking such thoughts about the man whom Vejita hated most in the universe - or so he had thought once.

Most? Really? Wasn't there someone else? No…no…!

About someone who was ranked far beneath him and had yet humiliated him time after time, which made the whole thing even more impossible. It was Kakarott, dammit!

And additionally, he was feeling weak right now, a state which he absolutely hated. Just like he had felt weak in Bulma's presence…

These feelings threatened to break his control, and behind the barrier lurked a much deeper, older horror, an absolute fear of physical proximity and dependence, of the touch from someone else…something else…

Vejita found himself behind the rock again, panting heavily and pressing both hands to his temples. Rage about the unexpected weakness mingled with a strong pulling force which Vejita grumblingly acknowledged as desire. Four years had passed since the death of Bulma…

But on the other hand, Vejita acknowledged this longing as not only physical desire. Perhaps he had been feeling this all the time already, since they had met, and had unconsciously and habitually pushed it into that dark part of his soul where the lights of consciousness could never reach it. He had always felt a strong affinity towards the only other pureblood Saiyajin in the universe. Though he also could sometimes sense the feelings or even the thoughts of others, it was never like it was with Kakarott. Remotely, Vejita recalled his childhood on Vejita-sei. It had never been happy - but he had never been alone. There were always thousands of shielded but still strong energies which had surrounded him. A feeling he had never forgotten. This had highly contributed to the patriotism of the warrior race and ensured that they always returned to their people.

Later... later he had experienced a kind of loneliness so grim and cruel… Cut off from everything that could comfort his yearning soul… As if they had touched a flame, his thoughts shrank back, long time used to avoiding those parts of his memory.

His heartbeat hadn't calmed down, because every time it slowed, that picture popped up inside his head again - that magnificent body in the middle of crystal clear falling water - and he started to sweat again.

Vejita's mind raced. How should he behave? Just walk down there and act as if nothing had happened? He wanted to fight those feelings… fight against Kakarott… hurt the other, kill him, eliminate the source of his discomfort… one way or the other… demand his rights, he was the prince of the Saiyajin and it was his right to take what he liked, his birthright, to force him, cauterise that weakness inside him, singe it, hot-dark-dark, darkness… darkness…

The familiar darkness was near again, and Vejita had to concentrate very hard not to lose himself in it. With sheer impossible effort he took control of himself again,

Don't think about it…God, what am I doing…I cannot…must not…I'm feeling sick…

and his heartbeat calmed down slowly. Vejita fought a tough lonely battle against himself and the darkness behind that rock, but his control had always been outstanding and he won that battle. For now.

As he had set his mind into the usual numb coldness and rebuilt the barrier as good as possible, he stood up, dusted himself off and looked down into the valley.

Obviously, Kakarott had finished swimming, because he sprang back into the pond gracefully, swam back to the shore and went to a plain rock where he had discarded his clothing. The sight of the sun glistening on the wet body caused Vejita's control to crack dangerously once again, but by then Kakarott was already fully clothed. He wore his usual orange gi, adorned with blue shirt, wristbands and sash.

He roughly combed his hair with his fingers and then sat down on some old log to have the sun dry his body and to bask in her glorious rays. Vejita stood still for some more minutes, mainly to allow himself to regain his countenance, but also because he was somewhat frozen to the spot, staring. Finally he braced himself, emerged from behind the rock and seized the suppression of his aura. At once Son Goku's head snapped up, his eyes became mere slits, then he blinked and stared at Vejita with something akin to - awkwardness or even embarrassment, as if he had been caught doing something private. Vejita frowned - who caught whom here? - and furthermore descended floatingly down towards his prey, arms folded and smiling as sardonically as he could muster.

Son Goku felt the strong ki-signature immediately when it came to life like a flame in the night. Without hesitation he knew who that signature belonged to and he unwillingly started to blush. Feeling it so suddenly could only mean one thing - Vejita must have suppressed it before. And that could mean that the prince had been there for quite some time now, invisible to him. Frowning Goku tried to remember what he had been doing and his blush intensified, as he imagined Vejita secretly watching him from the shadows. The image alone was kind of... arousing to him, but one look at Vejitas scowling face cleared the haze and made him reconsider.

Why ever should he of all people want to watch me while I'm swimming?

What he needed now more than anything was a calm mind, because if he knew one thing, it was that the prince had not to shoot the breeze.

Actually he had dreaded this encounter much, much earlier. But that didn't help at all to prepare him for what he was yet to meet. His feelings considering the prince were more than confused and he was quite thankful towards the older Saiyajin for taking his time to come around - even if another part of him had longed to see Vejita again. But his intuition had clearly told him that Vejita would not simply forget about those incidents. He had spent days and nights on the single question if and how he should approach the prince concerning this matter. On the rare occasions that he found sleep he had terrible nightmares. In his dreams Vejita was running from something invisible yet dreadful. Sometimes the hidden stalker would wear a face and that was even worse - for it was Gokus own...

Vejita awkwardly touched down beside the log Goku was seated on. Goku held his breath. Vejita was wearing his usual tight spandex outfit, a black leather jacket thrown over casually. He radiated so much power, passion and some strange kind of animalistic sensuousness that Goku grew nauseous just by looking at him. He guessed that his link to Vejita might have some to do with the cause. Normally the adept telepath would block everything that could pass through their bond, but in moments of great distress something would leap through nevertheless. If Son Goku concentrated really hard when Vejitas shields were lowered like now, he was able to feel what the other felt. His intuition told him that Vejita was having a hard time controlling his temper. He wondered why exactly had the prince pissed off so royally.

It.. it wasn't what I did back then, was it..? Oh, I hope not…

He couldn't really be sure what the emotions he sensed were - it could be anything from rage to despair to grief. But he had a feeling that the strength of their bond had increased since his little journey into the nightmares of the saiyan prince. It was as if he had unintentionally crushed some scarcely closed door. If he just concentrated enough he could actually feel the pain… and the rage...

Oh my kami... he knows! He knows what I have done.. It can't be anything else... Does he know about my trip into his mind.. or even abut the other... thing... The... kiss...?

Vejita stood there, arms folded sternly, his endless onyx eyes, cold as the semi-precious stone they had the colour of, bore into Goku's, who could not withstand that particular glare. He had grown accustomed to various Vejita-glares over the years, but this one was... different. His cheeks were still faintly tinted red and his heart was pounding full force.

Vejita remained silent. After another awkward look he unexpectedly settled down beside Son Goku on the log. His silence was so disturbing that Goku even forgot about his fear of Vejita to have revealed what he had done and kept staring openly at the prince.

Again he recognized that inner flame burning bright behind those dark eyes. It was as if Vejita was consumed by those flames. His temper had always been a dangerous one, just like the determination with which he had set himself upon the task of surpassing Goku by challenging him again and again. It was that inner fire that kept Goku fascinated and even lured him towards Vejita like a child would be lured by a flame, thinking it to be a beautiful flower, waiting to be explored - and instinctively retreating, as it feels the heat. Torn apart between the longing to touch and the feeling of danger…

All his conscious thoughts, all his sorrows and feelings of guilt slowly ebbed away from him in this one moment in time when the two last Saiyajin were sitting side by side, almost at peace. Almost. Son Goku felt his heart tug painfully as he wished that the flame enlightening Vejitas fiery eyes would be his, would warm him instead of the icy glares he usually received from the cold prince.

If only.. if..

"You do know why I am here, don't you?"

Shocked to the core Son Goku desperately tried to regain his fake pose of calmness and answer the question without giving anything away. Yet he found it impossible to fake his usual cheerful naivety.

"Uh.. What do you mean?"

Vejita moved closer and looked Goku straight in the eye as if he wanted to cross examine him.

"Don't you dare! Don't play the fool with me again, Kakarot! I don't fall for it. You may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but you know - exactly - what I mean!"

Son Goku gulped and lowered his eyes. That hurt. He should by all means have been used to this sort of insults from his prince's sharp tongue - tongue... mouth... soft and warm... inviting… NO! Don't... think... of... that…, but today it seemed so much more difficult to deal with it. Worse than ever before. He drew a deep breath.

"I.. don't quite know what you are hinting at, Vejita…"

Vejita snarled.

"I "hint" as you so nicely put it, at what happened four days back, baka, what else! I don't know what has happened yet, but I feel that something is wrong! I feel it, shimata! And I want to know, what it is! So spill it out or else..

For a few moments Goku was feeling immensely relieved at the news that Vejita did not remember anything in detail.

He does not know! He… is not sure... I'm not doomed yet!

Vejitas glare however spoke of something else. The danger was not over yet.

"No.. nothing! I have no idea what you are talking about, Vejita! What happened was just that I miscalculated and hit you real bad. You went down and I took you back to Capsule Corps. That's all."

Vejita still came closer and gripped him by the collar. Goku wanted to retreat and yet he wanted to embrace the prince at the same time. His mind struggled between the two possibilities - a vicious circle he could not escape. Goku felt the last bit of self restraint go overboard as he overloaded due to the tornado in his mind. Vejitas very own scent tickled his nose. A wild animal mixed with the smell of the sea at a stormy day and even beneath those was a layer of scent that was purely Vejita - something different from anything else, that belonged to the prince like his fingerprint. The scent and Vejitas rough touch made him snap. His brains shut down, his body took over and instead of retreating he leaned forward and fully kissed Vejita on the lips while embracing him tightly.

In the first moments of that kiss he felt nothing but pure bliss from that gracious softness and sensuous warmth, he felt the feeling of the kiss vibrate through every nerve of his body. He basked in the feeling of completion as his whole body seemed to catch fire. Unconsciously his mind reached out and touched Vejitas mind in search for an answer. Vejita sad frozen. Goku opened his eyes, looking at him while hopefully, blindly reaching out for their bond at the same time. Then he saw those eyes widen in shock and he knew at once that he just made a terrible mistake.

Vejita was still trying to calm down, but the emotions whirling around inside him made him more aggressive towards Kakarott than he had intended. Unnerved of his elusions, his shifting, he seized the other's collar, willing to end this charade and force the baka to tell him the truth already, as he saw his eyes close suddenly and while he still wondered about that strange expression on the younger saiyajin's face, he was leaning towards Vejita and kissing him. Vejita froze and his wits left him. For a moment he only felt the touch of soft lips on his own and an unknown warmth flooded through him.

Then shock lashed through him as he realized, REALIZED, what had just happened, what was still happening.

What… how… how dare he! What the hell…?

A cold voice inside his mind laughed hissingly and spoke: "So you found a master to tame you again, princeling?"

Vejita had never been so close to another Saiyajin deliberately, and he had not foreseen the consequences of such a touch. Suddenly the telepathic thread between them was fully open and Vejita could see directly into Kakarott's unshielded mind. There, beneath layers of arousal, confusion and sympathy - he saw himself. He saw the pictures which Goku couldn't forget, felt the pain and the compassion, saw his past, Freezer, his own tremendous humiliation. Vejita turned pale as he tried to understand the whirling pictures in the other saiyajin's mind, but again and again he saw only himself, reflecting a thousand times like in a prism, caught, humiliated, helpless, bloody, abused. And his mind broke.

Vejita's self was flooded by shock and hatred so suddenly, that it whirled away, directly into the darkness which had been waiting for kami-knows-how-long for this one chance at the borders of his conscience. Vejita fell into a black abyss, pursued by hissing, derisive voices, with long forgotten pictures before his eyes. Everything he had edged out for such a long time now suddenly overflowed his perception, as if the kiss had opened a lock within him. His mind couldn't cope with this incredible burden and fled into the deepest depths of blackness to escape from itself. The darkness had taken over.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

His ki exploded while he was still imprisoned in Kakarott's embrace, and his hatred-filled, incredibly desperate scream was so loud that the sonic waves alone made the waterfall disperse to fog, and forced the river's water to flow upwards instead of downwards. His energy was so enormous that the whole valley exploded, chunks of rock big as houses were flying through the air and a crater with the diameter of several kilometres was all that was left.

And Vejita's energy was still increasing.

A kiss had awoken the sleeping prince - and along with that maybe sealed his and the world's fate.

End Part 3