Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Thoughts at the attic ❯ Memories of the past ( Chapter 4 )

Author's note: I normally don't write those because I don't even read them myself, but then again, I don't read disclaimers either but I do write them. There are a few things I'd like to say before I start.

First I want to thank my reviewers for reviewing! Second I want to thank someone that gave me a tip for the last chapter. He recommended to me to use a song called `This Woman's Work' from Maxwell. I will be using some of it in my fic for sure! I don't know if he meant it for the way I use it, but we'll see. I still have no idea how I'm going to end this story, but I'll figure that out while I'm writing. But I do know that this won't be a short chapter. Have fun with the last part of `Thoughts at the attic'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z, I just use its characters

Thoughts at the attic

I close the book and put it back in the box. I look around me. The attic is still a mess. And so are my thoughts. After everything I've seen today, I don't know what to think anymore. I'd better go on with this woman's work before I loose my better mood. I look at the books in the box. Memories, Who needs them.

Chapter 4

I put the box back with the other boxes of worthless junk and continue cleaning. I find the strangest things up here, books with fairytales, the first drawing Trunks ever drew - for as far as you can call it a drawing, he said it were cars, but then again, that was besides mammy and daddy the only word he knew. I even found a box with an old broken tea-set that I'd never seen before. Why would anyone want to keep junk like that? However, I decided not to throw it away. It would probably have some of that `emotional value' to Bulma. I'm not in the mood to argue with her now. My mind is still to clouded from the pictures I just saw.

I'm putting the box with the tea-set back, carefully not to break more than is already broken, as my eye falls on an other box just like the one with the photoalbums in it, hidden in the corner behind the bigger boxes I just moved. Only this one is different. It's smaller and it has…??? It has MY name on it? Why in the universe would there be a box up here with MY name on it? And why didn't anybody ever tell me about it? I must not forget to ask the woman why she never told me. But first I want to see what's in there. At least… I think I want to. Is there a photobook in there from me? I don't think so, since I've never been very keen on somebody taking a picture of me. There wouldn't be enough pictures to fill a stupid book. And besides, if it was a photobook, than why isn't it with the other books?

I decide to take a look. Somehow the curiosity becomes more than I can resist. DAMN I must be really weak if such a feeling can get to me so much. At this moment I hate myself for it. I carefully grab the box and I sit down. My hands start to tremble again. I want to open it, to find out what's inside, but at that same moment I feel a cold shiver walking down my back. I move in order to make it go away, but it doesn't help much. Could I, Prince of all Saiyans, be actually afraid of some memories? NO I refuse to let it get to me that much! I move my hands to put the box away, but to my great fear I see that instead of lifting the entire box, they only lift the lid and put it down besides the box.

I close my eyes and grit my teeth. Now I have no choice but to look inside. Don't worry I tell myself. I've been in worse predicaments and I survived those. I REFUSE to let this get to me. Still I pray to Dende about what I will find. I open my eyes again and look at what's inside

The first object I see in here is… a scouter? What in the universe would the woman do with a scouter? And where did she get it? Of course! That weakling Raditz! I take it out of the box. Could she have it from him? But, why would she keep it? I wonder… would it still work? I decide to try it. Just for fun. I put the thing in front of my eye. Even though it has been so many years since the last time I wore a scouter, I still remember exactly how it works. Guess that's because of all those years I've worked with these things. Pathetic stuff it is. It can't even come near the reading of a super saiyan level before it explodes! They were handy to contact others though. We used them a lot as communication devices. And if somebody was in trouble, he'd just have to wear the thing and everybody else could hear him.

I must admit I prefer the ability to sense ki. That's one thing I learned from Kakarot and his lame friends. That way I don't need this thing to read power levels. It's a lot more convenient. I don't really like it when things depend on devices. They only get broke. Take the gravity machine for example. That thing is the reason that I'm stuck up here in the first place! Well, and of course that annoying woman! I grit my teeth again when I think of her. She's probably somewhere out making fun of me cleaning the attic! I will find a way to make her pay.

I am still wearing the scouter. Why did I do that again? Oh, right. I was going to see if it still worked. I push the button by my ear a few times. Nothing. The radio is dead. Either that or there are no other scouters being used right now. Well, let's just see if the power reading still works. Now where can I check it on? I'd better not use it on my son and Kakarot's youngest brat outside. Their levels are probably high enough to make the thing explode. Guess I'll have to find something else to use it on. But what? I scan the attic for a life form, any life forms at all. Suddenly I sense a very VERY small ki. That must be a rat or something. Oh well, since I don't have anything better right now. I push the button an other time and I point the scouter at the pace where I felt the rat.

The thing gives a bleep and then I see numbers appearing. At least… I think it are numbers. What I see is not what I am supposed to see. They look like… Earth numbers?! That WOMAN! She changed the numbers! WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? I never told her she could mess with MY stuff! I look again at the number that had appeared on the screen. If I'm right, than that's a 3. That could be. I guess 3 is a normal power level for a rat. I don't know for sure because I haven't actually worked with numbers for a while. My ki sensing ability has developed enough. I don't need this useless device anymore. I take it off and put it next to the box. What else is in there?

I look back in the box. I see two other square things in there. I'll take out one of them first, the bigger one. Not that it's that big or something. In my hand I'm now holding something iron or something. There's nothing on this side of it so I guess it's the back. I turn it around. Haha, I can't believe it. It's… The REMOTE CONTROLLER for Nappa's space ship! I can't believe I forgot all about that! When I left this planet after one of Kakarot's allies had cut off my tail, I must've been to beaten up to remember this. And after I was healed it never came to me that his ship should still be here somewhere. How foolish of me not to remember! Not that the ship would've done me any good. Frieza would've tracked it down in no time and after what happened on Namek, he would've destroyed the entire ship! And besides, even though it wasn't as fast as Nappa's ship, that thing those humans made at least had some space to train in. And I'm glad it did because it had no sleeping gas or a computer to wake you up. I really needed that training space. It always helped me feeling better. At least I felt like I did SOMEthing to become better than Kakarot instead of just wasting my time looking for him.

I decide to try if the thing still worked. Nappa always forgot his code, so he asked me to remember it for him. What was it again? 5839? 5938? Something like that. Let's see… The number of planets he had destroyed and the number of planets I had destroyed. Well, my number was 59 so I guess his number was 38 then. Yes! That's it, 3859! I'm positive! Let's try it. I watch at the device I'm holding with one hand, while I use my other hand to push the right buttons. If everything worked right, the ship would be here only in a matter of seconds. I've waited 10 seconds… 15 seconds… But the ship didn't appear. Well, guess it won't come anymore. It should've been here by now. That can only mean two things. Either the humans have found a way to hold the ship down, or this thing is broke. I guess it's the last one since I doubt those weakling have any material strong enough to hold the ship down when its owner asks for it. Oh, wait, maybe the ship is destroyed. That's another possibility.

Well, doesn't matter anyway. There's nothing left for me there to go to. Not anymore. A lot must've changed out there, I think as I look out the little window. Space as I knew it must've changed a lot since the last time I've been there. After Frieza died, a lot of planets started rebuilding. Some beings must even have created a new planet since a lot of species lost their old worlds. And I don't think anyone would be waiting to see me again. Or any other saiyan. I look back at the remote controller in my hand. I place it next to the box, just as I did with the scouter.

There was one more small object on the blue and white bottom of the box. I look inside to see what it is. WHA…… My heart stopped beating in my chest as I take out the black object that was in there. Is this… What I think it is? I'm holding a small black box in my hand and look at it with amazement. But… Where did she get that?! … Of course! She must have found it in my clothes when I returned to this planet after my failed attempting to find Kakarot in space. I thought… I thought it was GONE! I open the black box expecting to see it empty. She must've taken it out. But to my biggest surprise I see that the little box is not empty at all! Inside is… A golden ring!

That ring! It belonged to… My father! This was the Royal Ring! It belonged to the king himself, who would give it to his son when he reached the age of sixteen and became a man. It has been passed down for generations! And it stopped with my father because by the time I reached that age, he was gone! Dead! Killed by that disgusting lizard! And when I fanally turned 18, he decided that I could have it. It was nothing but a worthless piece of shit to him! And he just loved the look in my eyes as I remembered my father. `Aaaah, is that now the great Saiyan Prince? Whining? What a pity excuse of a prince you are!' Those were the exact words he said! For years I've been holding back my tears. I was a warrior, a prince! I couldn't cry! But then it just became to much for me. How I fought to keep those tears from coming. And all that time he was just laughing at me! That BASTARD!

My hands are trembling as I take the small object out of it's box. My entire body is trembling! I look at the ring in the palm of my hand. Slowly put the ring on. And I feel warm from inside. A little voice is speaking to me. `I'm proud of you, my son.' That sounded just like… Father? Could it be true? Was he really proud of me? After everything that has happened? Despite my super saiyan powers I feel I've become so weak! I'm not a warrior, Father. I let you down. My entire race! How can you still be proud of me? But no answer comes. As I watch the ring around my finger I start remembering again. My father was hard for me, that's for sure. His expectations were great. I was the son of the King of all saiyans! I had Royal blood! I was one of the few saiyan with the ability to become super saiyan. That was in my blood! He couldn't let me become a whimp!

But despite all the hard training he let me go trough, and despite the fact that he was away for most of the time, I know he loved me. He couldn't show it to the outside world of course. After all, caring was considered as a weakness. Especially to Frieza! But he loved me, I know he did. I could hear it in his voice.

I remember how he always insisted on training me myself. Even though he could let the best of his warriors train me, if finally had the time, he would train me myself. I remember one such time. He was training me and he was so hard on me. But I didn't care. I knew he had to be like this. He kept giving me more and more and I kept becoming weaker and weaker. And then I gave up. I felt fear coming. I thought he would be mad like hell! I knew for sure he would start yelling at me. That I was a pathetic weakling. A disgrace for the entire race giving up like that. Not worthy of being his son. At least that's how I felt at that moment. But he didn't. He didn't yell at me, he didn't call me weak. Instead he said: `I know you've got a little life in you left. I know you've got a lot of strength left.' And he reached out his hand. I looked at it suspiciously but he just said: `Give me your hand.' And when I looked into his eyes, I knew he wasn't joking. I really felt like I could trust him. I didn't know what it was I saw in his eyes back then, but I knew it wasn't disappointment. I was something positive. So I took his hand and he pulled me up saying it was enough for that day. That was the last I ever saw of him…

I can see his face right in front of me now. And I know what it was I saw that day. It was indeed no disappointment, nor was it pride. I was love.

I take the ring off my finger. My father might not have officially passed it on to me, but I know what I have to do! The day my son, Trunks, turns 16, I will continue the tradition. This ring has been going from father to son for over a hundred generations. And it will continue that way for at least a hundred more! Just as the legend says

I put the ring next to the other two objects. The box is empty now. No wait, the bottom can't be blue and white! It's a brown box! I look again and I see it's something else inside. At first I don't recognise it. But then I see the orange colour and I remember again. MY SAIYAN ARMOR! The one I wore on Namek! On top are the boots and the gloves. I take it out. I never thought I would ever see this thing again. And… It's fixed? The extended parts on the shoulders are whole again! I thought one of them was blasted of at Namek. Then it comes to me. OF COURSE! The woman fixed it! When I came out of the time chamber to fight cell, She said she had made armours like the one I wore on Namek. She must've fixed this one too back then. But why didn't she tell me?

I wonder if… Would it still fit me? Well, of course it would! This armour can fit any size. It would even fit my Oozaru form. I decide to try it on. I start taking off my hideous pink shirt. I can't believe I'm still wearing that thing. I should've blasted it away the first time Bulma put it down for me to wear. But that doesn't matter, I will deal with that later. Right now I'm changing into my old armour. When I'm done I check myself. I forgot how nice it is to wear this. If only I had a mirror… Wait! I DO have a mirror! I just put it away while I was cleaning the mess inside that big closet. If only I remember where I left it… Oh, right! I stand up and walk to the opposite corner. Behind all those big boxes I find the mirror I was looking for.

I wipe away the dust and place the mirror on the ground while letting it lean against the boxes behind it. I take a good look at myself. I can't help but smirk at my reflection. That's more like it. Now I look quite the same as I did on Namek. A little bit older and stronger perhaps, but the armour still looks good on me. It always has, if I may say so myself.

As I look at myself in the mirror, I start recalling all the battles I fought. Every single one. I remember how proud I was with myself after destroying an other planet. Those were some days. Fighting, conquering, that's what a true saiyan lived for. And I was the prince of that race. An elite warrior who did not know fear even if it would slam him right in his face! At least, that was before Frieza came to destroy it all! I grit my teeth when I think back of that ugly lizard. He destroyed EVERYTHING I ever cared about! My people, my planet! DAMN did I hate him! Most of all I hated the fact that he could do whatever he wanted to and he always got away with it! Those horrible nights on his ship! I just can't forget what that BASTARD did to me! WHY? Every night on that blasted ship I was in fear. In fear that I was summoned by Frieza again. Fear of what he could do to me, and what he WOULD do to me. I knew fear all right! And DAMN was I glad to go on a mission. I knew that as long as I was away to destroy other beings lives, Frieza couldn't destroy mine. So I made sure I was away a lot.

I feel my knees are getting weaker and weaker. I close my eyes to find the strength to keep standing, to get rid of the thought, but I feel it doesn't help. I feel that it only gets worse! Once more I hear that horrible knock on my door. KNOCK, KNOCK… KNOCK. That HAD to be Zarbon. He was the only way who always knocked that way. I just can't seem to get it out of my head! DAMN do I hate that sound! And after the knock came Zarbons voice. I can still recall that disgusting tone he used! Like he was going to take a child on a trip to a zoo, and afterwards to destruction. He sure had fun every time he came to get me. AAARGGH!!! I feel like I want to scream! I want to BLAST away the door!. Oh, how I wanted Zarbon dead!

I try to open my eyes again in an other attempt to make the pain and the horror stop. But I can't! They won't open! I feel the fear running trough my veins, along with the horror and hatred against that lizard. I can still feel him. Every night when I close my eyes I feel his breath in my neck. His hands on my tail, squeezing so that I won't escape. A normal beings deepest nightmare can't possibly even come close to the sound of that voice! That laugh, that HORRIBLE laugh! I hear it all over again. He's in the room, I can smell it! Frieza is here! But Trunks had DESTROYED him! He was DEAD, GONE FOREVER! Then how…? Will this nightmare start all over again?

I finally find the strength to open my eyes. I look around. No Frieza. But I KNOW he's here! I could hear him, smell him. I could FEEL HIM! He was there! I look in the mirror and what I see makes my heart stop. FRIEZA!!! I was right! That lizard IS here! He's standing right behind me! SMIRKING as he always did! How I hate that smirk. I turn around to face him but he's not there. I feel my powerlevel rising as I scan the entire attic. "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE, YOU DAMNED COWARD! COME AND FACE ME LIKE A TRUE WARRIOR!!" I realise I'm yelling, but I don't care. I don't care anymore if the woman hears me or not. I will put an end to this ONCE AND FOR ALL! I feel the rage inside me building. My saiyan blood is going crazy when I go on with my yelling "COME OUT, FRIEZA! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! NOT ANYMORE! SO BE A SMART LIZARD AND SHOW YOURSELF BEFORE I BLAST YOU OUT!" I look around but I can't see him. And I still can't sense him.

Suddenly I hear footsteps. Someone is coming up the stairs. Frieza? It has to be! The bastard finally got the nerve to show himself. I power up to super saiyan. How shall I kill him? I want him to kneel in front of me, I want to torture him. I want him to feel the pain I felt when he controlled me! But nothing I can think of will be enough. Death will be nothing compared to everything I've been trough! PAIN! That's what I should give him. Pain like he's never felt before! And I will give him that, I think while I feel a deadly smirk entering my face. He will suffer for what he's done!

I decide to check out his power level first. I want to know exactly how much power I should use to bring him down, without killing him or blasting him unconscious. So I scan the stairs. WAHT? NO WAY! That isn't Frieza. That's BULMA. "NO WOMAN, DON'T!" I yell as I see someone open the door! "HE WILL KILL YOU! DON'T COME IN! STAY AWAY!!!" But it's already too late. She has opened the door. All I can think of is to get her out of there, but my legs won't move! I can't believe it! Is this the end? All the moments we shared together, your smiles, my scowls, our arguments. In one second it all flashes right before my very own eyes.

All the things we should've said that we never said

All the things we should've done that we never did

All the things you wanted from me

All the things that you needed tell me

All the things I should've given but I didn't

I look at her in fright, expecting a big, white blast to come straight at her. But… it doesn't! No matter how long I wait, she's still there. Alive! Why? Why didn't Frieza kill her? If he's here, than why does he let her live? He knows her death will be the only thing he hasn't done yet to make my life a living hell. He knows killing her will kill me. Super saiyan or no super saiyan. Then why doesn't he?

The woman starts walking to me. "No don't!" I try to yell at her, warn her, make her go away so that she will be safe, but I can't. All that comes out of my mouth is a faint whisper. "Frieza…" She keeps walking. I hear her voice. She's talking to me. But what does she say? I don't know. I hear her voice, but I can't form the words. All I know is that she is trying to comfort me. I feel I'm getting calm. I see how her hand reaches out for mine and I feel my hand reaching out for hers. Slowly, very slowly I let my power level down until I'm not a super saiyan anymore.

The woman is still talking to me. Only now I understand what she's saying. Or at least, I can hear her words. "It's okay, Vegeta. Frieza is dead, remember? Her voice calmed me down, but her words don't. Dead? What is she talking about? I saw him behind me a minute ago. He's not dead, he's alive! I feel how our hands touch. She's softly coming to me. "You… You're alright?" is everything I can say. "Don't worry, Vegeta. I'm fine." Is her reply. "There is no Frieza here. He's dead and he won't come back." She says. I feel my knees getting weaker again and I fall on the floor. I feel the woman's arms around my waist to support me. She kneels down too. I feel how she takes my head in her hands and places it on her chest. With one hand she's stroking my hair. I feel like a baby. I feel like I should be crying but I just can't let it show. But I don't back off. I can't help it. It's okay for her to see me like this. Just this once. For her it is okay.

Well, that was it. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I hope you're happy with the end. I couldn't make it any better than this. Believe me I tried. I just didn't know what to do. At first I thought I was going to let Vegeta kill himself. But then I realised that if he'd do that he would've done that way before and he didn't. Then I thought I was going to let him kill Bulma, thinking she was Frieza. But that didn't seem good either. And then I wanted to bring Frieza back to kill Bulma just before her hand touched Vegeta's hand, but that would be unrealistic. 1. Because Frieza was dead already and 2. Because Vegeta would've sensed him when he was scanning the area and 3. Because Goku or at least SOMEONE should've sensed him or seen him. I could make him without a power level like the androids so that nobody would sense him, but that wouldn't be good. That would be far from original, plus it is unrealistic and boring and easy. So, this is it. The first fic I ever finished. Not bad for the first time, if I may say so myself. Please review and tell me what you think!