Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Spirit of Vegeta ❯ Journey to the Past ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters

 

Author's Notes: This is the sequel to “A Worse Punishment” you will not understand this story if you have not read it.

 

The Spirit of Vegeta

By: Nova Starlight

 

Part 1: Journey To The Past

 

As everyone filed into the time machine they were silent, filled with an interesting mix of emotions. Each of them was somewhere between nervousness and excitement, though each had their own reasons for being nervous. The controls lit up and power began to course through the craft. Bulma took the seat in front of the main controls and Trunks sat beside her. This forced Vincent and Trunks' wife Angelina to sit in the back seats and wonder in confusion what would happen next. “Hold on tight,” Bulma called out. “Trunks told me before that the ride can be a bit bumpy.” Then she activated the craft and it lifted slowly into the air, until it reached about thirty feet.

Without warning, Vincent suddenly felt as if his heart had stopped beating for one too many seconds and the craft lurched upward in a flash. Now, as he looked through the glass windows, he no longer saw the scenery of Capsule Corp. and South City. All he could see was an endless void of black. There was not a single point of light, not even a distant star. This continued for what seemed like an hour, but was probably only a matter of minutes.

Everyone was still quiet, as if their words would disrupt the place they had reached. Then the craft began to shake as if it were simply a toy in the hands of an excited child. He felt as if her were screaming but he did not hear any sound and in that second he commended his son's bravery for making this journey before. He squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them again he could once again see the scernery of South City around him and wondered if they had made it. Though there was no real visible proof he had a feeling in his heart that he had made it and they were in the past. He looked up towards Bulma and saw her eyes studying him intently. He attempted a smile or some sort of gesture to reassure her but it did not seem to work, as she looked at him with concern.

Bulma turned away from Vincent and sighed as she felt the craft lowering to the ground. She had wanted to make this trip ever since Trunks had returned and told her that everything was safe now, but whether or not to bring Vincent had been a hard decision to make. Would the situation be too awkward? As she felt the bottom of the time machine touch the ground she resolved that she would just have to wait and see.

Unknown to her and everyone else their landing was causing quite a commotion inside of Capsule Corp. The noise had been the first thing that Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunks noticed but as they rushed to the window they were able to see the ship land and within seconds Bulma was rushing to the door with Vegeta walking behind her. Young Trunks was left wondering why they were rushing outside, did they know who was outside? His curiosity mandated that he followed them even though he wished someone would have let him in on the secret. Then he nearly ran into Vegeta's legs as he turned the corner and was left standing there looking up at a large craft with people coming out. First to walk out was Trunks and his wife Angelina, then right behind them was Bulma and Vincent.

“Oh my god,” Present Bulma exclaimed as she rushed towards Trunks. “It is so good to see you again, and who are all of these people you have brought with you?” He looked around as if he just remembered that he had brought other people with him and then laughed lightly.

“This is my wife Angelina,” he said first as Angelina stepped forward and shook Bulma's hand, then Vegeta's. Then he introduced the future Bulma, but as he came to Vincent he seemed unsure of what to say. This did not really upset him, because he knew how strange the situation was for Trunks, hell it was strange for him too.

So, he took the initiative and introduced himself, “My name is Vincent, I'm Bulma's husband Vincent.” Then he extended his hand out to present Bulma. She seemed shocked but shook his hand instinctively. Then she was left to watch in fascination as he did the same as Future Bulma and Angelina, he also extended his hand out to Vegeta.

Vegeta looked at the stranger's hand in front of him, while trying to keep his face as hard and unfeeling as stone. Finally, he accepted it and shook it lightly. At that moment everyone seemed to breath a sigh of relief, which both Vincent and Vegeta noticed.

Then the awkward silence was broken when present Trunks asked, “What is going on here? Why are they called Trunks and Bulma too?” Present Bulma looked down at him and thought over what she should say.

“Well, Trunks, about ten years ago, you from the future timeline, came back and warned us that some androids were coming that could kill everyone. So, basically this is you and me from the future.”

“So you dump Dad, for some bozo in the future?” he asked immediately.

Vegeta's composure broke for a minute and he smiled visibly. Bulma however, was more than a little embarrassed. “No,” she said softly. “Vegeta is not alive in that time, so she married someone else.”

“Oh ok,” he replied. Then he walked up to future Trunks and began to look him up and down very carefully. At that same moment, Bulma walked over to Future Bulma to apologize for Trunks' comments.

“Don't worry about that,” she admonished. “I do not think I could have explained it better myself.”

“I'm glad to hear you say that,” she replied. Then she looked away and found that Vegeta had retreated from the crowd and was leaning against a tree. As she looked at him, she did not notice that the other Bulma was staring at him as well. Someone who did notice that fact, was Vincent. After a few moments, present Bulma snapped out of his reverie and called out, “Well, let's quit wasting time, we'll get you all set up in guest rooms.”

“Sounds great,” Trunks commented as he took hold of his wife's hand and began to lead her into the house. Everyone but Vegeta followed them into the house and as he stayed leaning against the tree outside, Bulma sighed in disappointment. Then she looked over and saw Vincent walking in with his arm around future Bulma and watched him and felt even more disappointment boil up inside her.

That afternoon and evening was spent happily reminiscing and sharing stories. However, Vegeta remained absent and standing outside the house, while mulling over everything that had happened. For some reason he could not stop thinking about that Vincent guy. He had always been assured, at least in his own mind, that Bulma loved him exclusively. You would think that would entail her not being able to fall in love with someone else once he was gone?

Suddenly, he became frustrated at his own thoughts and stormed off to the gravity room. Within moments of turning on the gravity, the machine powered down and present Trunks walked in to the room. “Aren't you coming out for dinner?” he asked.

“Did your mother send you?” he questioned as he turned the gravity back on, making sure it was at a level Trunks could endure, and continued to train.

“No,” Trunks replied. “Mom is busy talking with the people from the future.”

“You mean you did not want to stay out there with them?” he asked calmly, making sure there was no emotion in his tone.

“Nah,” Trunks said with a smile. “I would rather spend time training with you.” Then he continued his katta in silence. Vegeta would never have admitted it but he was happy to hear that comment from Trunks. After an hour, Trunks left to go eat dinner and once again asked Vegeta if he was coming out. Once again he refused and stayed behind to continue his training.

Hours later, everyone was sleeping and Vincent was left laying there awake with his thoughts. The image of Bulma studying Vegeta kept replaying over and over in his mind. Worse, he was not exactly sure how he felt about it, or even if those feelings were rational? Could a man be jealous of himself? Is that even who he is really jealous of? He looked over and saw his Bulma sleeping peacefully and felt even more conflicted. He sighed and then he got up and got dressed. Maybe if he went downstairs to the kitchen and had a cup of tea he would feel a little better.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw present Bulma sitting at the table sipping tea. He started to turn around and walk back upstairs, but she stopped him by calling out, “You don't have to leave, please, join me.” He looked back at her and she smiled at him gently. He gave in and sat down at the table next to her but he was not sure what to say. “You couldn't sleep?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“I'm sure you do,” she commented with a laugh. “It must be more than a little daunting to meet your wife's long deceased husband in the flesh.”

“You don't know the half of it,” he replied with a smile. “it is also interesting to see a preview of what their relationship would have been like if he had not died.”

“Yeah,” she mused out loud with a sad sigh. Then she seemed startled and said, “Damn, I am one hell of a hostess, here we have been sitting talking and I have not even offered you a cup of tea yet?” Then she stood up and began to refill her mug.

“Actually, I would love a cup of tea if you already have some hot water.” After she had handed him a cup he began to blow on it gently to cool it down and he wondered what he should talk about next.

“So, you're my future self's husband,” she commented finally. I must admit I am very curious about the type of man I would fall in love with after Vegeta. How did you meet?”

Well, at least she had broken the awkward silence, he thought to himself. Now he was confronted with the task of answering her questions and keeping his story straight. “I was a research scientist at Capsule Corp. and we met while we were working together in a lab. From the moment I first laid eyes on her I was smitten.” Good, he thought to himself, end with the truth is always a good idea.

“How long were you together before you got married?” she asked, without commenting on anything he had said in response to her last question.

“About a year,” He replied thoughtfully. It had been on the tip of his tongue to say three years, which was the amount of time he had spent with her as Vegeta before he died.

“Oh,” she said as if she were stunned.

“Does that surprise you?” he asked.

“Well, actually yeah,” she said softly. “Because, you see I spent years and years with Yamcha and then I had a child with Vegeta, I guess I just thought I would have to be with a man for a very long time to fall in love again.”

“I guess that is understandable,” he mused out loud. Then he decided to lighten the mood. “Maybe I was just too charming for my own good,” he commented with a smile.

Bulma smiled and said, “I believe that,” Then she looked him in the eyes and in that moment all the distinctions between his Bulma and this one disappeared. She was Bulma and she was beautiful. Unwilling, his body began to lean in towards hers, he noticed that and she was doing the same.

Suddenly, as if a horn had sounded he was snapped out of his trance and so was she. “I'm very sorry,” he said quickly.

“Yeah, I'm sorry too,” she replied. Then she stood up and left the table to go back upstairs to bed. She was so upset that she did not even notice Vegeta standing there in the shadows. That puny human had crossed the line with him, Vegeta thought to himself.

 

To Be Continued. . .