Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Whatever It Takes ❯ Chapter 9

AN: The explanation given by Geta won't totally follow the canon storyline. Then again, this is an alternate universe story, so I suppose I am allowed to take a few liberties here and there. ;)

 

The episode of DBZ where I got the idea for the worms from is #259, "Mind Trap". I found the part where poor Vegeta almost loses his lunch to be amusing. Aww, c'mon, as if anything would gross out Vegeta! The only things that would be better would be poopy diapers or blood. Poopy diapers- now there's an idea! *hee hee*

 

Speaking of aww, c'mon, nobody tried to guess what it was that Vegeta couldn't quite put his finger on about his son. *pout* Oh, well, Goku figures it out right off the bat.

 

Don't forget to review! More reviews = quicker updates. Let me know how I'm doing. Thank you to everyone who has left a review so far.

 

Thanks also to my much better half for reviewing this for me. I love you!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z was created by Akira Toriyama. It is owned/licensed by Toei, Bird Studios, Shonen Jump, Funimation, and Viz, not me. However, you will see some characters that weren't created by Toriyama-san, and those are my brainchildren. No money was made in the production of this work, more's the pity.

 

 

Chapter Nine

 

"So where is he, Vegeta? Don't we get to meet this guy?"

 

"Can it, Baldy," Vegeta responded dryly. "I'm not his babysitter." He grinned widely, confusing the little monk standing next to him. "He's in the house and he'll come out when he's ready."

 

"Wow, another Saiyan! I'm sure looking forward to meeting him. He sounds pretty powerful to me." Goku beamed at the prospect of meeting the individual solely responsible for Frieza's demise.

 

"I suppose I can hold my own in a fight."

 

They all turned to face the deep voice coming from the direction of the house. Geta stood behind the group, leaning casually against a nearby tree, arms crossed and a crooked half smirk identical to his father's on his face. His tail swayed back and forth lazily beside him.

 

Geta was hardly shocked by the stunned silence and gaping mouths. What else could anyone expect at the sight of a near-clone Vegeta with piercing blue eyes? "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Could I offer any of you a beverage?" He took a drink from a bottle of water he'd been holding.

 

Gohan was the one to finally speak up first. "I like your mustache and beard, Mister."

 

Geta smiled at the younger version of the man who'd been his mentor and good friend. "Geta, please. And thank you," he responded, running his fingertips over the goatee. "It works for me. Makes me look older than twelve," he repeated, chuckling in the hopes of breaking the ice. ~Anya always thought it was sexy, too.~

 

"You're Bulma's kid from the future, right?" Yamcha asked.

 

Geta turned to look at him, an irritated expression on his face. ~This dolt is disregarding Father right in front of him!~ He decided to ignore the snub and simply answer the question. "Yes, Bulma is my mother, and as you can plainly see my father is standing not ten feet from you. As you know, my name is Vegeta, but I go by Geta. It's just easier." His eyes moved over to rest on Goku. "You must be Goku." He set his water bottle on the ground and went over to meet Goku.

 

"Yep, that's me," Goku agreed cheerfully, returning the younger man's slight bow and nod of greeting. "You single-handedly defeated Frieza?"

 

"Dad, you should have seen it! It was totally awesome! He turned into a Super Saiyan and Frieza didn't have a chance against him!" Gohan piped up excitedly before Geta could respond. "He didn't even break a sweat!"

 

"Really?" Goku asked, impressed. "When I fought Frieza he gave me a lot of trouble."

 

Geta cleared his throat, knowing that his father was rapidly becoming offended. "Look, I didn't come here to gloat about what happened today," he spoke up. "I'm here because there are much bigger fish to fry than Frieza."

 

That got everyone's attention. "Bigger than Frieza?"

 

Geta turned his attention to his father. "Yes, Father. What I am here about is much more of a threat to this planet than Frieza." He looked to the house. "When Mother comes out, I'll tell you. She's busy with baby me right now." A grin crossed his lips. "Mother always said I was a cute baby. I see I was."

 

Goku grinned. "Awww! I haven't met little you yet," he said. "In fact, I was surprised to hear that you were even born at all." He regarded Geta speculatively. "I see little bits of Bulma in you, but you really take after your dad here." He poked Vegeta on the arm.

 

"Don't touch me, you idiotic-"

 

"Hey, I'll bet Vegeta must have been a cute baby, too!" Goku continued, his grin widening. "He probably looked just like little you, only with black hair and eyes instead of blue."

 

Vegeta had been about to rip Goku's tongue out when what the man had just said hit him. He peered at his son a little more carefully. "I knew there was something else different about you," he exclaimed, pushing Goku aside as he stepped forward and ignoring the little yelp of "hey!" the younger man let out. "Your hair is blue."

 

Geta nodded. "Very dark blue," he acknowledged. "Given my complexion, I really don't think Mother's lighter hair color would have flattered me much." He smiled. "Usually people notice my eye color before they do my hair color."

 

"I think it's nice," Goku piped up, undeterred. "It's like a little bit of your mom along with a lot of your dad."

 

"Okay, what did I miss?" Bulma asked as she wandered up with VJ. Her lips were trembling. "Hey, Goku."

 

"Bulma!" Goku gave her a big hug and kissed her cheek.

 

Bulma returned the hug and kiss. "I missed you, you big lunk," she sniffled, teary-eyed. "Why did you take so long to come home?"

 

"It's a long story," Goku told her. "I'll tell you after Geta here gets done with his story. It sounds a lot more important than mine. Oh, let me see your little guy!" he continued, hardly pausing to take a breath between sentences. "Aww, he's so cute! Hello there!" He scooped the wide-eyed child out of Bulma's arms.

 

"Don't touch my brat, third class!" Vegeta snarled. "It's bad enough that you fawn all over my mate in front of me-"

 

Bulma rushed over to him and rubbed his arm soothingly. "Hey, hey! Calm down, okay? He doesn't mean any harm."

 

Vegeta continued to growl like he had been doing ever since Goku had hugged and kissed Bulma. "I don't want that imbecile holding my brat."

 

Goku frowned. "Hey!" he objected, visibly hurt. "I'm not that bad with babies. I do have a son, in case you've forgotten."

 

"I don't care," Vegeta snarled. "Give him back to his mother."

 

"Oh, I'm fine with it, guys," Bulma announced cheerfully. "I won't take him back unless he cries, Goku. In fact, he seems to like you." She beamed at her friend. If Vegeta didn't want Goku holding the baby, he'd have to take him away from Goku himself.

 

Vegeta growled. "I'm just waiting for him to drop the boy so he ends up retarded as well," he said mockingly.

 

Goku frowned again. "Vegeta, you don't have to be so hurtful," he complained. "I wouldn't drop your son."

 

"Everyone should take notice that Kakarrot never denied being retarded," Vegeta remarked snidely, a smirk on his face.

 

Geta shook his head and chuckled despite himself. Goku seemed so nice, but he also seemed the type to walk head on into his father's insults. He went back to leaning against the tree, his tail snaking down to retrieve his water bottle.

 

Gohan's eyes widened as big as saucers. "That's so cool," he breathed. "I wish I still had my tail," he added wistfully, knowing that Piccolo had removed it in order to prevent him from turning back into a rampaging Oozaru.

 

"Oh, yeah, having a tail is great," Geta responded with a nod. "It's like having a fifth limb." He flicked his tail up, curling it around in different positions. Deciding to make a show of it, he dropped the water bottle in his hand and caught it with his tail without looking. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, his tail then proceeded to wrap itself around the midsection of the bottle to hold it steady. The end of the tail then twisted the cap off of the bottle with ease, opening it and lifting it up to his lips so that he could finish his drink.

 

"Kami Vegeta, I wish you still had your tail," Bulma breathed without thinking. Her eyes widened and she went bright pink when she heard snickers and realized what she'd said.

 

Vegeta leaned in close to her ear. "Maybe I'll wait another year to wish for immortality and show you just what a tail can do instead," he murmured, making her cheeks go even redder.

 

"I want to say this right now. I know it's cool and different and you're curious, but please don't ask to touch my tail. That goes for him, too," Geta spoke up, nodding toward the infant in Bulma's arms. "You might not think it's such a big deal and I don't know what you've been told, but a Saiyan's tail is both extremely sensitive and very personal. That being the case, I'm just particularly protective ever since that fact was used against me."

 

Bulma frowned. "Used against you? Do you mean-"

 

"Yeah. Yank it, break it, burn it, crush it, among other..." Geta paused momentarily, contemplating how to phrase what he wanted to say. He inhaled and let it out slowly. "Let's just say, unpleasant things. It's all been done before," Geta said quietly, trying to appear ignorant of his mother's horrified expression. "So. Should we just get on with this now that Mother is here?"

 

"Why don't you just say 'Mom' and 'Dad', Geta?" Gohan asked curiously.

 

"Because Saiyan children addressed their parents as 'Mother' and 'Father', and that is how Father expected me to address him and Mother," Geta responded with a small shrug, grateful for the change of topic. "It never bothered me and it's respectful."

 

"Oh." Gohan digested this. "If you had kids, what would you want them to call you?"

 

Silence.

 

Well, he had been grateful, at least for the moment. "Anyway," Geta managed momentarily, "I'm a little tired and hungry, so I think we should get started."

 

"I could fix you something simple," Bulma offered. "Let's go on inside, guys."

 

"Why don't you cook him a big turkey dinner, Bulma?" Goku asked, licking his lips. "Mmmm, that would taste so good!"

 

"Yes, let's go inside," Geta agreed, again trying to change the subject. "It's rather hot out here." He turned and headed for the house.

 

"Or maybe a nice juicy steak and some big loaded baked potatoes, yum!"

 

"Then why would you deliberately wear long sleeves in August?" Tien asked logically.

 

Geta paused, and his shoulders fell. "You're right. It does seem rather stupid to wear long sleeves and complain about the heat, doesn't it?" he murmured before continuing on into the house.

 

They followed him into the kitchen where the sheet Bulma had used while cutting his hair still lay in a heap on the floor. "Sorry," she apologized, kicking it under the table. "Let's see..." She opened the refrigerator and peered inside. "Ah..." Giggling, she poured something from a container into a glass and stuck it in the microwave.

 

No one noticed, however, because Geta was busy rifling through the bag of clothing that Bulma had purchased. All eyes were on him as he pulled out a t-shirt. "I'll be right back," he murmured, stepping into the half bath off of the kitchen. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him to simply take off the old shirt and put on the new one, but their reaction would be bad enough and he didn't want the gaping that would inevitably come.

 

The microwave beeped as he came back into the kitchen wearing the t-shirt. "Here you go, Geta," Bulma announced, stirring the contents of the glass and handing it to him before putting a bottle for the baby into the microwave. "Drink up."

 

He sniffed the contents of the glass and his eyebrow rose. "Is this what I think it is?"

 

Bulma giggled some more and nodded. "Yes. You're technically my baby, aren't you?"

 

Geta blushed a little, but grinned despite himself. "Sure, why not?" he responded, taking a sip.

 

Bulma laughed. "That's something your father there might say, at least until he found out what he was drinking. He wouldn't touch that glass with a ten-foot pole."

 

His eyes twinkled at her over the top of the glass as he took another sip. "Thank you, Mother."

 

"You're welcome, Son." She pulled the bottle from the microwave, stuck a nipple on it and tested it on her wrist before handing it to Goku to feed the baby.

 

Vegeta's expression could only be described as partway between disgusted and horrified. "You're drinking milk meant for infants?"

 

"Oh, it's just a little breast milk, Vegeta. No biggie." Bulma giggled at the discomfiture on her mate's face. "I'm kidding. It's just some milk with some baby cereal in it, honestly. I figured it would be easy on his stomach. The baby is drinking breast milk."

 

"I remember breast milk not tasting all that bad," Geta responded, thoroughly enjoying his father's horrified reaction.

 

Vegeta snorted. "Fond memories, eh Boy?" he asked, indicating the baby who suckled energetically at the bottle he'd been given. "But probably not like that." He smirked as his adult son went bright red.

 

"That's not what I meant!" the young man exclaimed. "You're acting like a dirty old man!" A couple of the others snickered.

 

"Hey, I'm not that much older than you, Boy," Vegeta informed him.

 

"And yet, you call me 'Boy' rather than the name you gave me." Geta took a seat and leaned back lazily.

 

"Your mother gave you that ridiculous nickname," Vegeta retorted.

 

"I think he meant naming him after you," Goku spoke up. "You have Daddy's name don't you?" he cooed to the baby.

 

"You remember things from that far back?" Bulma interjected in an attempt to save what was left of her son's dignity.

 

"I remember a lot of things, even from before I could walk or talk," Geta confirmed with a nod. "A lot of things..." ~Even some things I'd just as soon forget.~

 

"Wow, somebody's a good eater," Goku informed the infant cradled in the crook of one arm. "Someday you're gonna grow up all big and strong, oh yes you will! Aww, you're a widdle cutie patootie," he cooed in a sing-song voice, tickling the child with one finger. "A boo-boo-boo... Ah! Look at that smiiiiile!"

 

That did it. Vegeta growled. He'd tolerated the other Saiyan holding his son and making stupid comments to the child solely for Bulma's satisfaction, but when the man started making idiotic faces and noises, he decided he'd had enough. "You damned stupid moron! Do you think my brat is so retarded that he would be entertained in such a demeaning fashion, even as you are? Let him eat in peace. In fact, give him to me!" He snatched VJ from a startled Goku's arms. "I wish he had enough teeth to bite your finger off, you addle-brained ass."

 

"That wasn't very nice," Goku complained, pouting.

 

Bulma only smiled. "No, I suppose not."

 

Vegeta scowled and stood in a corner by himself with the baby. Oddly enough, the child merely burbled and wriggled contentedly as he lay in the crook of his father's arm, not at all bothered by the tirade that Vegeta had just let fly. His tiny tail coiled itself around Vegeta's wrist and he stared up at him with wide blue eyes.

 

"So, you handling that all right?" Bulma asked Geta.

 

Geta set down his empty glass with a sigh. "Yes, but I ate a handful of chips before everyone else came in and they're ripping their way through my guts right now," he said with a grimace.

 

"You're sick?" Goku asked absently.

 

Geta sighed; the man really was clueless. "Haven't you noticed how skinny I am?" he asked tiredly. The others shuffled a little uncomfortably. They'd noticed how bony his body was- small wonder now why he'd chosen a long sleeved shirt and long pants despite it being August- how pinched his face looked, and the dark circles under his eyes, but had politely refrained from commenting, figuring it had to do with whatever it was he was going to tell them.

 

"I guess so, but I just figured you were hungry," Goku commented innocently. "I could use a good meal myself. I'm st-"

 

Geta gave him a piercing look. "You have no idea what it means to be starving, so don't even say it in jest," he interrupted sharply. "I doubt you've ever truly been hungry, either." He sighed and rested his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't had even a scrap of meat in a good six months, or even anything of substance to eat in the past couple of months," he murmured. "I'm so malnourished that it's all I can do just to function. If I hadn't stolen that ki from Frieza..." He shook his head.

 

"Oh," Goku said quietly, genuine concern coloring his face. "Then why don't you eat something? Bulma always has plenty of food here."

 

Obviously Goku hadn't caught his comment about the chips. "Because my stomach can't handle real food anymore right now," he explained. "My stomach can tolerate a lot, but even a Saiyan stomach can only handle so much. If it didn't come back up, it would rip me apart inside."

 

"So, what will you do?" Goku asked, horrified by the mere thought of not having food to eat for so long and even more of not being able to eat food he did have.

 

Geta shrugged. "Start with simpler foods like the milk, and gradually add heartier stuff," he responded. "That's what I did last time this happened, anyway. I could always supplement whatever I eat intravenously for a while, too."

 

Silence.

 

"I suppose you all want to know how this happened?"

 

Bulma dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. "No, but obviously it's something we need to know."

 

Geta nodded. "Everyone take a seat. This won't be easy to hear." He got up from his chair and got himself a glass of water. He'd be doing quite a bit of talking before the day was over.

 

"Let's go to the den instead," Bulma suggested. "There's more room there and it's more comfortable."

 

Everyone got up and trudged toward the den. Bulma approached Vegeta as they filed out. "Did you want me to take him?" she offered. "He needs to be burped or he'll spit up."

 

Vegeta glanced down at their son and handed him to her after a brief pause- was it hesitation?- and a nod. "I don't know how to tend to the child," he admitted.

 

Bulma smiled. "You'll learn. I had to," she assured him, cradling VJ in one arm. As Vegeta passed by, she grabbed his hand with her free one.

 

He gave her a sharp look since the others were around and he didn't want anyone to see him doing something as silly as holding her hand. He tried to pull his hand free when he saw the look of hurt in her eyes. Cursing himself mentally, he allowed the gesture until they reached the den. "That will do, Bulma," he told her in an uncharacteristically soft tone of voice as he let go of her hand.

 

The look that flashed briefly in her eyes surprised him. It was the look she'd given him when he knew she adored him, when he'd done something to please her. She'd allowed it to slip out before entering the den, despite all that he had done. He again felt a sense of relief; although he enjoyed seeing the fire in her eyes when she was angry, this was different. Her hurt at what he had done was diminishing, her anger at him was softening. She smiled at him before entering the den, holding their son close as she did so.

 

Upon entering the den Vegeta noted that no seats remained. That didn't bother him, as he preferred to stand by himself anyway, as was Piccolo. It irritated him, however, that none of the other males in the room seemed inclined to relinquish their seat to a woman with a baby in her arms, save one.

 

"No, Geta, it's all right. You sit down. You look so tired," Bulma objected when Geta tried to get her to sit where he had been.

 

"I'll be fine, Mother. You have a baby to care for. Please take the chair." Geta gestured toward the recliner.

 

"Bulma? You should sit here. Vegeta told me that I'm too unsteady when I hover in the Lotus position, so I can work on that while we're talking." Gohan sat cross-legged in the air and gestured to the seat he'd just vacated.

 

Bulma smiled. "Thank you, Gohan. That's very thoughtful of you," she said, sitting down and adjusting her son in her arms so she could pat his little back gently.

 

"You're welcome," the boy responded with a pleased nod. Nothing, however, could have made him any more pleased than what happened next.

 

"Well, Boy," Vegeta's voice issued from the corner of the room he was occupying, "I see that your mother has given you valuable training of her own," he commented. ~Unlike his oaf of a father.~

 

Gohan turned his head in time to see Vegeta's nod of approval. "Gosh, thanks Vegeta."

 

Vegeta grunted in response. "Now, what was it we were here to discuss?"

 

Geta found himself grateful that the situation had resolved itself and that his father hadn't gotten involved. "Death," he told his father grimly. "The death of everyone I ever knew and loved."

 

There was silence in the room.

 

"Everyone?" Bulma asked in a tiny voice.

 

He nodded. "This won't be easy for any of you to hear, but you must hear it." He turned to Goku. "Does the name 'Dr. Gero' ring any bells for you?"

 

Goku's face fell into a look of confusion. What could he mean? "Yes, of course. But what does he have to do with what happened to you?"

 

"You didn't finish your altercation with him when you had the chance," Geta told him pointedly. "Because of your soft-heartedness you spared his life, and even now he is plotting his revenge against you and everyone associated with you. That includes not only your family, but mine as well, and all of our mutual friends," he continued, gesturing to everyone in the room. "Anyone you ever loved and cared about, anyone who might get in the way of his goals."

 

Goku shifted on the couch uncomfortably. "What can I do?"

 

"Learn to kill when necessary," Geta answered emotionlessly. "Learn how to finish the job."

 

"That's a pretty cold hearted thing to say," Yamcha interjected scornfully.

 

"He's right, I don't want to kill anyone," Goku agreed. "Everyone deserves a second chance to turn their lives around."

 

Geta sighed. "Some people are misguided, yes. But others are truly evil. Dr. Gero is one of those people. I wouldn't have had to go to the desert at all today, if you understood that."

 

Goku frowned, embarrassed. He knew that Geta was referring to the fact that he'd let Frieza live as well. "If I thought that way, you would never have been born, Geta," he countered. "What about that?"

 

"While I am grateful for the fact that my father is still alive, you must understand that not all people are deserving of a second chance," Geta explained calmly. "You have to suck it up to do what needs to be done. I know you don't want to hurt anyone." He directed his attention to Yamcha. "Do you really think I enjoyed killing all of those soldiers today? Don't think for one moment that I don't wake up at night in a cold sweat remembering all of the terrible things I've had to do. I've shed more blood than I care to talk about, and I'm only twenty. I don't want him to have to go through that too." He pointed to the child in Bulma's arms. "I don't want him to have to, either."

 

He pointed to Gohan this time, causing the boy to gasp and sit up straighter. "M-me?" he squeaked.

 

"Yes, you," Geta acknowledged. "As my Sensei, you taught me what I still needed to know to stay alive, including how to snap someone's neck."

 

"I..." Gohan's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to voice his thoughts. He snapped people's necks? "Why would I be your Sensei? Why wouldn't Vegeta train you?"

 

There was a pause in the conversation. "Because he was dead," Geta responded coldly, ignoring his father's startled response. "Everyone was dead. You and I were the only two of us left with any sort of fighting ability." He knew he was stretching the truth a little, but it needed to be done. He couldn't risk the possibility of Trunks not being born if he disclosed the fact that he'd had a brother.

 

"Oh," the boy whispered.

 

"Gohan, tell me," Geta continued softly. "Do you think sacrificing one life is worth saving the lives of many, even if that one person deserves to live?"

 

Again the boy's mouth worked silently. "I... I guess it would be wrong to say it wouldn't be," he admitted.

 

"Believe me, I know from first hand experience that it is not an easy choice to make," Geta told him. "I've had to kill innocents, even children, for the good of the greater number. I love children. Do you know how difficult it was for me to kill a small child toddling toward the group of people I was trying to hide, because he wanted to be back with his mother and didn't understand that he had a bomb strapped to him? Was it fair to the child who'd grown fond enough of me to call me his big brother, or to his mother who pleaded and begged for me to find a way to spare her child? Was it fair to the people who had to watch? Was it fair to me to be forced to do it?" His voice cracked with emotion and he turned his face away as he regained his composure. That little boy had looked a lot like another little boy he'd loved dearly.

 

He'd looked a lot like his own son.

 

He almost hadn't done it.

 

Damn them, but they knew him well!

 

"Geta?"

 

Geta turned to his mother, whose face was wet with tears. "I'm sorry, Mother. I told you this wouldn't be easy for you to hear. But we can work together to prevent it, right?" He redirected his attention to Goku. "Do you understand what I'm saying now? If one innocent life must be spared to spare the lives of many, how much more important is it to destroy an evil person who would happily be the cause of such suffering?"

 

Goku was looking at his hands in his lap. "I... I understand," he murmured.

 

"I don't like it either," Geta assured him. "But sometimes..." He paused in thought. "Sometimes unpleasant things must be done in order to survive."

 

"So what does Dr. Gero have to do with all of this?" the usually happy-go-lucky man asked sadly.

 

"Dr. Gero has somehow been collecting information on everyone in our circle here," Geta began. "He already knows more about all of you than you think. Everything from your basic five foot eleven, spiky black hair, wears an orange gi to things like preferences, habits, abilities, personality traits. Any bit of information that could be used to take you down, especially in ways you'd never thought of.

 

"All the while, he has been busy in his lab, creating the ultimate weapons against us, weapons which he plans to use in his quest for world domination once we're all out of the picture." He looked down at his hands and shuddered at how bony they were.

 

"What is it?" Tien asked worriedly. "What kind of weapon is so tough that it could take out all of us?"

 

"He's busy building a group of androids," Geta responded soberly. "There were five of them that I knew of, one of those a machine that he'd actually found a way to have one of the other androids transfer his own brain into. Two of them in particular were the ones that gave us problems, the ones that did the most damage and destruction. The most killing." He drew in a deep breath. "The ones that killed all of you."

 

"The other ones weren't a threat?" Yamcha asked, shaken by the younger man's statement.

 

"No, I didn't say that," Geta contradicted him kindly. "Two of them, 16 and 19, were taken care of right off the bat. 20, which was the one Gero had his brain transplanted into, was damaged but managed to escape after almost fatally wounding you," he told a worried looking Yamcha. "Evidently the rest of you went looking for him, but since the androids don't have detectable ki the way we do, you were unable to locate his hidden lab." He sighed. "Trust me, if I knew where Gero was, I'd be there cleaning house instead of sitting here talking with all of you."

 

"You clean houses? Do you do windows?" Oolong joked, earning himself a room full of disgusted looks and a few muttered comments.

 

"Yeah, I cook and do laundry too," Geta responded dryly. "Do you want to die soon, or would you like to take this seriously?"

 

"Sorry," Oolong murmured. "I just... I feel pretty useless in all of this. I mean, what can someone like me do to help against killer androids?"

 

"You can support the rest of us," Geta responded immediately. "You'd be surprised at how valuable one person's contribution to a cause can be."

 

"What happened to Gero?" Goku interjected, obviously upset by all of the trouble his oversight had caused. "And why did the numbers of the androids go from 16 to 19?"

 

"Ah." Geta smiled humorlessly. "I see you did catch that. 17 and 18 were the two androids I told you about that gave us all of the trouble. Evidently Gero went back to his lab to activate them after he got away. Meanwhile, since none of you knew what happened to Gero, you started making preparations in the event that he did show up again.

 

"Gero laid low for a few days, perhaps licking his wounds, or perhaps finishing up his work on 17 and 18. Regardless of what he was doing, these two were much more advanced than 16 and 19 were, and more intelligent. When Gero realized that he was no longer able to control them, he tried to deactivate them. You can imagine how well they went for that."

 

"You mean, as in not at all," Gohan supplied.

 

Geta nodded. "You've got that right. They rebelled against him and brutally murdered him by crushing his brain before downloading Gero's entire database of information on all of us. Evidently world domination sounded good to them too, so they decided to go the way of their creator and kill us off before forcing humanity into submission."

 

"How do you know that they killed him, or even how they did it?" Tien asked incredulously. It was all too much to take in.

 

"Because they told me what they'd done to him," Geta responded emotionlessly. "They were proud of it, like most psychotic individuals are." He picked up the glass of water he'd brought in with him and took a sip. "Anyway, Father decided that he should train even harder than he had been, and that I must learn to care for myself since he couldn't always be there beside us. So he took me into the GR to train me."

 

Bulma noticed that his hand was trembling somewhat as he set his glass down on the coffee table. "Did they show up then?" she asked, fearful of the answer.

 

"Yes," he responded, staring down at his hands. "Father had disabled the ki blocking shield so we'd be able to detect anything that happened. Good thing he had, or we would have been taken completely off guard. He suddenly paused from what he was instructing me, locked me in the GR and told me to stay put. He left, and I found out later from Mother that what he had felt was a sudden powerful fluctuation of ki come from Piccolo. I didn't know him well enough to recognize it."

 

"Me?" Piccolo, who had until that point remained silent, spoke up.

 

Geta nodded. "Think about it," he told him. "Gero had been collecting information on all of you ever since Goku ruined things for the Red Ribbon Army. The androids knew all of that. If they killed you, what would have been made useless?"

 

"The dragonballs," Bulma breathed. "They knew exactly what they were doing."

 

"Yes," Geta agreed. "Father mentally told you that he'd sensed the ki disturbance and was going to investigate it, and that he'd locked me in the GR, which you both assumed would keep me safe. He told you to secure yourself in the lab, and not to come out until he himself disarmed the security. It was voice, retinal and thumbprint protected. Of course, all of those things could easily be overcome by the androids, should they have decided not to just force their way in," he mused.

 

"How?" Goku asked.

 

"Well, they could easily mimic any voice," Geta began, "and as for coming up with thumbprints and retinas from their victims... no problem."

 

Goku looked decidedly green when he realized what Geta meant. "Oh."

 

"Yeah. Anyway, after Piccolo was out of the picture, the androids decided to start at the top of the power ladder and work their way down. I'm not sure how it all began, but I suddenly felt a spike of ki, Father's ki. I peeked out one of the windows just in time to see him go sailing through the air and into the side of the house. He went through one wall and out the other, you know, kind of at an angle. It scared the garbage out of me and I hid under the control panel. If something could knock my father clear through the side of our house, I sure didn't want to be involved.

 

"I got even more scared when the GR began to shake, and then was rent open like an orange being peeled. I'll never forget the two pair of glowing eyes looking in at me, or the evil snickering. They had me right where they wanted me, and they knew it."

 

"The androids?" Bulma asked in a tiny voice.

 

"Yes. They were just about to come get me when the male android, 17, was knocked over by a ki blast. I was never more in awe of Father than at that moment. You were in your glory, Father," he said softly, looking over at Vegeta. "I... I really looked up to you, wanted to be just like you." He trailed off with a sigh.

 

"Even when he was being an-"

 

"Yamcha!" Bulma interrupted him in a warning tone.

 

"I was three! What three-year-old doesn't want to be big and strong like his father?" Geta objected, offended. "Anyway Father, you fought them for a while. I was so scared that I didn't leave. The two of them got the better of you and knocked you to the ground. I know now that they were playing with you, the way they have played with me so many times. It's like the way a cat bats around a mouse. Not to kill it right away, just to play with it until it gets bored with it. They injured you very badly, as there was no way you could gain an advantage against two powerful machines that don't get physically tired the way we would. You told me to leave, to get to safety, but I didn't want to leave you. They came up on us, mocked us, and..."

 

"Killed me?" Vegeta asked brusquely. He didn't like the idea of being bested by a couple of machines.

 

Geta nodded. "Right in front of me. They made sure it was brutal. For Kami's sake, I was a little kid!" His voice wavered. "When they were done, they were about to kill me, too, when Gohan arrived and intervened just in time." He drew in a ragged breath. "After that, Mother and I fled. Gohan helped us give everyone a decent burial. We were the only ones left."

 

"What about Mom?" Gohan asked in a tiny voice.

 

"They killed her, too. They deliberately left her body where you'd be sure to find her."

 

"What about Dad?" Gohan asked, fighting back tears. "Why didn't he help? Did the androids get him, too?"

 

Geta shook his head. "No. He left on some mission or trip or whatever and never came back. Your mother always insisted that something must have happened to him, because not only did he always come back eventually, but not too long after he left, she just felt something inside of herself, something that was just not right. I'm inclined to believe her, because Mother described it as an empty feeling when Father died, like a mental awareness that was suddenly gone. She didn't have to see it with her own eyes to know it had happened."

 

The room was dreadfully silent for a moment until Vegeta broke the silence.

 

"How did it happen?"

 

Geta merely shrugged and continued to stare down at the carpet. "I don't know. Chi-Chi couldn't tell."

 

"No, I mean me," Vegeta clarified.

 

Geta shook his head. "No, please don't ask me that. It was traumatic enough that I still see it in my dreams."

 

"Geta, tell me, please," Vegeta pressed. "I must know."

 

Geta looked up at his father, his eyes full of unshed tears. His father had used a word- please- that he had never before heard pass his lips, yet he found himself loathe to grant his father's request. "Why?" he nearly moaned.

 

"To prevent it." Vegeta's gaze bore into his son's.

 

Vegeta was unprepared for the sudden mental onslaught that assaulted his mind as he saw his death as his three-year-old son had witnessed it. He heard his terrible scream, the sound of his body being torn apart, the thuds as it fell to the ground beside the boy, felt his own warm blood splattering across his face. He felt his son's trembling, heard his whimpers of fear and anguished cries. He witnessed the near death and Gohan's deliverance. He heard Bulma's anguished screams and sobs, watching as she clutched his dead body to herself in grief.

 

"Great gods," he murmured, feeling his stomach lurch as he turned away from the others.

 

Geta had gone back to staring at the carpet and swiped at his face with the back of one hand. "Yeah," his voice croaked out the word. "I never want him to go through that." He nodded toward the baby slumbering in Bulma's arms. "I don't want any of us going through that."

 

Bulma dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue and passed the box to her son. Whatever Geta had shown his father must have been horrific. She'd never seen Vegeta go pale like he did or have such an expression on his face. "We won't have to, thanks to you," she managed. "We'll be prepared this time."

 

Geta sniffed, regaining his composure. "I- I had to do something. Eventually I was the only one of us left on a literal scorched Earth, trying my best to help keep the little pockets of humans left safe. I... It just wasn't enough. Not even being a Super Saiyan was enough against the two of them together." He looked back to his father. "So don't think that Super Saiyan has anything to do with it. The reason you were killed was because they're just too much, too strong, especially together."

 

Vegeta eyed his son, who obviously knew him well enough despite only having lived with him the first three years of his life that he was aware of his obsession with becoming a Super Saiyan. "So, it wouldn't have made any difference for me?" he asked quietly.

 

~How do I answer that?~ "No, it made no difference," Geta responded. :Although, I must confess that Mother always said you made quite the hot blonde.:

 

Vegeta's eyes grew wide for a moment when he grasped what his son meant, but he quickly schooled his face to its normal expression. "Is that so?" A smirk crept over his face.

 

"It is." Geta returned his father's smirk. :Gives you something to look forward to.:

 

Vegeta snorted. :Like I need to be blonde to have your mother demanding-:

 

Geta held up his hands. "Whoa, too much information!" he exclaimed, blushing slightly.

 

"I take it we missed a portion of the conversation?"

 

:Of all the people to ask!: "Yes, Mother," Geta responded, trying not to look at his smirking father. "Just a little of it."

 

"This is scary," Gohan interjected. "If Geta could beat Frieza without any trouble, we're toast once the androids get here."

 

Geta sighed. "You have to understand that Frieza was cocky and overconfident, and I took advantage of that. Remember how I said that it was a good thing I'd absorbed that ki blast he shot at me? I would have been toast unless he'd done that, and I was counting on him doing it. I did my homework on him and was ready for him. No one expected a couple of bloodthirsty, nigh indestructible androids to show up, and no one knew enough about them to defeat them. I grew up on the run from them and I've been a Super Saiyan for five years. I know about them, I have experience with them and with how to best utilize my abilities. I just didn't have the strength to carry out what needs to be done." He smiled at the worried looking boy encouragingly. "There is strength in numbers, especially so when you're prepared."

 

"I will be prepared," Vegeta announced. "I don't intend to die at the hands of some bloodthirsty tin cans," he retorted, unconsciously using Gohan's words from what Geta had shown him.

 

"We'll all be prepared," Tien agreed. "I'm going to train as hard as I can."

 

"Do you know what day they showed up, Geta?" Bulma asked nervously.

 

"Yes, the day and approximate time," Geta confirmed. "It was on the morning of May 12th, just after my third birthday. So we have a little less than three years before they show up again."

 

"'We', Geta? You plan on sticking around?"

 

Geta looked over at his father. "I'd like to," he said quietly. "I've been without everyone I care about for far too long.

Besides, there's nothing left for me to go home to in the future as it is now. If I go back they'll just get lucky one day and finally kill me." He forced a little chuckle out.

 

"Of course you should stay," Goku agreed. "Hey, when you get better, we can spar."

 

Geta couldn't help but smile. ~Just what Mother said he would say.~ "I'd like that."

 

"Not to bring up bad memories, but you said that you, Gohan and I were the only ones left, but then you said you were the only one left," Bulma pointed out. "What happened to us?"

 

"It was you, Gohan, me and one other boy who lived with us," Geta began. "We four lived together and were constantly on the move, or so it seemed. We all relied heavily on each other to make it and grew very close. It was a struggle just to survive. Not only were we always on the run, but food was scarce. It got to the point that we took to eating dirt just so our stomachs wouldn't rumble. That was especially important because the androids had very good hearing."

 

"You ate dirt?" Yamcha asked incredulously. "I figured you'd say insects and wild mushrooms or something like that, but never dirt."

 

Geta nodded. "Oh, we ate those other things too when we could find them. The boy who lived with us got really good at finding worms, too," he added, knowing how much his father hated worms.

 

Vegeta didn't disappoint. "I'd never eat a worm," he declared. "Even when I had nothing to eat for weeks on end, I refused to eat worms." He shuddered. "Disgusting creatures." The very thought of eating them made him want to vomit.

 

A malicious grin appeared on Yamcha's face. "That's good to know. Which room is yours?"

 

Vegeta scowled at him. "Don't even contemplate doing it, Weakling," he warned. "I know exactly what's going on in that pebble between your ears. Don't think that I'll even hesitate to flatten your face if I find a single worm in my bed." A smirk spread over his face. "Besides, I doubt that the Woman wants to find any worms in her bed, either."

 

"What's that?" Bulma asked in surprise.

 

"That reminds me," Vegeta continued without missing a beat, "you need to do something with that mop of hair of yours if you expect me to allow you to sleep against my shoulder. I have no intention of inhaling that puffball you call your hair at night." He smirked when her jaw dropped and her eyes widened momentarily before narrowing in irritation.

 

Bulma got up from her seat and put her free hand on her hip. "My, my, but isn't someone being just a little presumptuous today?" she retorted, despite the fact that she'd already caught herself fantasizing about what hot things she wanted to do to him in bed that night. "What makes you think I'm not going to just toss you a blanket and a pillow and show you the couch?"

 

"Out of the kindness of your heart, remember?" Vegeta responded sarcastically, pleased when she blushed. "You never have before, so why would you now?"

 

"Because you're being an ass!"

 

"I remember what you said about my ass, yes," Vegeta pretended to reminisce. "You said it was-"

 

She blushed even more deeply. "You made fun of my hair," she interrupted. "You've been rude to me all day today."

 

"All right, let's settle this once and for all," Vegeta announced. "Who here thinks the Woman's hair looks ridiculous?"

 

Silence.

 

"Who here finds it both flattering and professional?"

 

He got a cough that time.

 

Vegeta roared with laughter. "Sorry, 'sweet cheeks'," he echoed her earlier jab at him, "but none of your coward friends will stick their necks out for you, not even Kakarrot, who always has something nice to say." He continued to laugh heartily.

 

"Anyway-" Geta interjected, this time attempting to keep his mother from strangling his father, but Gohan piped up before he could continue.

 

"So who was your friend that lived with you and me and Bulma? Was he a nice kid? I bet it must have been nice having a friend your age, huh?" Gohan asked brightly.

 

~There's no way I could tell them about Trunks!~ "Yes, it was nice. He was a couple of years younger than me, and we were good friends. But I can't tell you anything else about him, sorry," Geta answered.

 

"Aww, why not?" the disappointed boy asked.

 

"Because as I said we were good friends and I cared a lot about him. If I were to tell you too much about him, it could endanger his existence," Geta explained.

 

Yamcha frowned. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying we know his parents and they might not get together if they knew?"

 

Geta shifted a little uncomfortably. "Well, something like that," he mumbled.

 

"Something like that?" Yamcha echoed. "Do we know his parents?"

 

"Look, I can't tell you anything else, okay?" Geta responded. He was starting to become annoyed by the constant badgering when he'd already said he didn't wish to reveal anything else.

 

"Let me guess, his dad is in this very room," Krillin joked dramatically, making his friends snicker. Yamcha high-fived him.

 

Geta looked surprised for a moment but didn't say anything. He merely sighed and looked at the men horsing around in resignation.

 

"Holy cow, he's serious," Tien exclaimed, all three eyes widening when he saw the younger man's expression.

 

"Uh-oh! Run Lunch, run!" Oolong teased good-naturedly.

 

"No way, I don't want any kids!" Tien denied the smirking pig's accusation. "How do we know it's not your son?"

 

"Mine? You're joking," Oolong snorted. "More like Mr. Baseball here's kid. You know how many chicks he has drooling all over him."

 

Yamcha turned a bright shade of pink. "Hey, I'm always care- that's none of your business," he retorted. "How do we know Goku and Chi-Chi won't have another kid?"

 

Goku, who had until now been amused by the conversation to the point that he had been imagining who the mommy to each of his friends' sons might be, yelped in surprise and nearly fell off of the couch. "Me?"

 

"Why not? Don't you and Chi-Chi still-"

 

"Augh! That's my mom and dad you're talking about!" Gohan interrupted, turning an even brighter shade of pink than Yamcha had. "I don't want to talk about that! It's none of your business what they do."

 

"The brat is correct," Vegeta spoke up. "I have no wish to hear about Kakarrot and his harpy mate copulating."

 

"Hey, Chi-Chi might yell sometimes but she's not a harpy," Goku objected. "She's a beautiful, wonderful woman and I love her very much." He smiled happily and sighed, obviously thinking about his wife. "Boy, can she cook..."

 

Geta had found it just as well that the conversation had wandered down the wrong path, seeing as no one had thought to point out his own parents as a possibility, but decided to get things back on track. "Hey, hey guys. Calm down," he called out to the bickering group. "I told you not to ask too much, didn't I? I'm only telling you what you need to know in order to prevent your deaths, remember?"

 

"That's right. I don't want to die yet," Oolong squealed.

 

"Then quiet yourself and listen to what Geta has to say," Piccolo finally spoke up. He gestured to Geta as if he now had the floor.

 

"Okay," Geta began, "sometime during that time Mother completed the time machine I came in, among other things."

 

"I meant to ask you about that," Bulma piped up, temporarily dismissing her irritation at Vegeta. "How did I manage that?"

 

"We never went too far away from Capsule Corp," Geta explained. "You still snuck into your secret lab on occasion. One of those times you put together that ratty suit I was wearing, and a little gadget that cast an energy shield over the suit that reacted in such a way that it rendered me nearly invisible. It got me out of a jam a time or ten, I'll tell you that."

 

Goku's face brightened. "Wow, that's pretty neat, Bulma! I want to see it!"

 

"Neat, hmph," Vegeta muttered to himself. No guessing needed on where the kid picked up that word.

 

"Well... I broke it today," Geta admitted sheepishly. "I was running for the lab to get the capsule with the time machine and tripped, and sort of fell on it," he murmured, a blush coloring his cheeks. "I knew I had to leave today, and the androids had been keeping tabs on Capsule Corp. for the past week. They must have known I'd want to come back today, and that the capsule was hidden in the lab."

 

"Why would today matter, Geta?" Oolong wanted to know. "Couldn't you have just programmed the time machine to come back today whenever you wanted?"

 

Geta shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. A major flaw of the time machine as it is now is that it will only go forwards and backwards through time by the year, not to a specific day. So when I came here, I had to travel twenty years into the past. Gero knows, or will know of your time machine, Mother, so I suggest that you destroy all copies of any schematics you have. We don't want him or the androids getting their hands on them."

 

Bulma seemed troubled. "But, I'm not even finished designing it yet," she admitted. "I've run into a major problem that I haven't figured out a way to resolve yet."

 

"Want me to take a look for you?" Geta offered. "I can help you find the mistake if you want. I think I already know what it is, since you mentioned a particular thing that had been giving you problems. I should be able to determine what it is by taking a peek at your blueprints."

 

"Are you saying you memorized the schematics for Bulma's time machine, Geta?" Gohan asked, wide eyed.

 

Geta nodded. "I had to. What would happen if I traveled through time only to lose or break the capsule, or if the machine stopped working? No way was I about to get trapped when I didn't belong."

 

"How did you memorize plans that had been destroyed?" Tien asked.

 

"Mother had them memorized, so she just shared with me," Geta told him, tapping his temple with a smile.

 

"Could you build one say, right now?" Yamcha asked.

 

Geta nodded. "Sure. Piece of cake." He grinned in a very Vegeta-like fashion.

 

"Yes, please do have a look," Bulma exclaimed. "As much as I like to finish my own designs, this one is driving me crazy."

 

"It's probably something simple," Geta offered. "Something that'll make you do a Homer Simpson when you realize your mistake."

 

Bulma giggled; she loved the Simpsons. "Do a Homer Simpson?"

 

"You know. D'oh!" Geta smacked himself in the forehead with the heel of his hand for added emphasis.

 

Everyone except Vegeta laughed. Even Piccolo smirked at the darn good impersonation, as he had been over the Son's house before and Gohan had been watching the program on television.

 

"Ooooh... donuts..." Geta continued, drinking up the attention as he earned himself another laugh. "Sure, I'll take a look sometime." He stretched and let out a yawn big enough that they could see his overdeveloped canines. "Man, am I beat. So," he continued, "I hope everyone takes this as an advisory to be ready three years from now. Trust me, you don't want the future I came from."

 

"No, we don't want that," Goku agreed quietly. He was still distressed by the very thought that the whole situation was caused by something he thought had been a good deed.

 

"Well, I guess I've given you a lot to think about," Geta told them. "I'd like to rest for a while, so I'm going to excuse myself."

 

"We should probably get going anyway, Gohan," Goku mused. "Your mom doesn't even know I'm back yet, does she?"

 

"I don't think so," Gohan began hesitantly.

 

"You haven't even gotten in touch with Chi-Chi yet?" Bulma exclaimed. "Go on home, you big goof!"

 

Goku laughed and rubbed his hand along the back of his head in that manner that Vegeta so hated. "Okay, Son. Let's go home. Give me your hand."

 

Gohan blushed. "I think I can manage flying home myself, Dad."

 

"But I learned a new technique while I was gone. It's called instant transmission. See?" Goku put two fingers to his forehead and disappeared, only to walk back inside the doorway in the next instant. "Pretty neat, huh?"

 

"Wow, cool! Will you teach me Dad?" Gohan asked excitedly.

 

"Sure! But Bulma's right. I need to get home and see your Mom. Well, bye guys! See you later. Hey, I wonder what's for dinner-" Goku disappeared with his son mid-sentence.

 

"That is pretty cool," Krillin agreed.

 

"Yes, and it would be cool if you idiots could do it too. Then perhaps you would also leave," Vegeta grumbled irritably. What else could this third class moron do that he couldn't? "Can you not see that my son is tired?"

 

"Guys? It's hot outside. Can I come in yet?" Puar's voice squeaked from the kitchen.

 

"We were just leaving anyway, Puar," Yamcha called back. "A certain someone has gotten cranky. Maybe he should take a nap." He looked pointedly at Vegeta before leaving the den.

 

"Rude," Tien muttered as the group trudged out of the den and left.

 

Bulma crossed her arms and scowled at her mate. "Yes, you were rather rude."

 

"They left, did they not?" Vegeta pointed out. "Would you rather I physically kicked them out?"

 

"No," Bulma agreed. "I guess not." She turned her attention back to Geta. "I'll make you up a room and you can rest for a while," she offered.

 

"That sounds great, but I have way too much on my mind to be able to sleep right now," Geta told her. "I thought it would be advisable to discuss a few things privately, without the whole group here. Why don't we take a look at those schematics, while I'm thinking of it?"

 

"Let's head over to the lab," Bulma suggested. "We can access the files from my desk."

 

Geta nodded in agreement. "That'll work." He frowned. "That poor little cat didn't have to stay outdoors," he murmured contritely. "Wait... oh, great. Gramps has a cat." He sighed. "It must not have been in the den lately, because I'm not wheezing."

 

"We'll make you up a preventative allergy shot or pill," Bulma told him. "You're not allergic to anything else are you?" She'd been surprised enough by the fact that anything made her half Saiyan son sick.

 

"Got something to write with?" Geta asked, a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

 

Bulma blinked at him in surprise. "Seriously?"

 

He nodded. "Shellfish, peanuts, bee stings, cigarette smoke, dust, and really icky perfumes set me off. Oh, and I get hayfever too."

 

"You're allergic to that many things?" Bulma asked in astonishment. "How could you be? I thought Saiyans didn't get sick."

 

Vegeta snorted. "No, Saiyans don't get sick. But wait, aren't you allergic to bees also, Bulma?" he asked mock innocently. "It looks like you got the best of both worlds, hmm Son? Amazing that you're still alive."

 

Geta shrugged. "Nobody's perfect, I guess."

 

"Shut up, Vegeta. Don't worry, Geta. I'll run a few tests and we'll whip you something up." ~Cats and cigarette smoke. Wonderful. Maybe this will be an incentive for Daddy to quit smoking,~ Bulma contemplated as they entered the lab. She laid her infant son in a crib by her desk and smiled down at the sleeping child.

 

Geta sat down in front of the computer and cracked his knuckles. "Cool." He moved the mouse to deactivate the screen saver.

 

"I forgot that it's thumbprint protected," Bulma commented. "Here, let me get that for you."

 

"That's okay, I'll just override it with the password. No biggie." Geta rested his elbow against the desk, chin in hand, and tapped a finger against his lip as he thought for a moment, then sat up and typed a few characters. "Nope..." He typed a few more. "Hey, second try. Not bad," he murmured softly.

 

Bulma's jaw dropped. "But... how... That's not even a real word! How the hell did you crack that password?" she demanded.

 

"What, and give away all of my secrets? Never!" Geta winked at his astonished mother. "If you must know, it's a good idea to choose new administrator passwords instead of just recycling the list," he informed her. "I just happened to type the correct one the second time. I got good enough at it that I had the entire list cracked by the time I was five. You're actually pretty predictable." He grinned at his now irritated mother. "What?"

 

"That's good advice. Thank you."

 

"Mmm-hmm."

 

"So, how did you learn to crack passwords?" Bulma asked.

 

Geta laughed. "Oh, I had a good teacher."

 

"Who?" Bulma demanded. "The only other person with administrative access on my lab network is Daddy, so why would he need to..." She spun on her heel. There was another person she thought of who might have access to her things and would no doubt get a kick out of the fact that he could break into her system. "Why, you dirty little snoop!" she spat, poking her finger Vegeta's way.

 

Vegeta blinked and drew back slightly, a frown on his face. "What the hell are you talking about, Woman? I've hardly ever been in your stupid lab! Why the hell would I care about your damn passwords?" he snapped defensively.

 

"Am I right, Geta?"

 

"What's that? Please speak into my good ear," Geta muttered, his attention deliberately focused on the task at hand.

 

"Why would your father teach you to crack passwords?" Bulma demanded, still glaring at her unrepentant mate.

 

"For the same reason he taught me to pick locks, open safes, get past heavy security undetected, and make a good weld," Geta informed her. "Because he wanted to see what a half breed little kid was capable of, and got a kick out of not only watching me do it, but also the knowledge that he was the one who taught me to do it." He couldn't hold back his grin at the expression on his mother's face. "Maybe it made me more useful, who knows?"

 

As she had suspected- he got a kick out of it! "You would hand a blow torch to a three-year-old and tell him to have at it?" Bulma shrieked. "Are you completely insane?"

 

Vegeta merely shrugged and smirked at her. By the gods, was she alluring when she was angry! "Sure, why not? He still has all of his fingers, does he not?"

 

"Yeah. And correction: two-year-old," Geta supplied. "Actually, Mother, the excuse Father gave for teaching me to weld was that my hands were smaller than his and so I could get in closer. Not that this would lessen the size of the blow torch, but I digress. Personally, I think he just didn't want to do the work himself." Geta grinned.

 

"What work?"

 

Geta looked back over to his mother. "Sometimes you got mad enough at Father that you refused to fix the GR, so he decided to do it himself and had me-" he made the 'quote' sign with his fingers- "'help' him to spite you. I dare say it worked."

 

Bulma scowled at her mate's satisfied smirk. "You would, too," she accused him darkly.

 

"Hold on a moment, Mother. Before you get angry, you should know that everything that Father taught me had real value later on in life. I was able to escape a couple of times by the skin of my teeth because of the so-called naughty things I learned. For instance, if I hadn't known how to re-wire a security panel, I would've been toast at one point in my life in particular." Neither of them said anything; in fact, they were both looking at him in expectation so he continued. "We obviously couldn't live here any longer after the androids arrived, but you did have a secret lab I mentioned earlier and a stash of goods here that the androids didn't know about at first. I snuck in one time to get a part you needed, knowing that they'd reprogrammed Capsule Corps' security system to catch us if we tried to come back in. I just escaped unscathed."

 

"What was it you needed?" Bulma wanted to know. "What could be so important that I would let you risk your life to steal it?"

 

"A component of what I believe it is that you're missing for your time machine. It took you years to gather everything you needed to build it." Geta perused the hidden file he'd not so miraculously found for the time capsule and winced. "Oh yeah. Definitely a rough draft," he murmured softly.

 

Vegeta stepped closer to peer over his son's shoulder. Now that he knew a time machine really was possible, he was fascinated by the idea of it. Just think of what he could do with such a device!

 

"Can you update it for me?" Bulma asked eagerly.

 

"Sure I could. I'd be glad to help. Actually, either of us could. I wasn't the one who fixed your design." Geta sat up straight in his chair and looked up at his father expectantly.

 

"Either of you?" Bulma echoed.

 

Gaping, Bulma looked at Vegeta, to Geta, then back to Vegeta again. Vegeta had figured out what was wrong with her design? "Are you saying...?"

 

"Yes, that's pretty much the look you gave him when you saw what he'd drawn on your blueprints," Geta responded casually. "Father loved to sneak into your lab and one-up your designs. Boy oh boy, were you mad when he figured out this time machine, because it was such a simple answer to such a complex problem." He turned away from the computer. "But, I didn't bring any of this up to embarrass either of you. Man, I'm tired."

 

Bulma regained her composure. "How did you know how to fix my designs?" she asked quietly. "Or the GR, or anything? You fixed the refrigerator while my parents were gone and I was stuck in bed, didn't you? Mom said it was making a funny thumping noise before they left..." She trailed off.

 

Vegeta looked uncomfortable. He didn't like being put on the spot. "The noise stopped, didn't it?"

 

"How did you do it, Vegeta? How would you know? And all that detail you gave me for that regeneration tank you asked me to build. How did you know about the inner workings of a machine you'd only ever seen before?" Bulma asked incredulously.

 

Vegeta shifted on his feet. He could have told Bulma that he didn't owe her any explanations but decided to just answer the question. "I snuck past security on Frieza's ship and stole the machinery tech's toolbox," he admitted. "Then I took a portion of the tank apart and looked inside, then put it back together. I did this a few times until I'd examined the entire thing. I wanted to know how it worked. What if I needed one someday?"

 

"And you remembered all of that detail? How old were you?"

 

"Seven."

 

"Huh." Bulma smiled sweetly. "Well, I guess you won't be asking me to fix the GR anymore, will you?"

 

"I haven't taken it apart to see how it works yet, have I?" Vegeta countered. "Nor have you shown me the schematics for it."

 

Bulma shook her head. "What else is locked away in that brain of yours, I wonder?" she mused. "Well, let's put this little man down and get you a room, Geta." She scooped VJ up carefully so as not to wake him and left the lab. "Come on guys, so I can lock up."

 

She didn't want to know, Vegeta decided. He didn't like knowing the things locked away in his mind. "I'm going to train," he muttered, not waiting for an answer before heading outside.

 

"But... what was that all about?" Bulma mused as the proud prince strode past her.

 

Geta shrugged. "Maybe he'll tell you someday. I know there are some things I've experienced that I'd rather keep locked away, too."

 

Suddenly realizing what her son meant, Bulma secured the lab without another word and headed for the nursery.

 

***

 

Bulma put the now cold food she'd cooked for Vegeta into Tupperware and slid the containers into the refrigerator with a sigh. He hadn't come in for dinner, even when she'd sent him a message telling him it was ready. Whatever had bothered him must have been weighing pretty heavily on his mind if he'd refused to come in for a meal, especially after not having even had the chance to finish his barbeque earlier that day.

 

Her baby was asleep and Geta had already gone to his room for the evening, so she decided to get into bed herself. She had an early morning meeting the next day, so she was better off going to bed anyway. There was, however, something weighing heavily on her own mind, and it wasn't what Geta had told them earlier that day.

 

Vegeta.

 

She couldn't get him out of her head. He'd both annoyed and aroused her since the moment he'd gotten back that day, and her plans to give him the ass kicking he deserved had quickly fizzled when he'd kissed her so passionately that afternoon, when he'd held her in his arms. She still loved him desperately, damn it, and there was no sense in denying that she'd been looking forward to welcoming him into her bed that night.

 

This begged a different question: what would their adult son think? Based on the little bits of information he'd dropped earlier that day, Bulma had deduced that the relationship Geta had witnessed between them as a child hadn't been the most loving. He even knew what hurtful words would come out of their mouths next. She sighed still again. She wanted Vegeta back in her life, but she didn't think she could handle a rocky, hurtful relationship.

 

It didn't take her long to decide that he was worth any effort, especially since now they knew what things they could avoid. It could be better. It would be better.

 

She laid back against her pillows and turned her head to look at the spot where her mate once slept. It appeared that once again it would remain empty. She grabbed the pillow from his side of the bed and curled up with it dejectedly.

 

***

 

"No... no!" Bulma screamed, thrashing under the sheets. She continued to whimper, tears spilling from her eyes as the dream continued. "Nooo!"

 

Geta sat bolt upright in bed, having heard her, and rushed out of the room. "Mother?" he called worriedly through the door. "Mother? Are you all right?" He knocked lightly on the door. "Mother!" His concern that she did not respond overpowered his desire to respect her privacy and he opened the door. "Mother?"

 

"No..."

 

Geta didn't know if she was answering that she was not all right or if she was still dreaming. Either way he determined that he should check on her and quickly moved to the side of the bed. "Mother?" He took hold of her shoulder and shook her gently. "Are you all right-"

 

She shrieked at his touch, still in that place halfway between asleep and awake, and gasped upon realizing that someone was leaning over her. When she saw the regal upsweep of hair silhouetted by the light coming in from the hallway, she sat bolt upright.

 

"Vegeta!" she exclaimed in relief, throwing her arms around him to draw him closer. She buried her face in his neck. "Oh, Vegeta, I was so scared..." She trailed off upon the sudden realization that she was not clinging to the same Vegeta she thought she was. "Uhmm... oh, Geta, I..." She disentangled herself from her son's neck, her cheeks flushing pink. "This is rather, uhm..."

 

"Awkward?" he offered.

 

"Yes. Just a wee bit."

 

"Think nothing of it," he reassured her. He reached over to turn on her bedside lamp and sat down next to her. "Mother, are you crying? No, no, don't cry. It was just a bad dream," he soothed, putting an arm over her shoulders and reaching over with his free hand to grab a tissue.

 

She found herself automatically leaning into the gentle embrace he offered. ~Strange... I've known this man for a matter of mere hours and already I'm as comfortable around him as if I had raised him.~ "Thank you, Geta," she sniffled. "It was a terrible dream."

 

"If you'd like to talk about it, I'm all ears," he offered, rubbing her back in gentle little circles. Gradually she grew calm, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat and even breathing.

 

She smiled up at him. "Thanks, but I don't want to think about it right now. It was very disturbing." Just as she was about to ask, he handed her another tissue. She couldn't help but let out a shaky little laugh as she took it from him and blew her nose. "You're a natural at comforting crying women, you know?"

 

A low laugh rumbled against her ear. "Thanks. Kami knows I've had plenty of practice."

 

"Oh, dear... was I really that bad?" she joked.

 

"Well, on occasion you'd have a good cry, but..." His hand stopped rubbing and he stared ahead silently.

 

"What is it, Geta?" Roles reversed, she sat up and looked at him with concern. "Is it something I said? What's wrong?"

 

"No, no, not at all," he assured her, smiling down at her. "Everything's fine." ~Now is not quite the most appropriate time to mention your dead wife and son.~ He rubbed her arm consolingly, widening the smile. "Are you all right now?" he asked, effectively redirecting all concern to her.

 

Bulma nodded. "Yes, I'm fine now," she responded, giving his hand a grateful squeeze. "Thanks for coming in to check up on me."

 

"Hey, it's the least I could do for you, Mother," he responded, rising from the bed so she could readjust the covers.

 

She smiled up at him with a pleased look on her face. "I must have done right by you somehow," she told him. "I'm so proud that despite everything you told us, you turned out to be such a wonderful young man."

 

"You did just fine, Mother. I'm proud of the woman you'll become," Geta responded, giving her a kiss on the cheek before heading for the door. "Good night," he whispered, pulling the bedroom door shut behind himself. Just before it closed, he heard her voice.

 

"Geta?"

 

He reopened the door and stuck his head back in the room. "Yes, Ma'am?"

 

"Could you do me a favor?" she asked a little timidly.

 

"As long as it doesn't involve felines or shellfish, absolutely," he replied playfully.

 

Bulma laughed. "Can you tell if your father is around right now?" she inquired.

 

"I believe he is training right now..." He paused, searching for his father's ki. "Yes, he's in the GR. Why? Did you need to speak to him?"

 

"I think he'd like to hear about my dream," she confirmed, "especially since he was in it and it wasn't a good thing." ~Which is a lot less racy than telling him I need to be comforted and want him here with me.~

 

Geta nodded. "Understandable. Would you like me to go get him for you?"

 

Bulma contemplated this. If Vegeta didn't feel whatever it was she wanted was worth interrupting his training, not only would he not come in but he'd be mad about it, and she'd hear about it for sure. "You wouldn't mind?" she asked in a tiny voice. Her hands clutched the sheets, drawing them up close around her.

 

"Not at all. I'll go get him." Geta shut the door and headed for the GR and his father.

 

***

 

*knock knock knock*

 

Vegeta growled. ~Who the hell is bothering me while I'm training? Doesn't everyone in this damn house know better by now?~ He didn't detect a very discernable ki- even Bulma's was easily detectable to him- and it annoyed him to find himself in the dark as to who would dare disturb him. "Get lost!"

 

*knock knock knock*

 

"Computer, terminate the current training session," Vegeta demanded, heading for the door angrily as the room powered down and the gravity levels returned to normal. "What the hell is your problem?" he shouted, opening the door violently, teeth bared. "Don't you understand simple Stand... ard..." He trailed off, eyes momentarily widening slightly in embarrassment as he discovered who the offending party was. "Geta? Aww, damn it..."

 

Geta stood outside the capsule, arms crossed over his chest and a ticked off expression on his face, unconsciously perfecting his father's usual attitude. "Well, always a joy to see you as well, Father. Now I remember that there was a reason that Mother never liked to interrupt your training." He scowled, chin tilting up haughtily. "Hmph."

 

Vegeta growled to cover up his embarrassment. "I didn't know it was you, Boy. Why the hell are you masking your ki, anyway?" he asked, ignoring the deliberately aimed jab about his behavior toward Bulma.

 

Geta decided to just let it slide. Whether or not Vegeta was being rude, he had been raised to honor those older than himself, most especially his parents and grandparents. Not to mention the simple fact that even though he was Vegeta's son, his father still deserved the honor due royalty higher than himself. It was odd thinking of himself as royalty, but royalty he was indeed. He let out a long sigh. "Sorry, it's a habit, I guess. I got used to masking my ki on a constant basis once I became a serious target of the androids. I only find myself letting it go when I don't feel threatened at all."

 

~So he feels threatened by me.~ "It's unfortunate that you feel that way, because I could easily feel your ki while you were in the house."

 

Geta took this as an unspoken apology; as close to one as he'd ever get, anyway. "Well, I guess this house, this place," he began, indicating his surroundings with a sweeping wave of his hand, "is kind of like a little kid's security blanket to me. Even though I have some absolutely horrendous memories of things that happened here, even on this very spot where we stand, everything here is exactly the way I remember it as a small child, until the androids came and kill..." He inhaled quickly, changing his choice of words. "Until they attacked." He gave his father what could almost qualify as a lopsided smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm still just kind of messed up from some things that happened before I came here is all. I'll calm down once I can relax and unwind a little." Sensing his father's curiosity piquing, he changed gears before Vegeta could ask any questions. "But enough about me. I actually came out here because Mother woke up terrified and screaming and wants to talk to you. She said it was a very disturbing dream, and that you were in it. She wouldn't give me any details about whatever it was about." He kicked at a tuft of grass with his toe, unearthing it. "It couldn't have been anything at all pleasant on your part, because when she woke up, she clung to me like white on rice, only she thought I was you when she did it."

 

Vegeta listened to his son's words uneasily. "You think it was something about those androids you told us about?" he offered.

 

"I wouldn't doubt it," Geta muttered sheepishly. "I can see how it would unnerve her. Hell, sometimes I still wake up scared out of my mind from my dreams." He paused for a moment before sneaking a sideways glace at his father, who had yet to reply to that rather private revelation, and decided to take advantage of his silent acceptance. "I didn't want to unload any of this on her, but on the same token, it wouldn't exactly be fair or considerate of me to keep her in the dark, either." He kicked the clump of grass he'd loosened from the ground hard, pulverizing it into tiny fragments of earth and green. "I could tell that she really seemed to want you there, Father, even though she only told me that you might be interested in hearing about her dream because you were in it." ~C'mon Mother, give me a little credit here. Does she really think that I wouldn't notice, that I wouldn't know that she's in love with Father, after watching her inwardly mourn him until she died too? I hope to Kami that he doesn't take advantage of that.~

 

Vegeta had been staring up at the night sky while his son spoke. He knew already that Geta was no fool, and knew his mother better than anyone else did, himself included. "She'll bitch and complain if I don't go in there," he muttered, but his voice didn't convey the annoyance it normally would have. "I suppose I should just go see what she wants and get it over with."

 

Geta made absolutely no effort to hide the amusement in his eyes. His father would discover in time that he was much more perceptive than he thought so far. "Yes, well, tell Mother good night for me, will you please?"

 

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Vegeta growled, waving him off as he began to levitate toward the house and Bulma's balcony. "Go back to bed, smartass."

 

Geta saluted him respectfully. "Good night to you as well, Father," he responded softly as he too made his way back to the house and his own room.

 

***

 

Bulma sat back against the head board and wrapped her arms around her drawn up knees. ~Will he really come? If he does, will it only be to complain that I so cowardly sent Geta to interrupt him, or will he actually let me talk to him? What should I say to him? I don't think I can handle it if he just blows me off.~ The nervous thoughts raced through her brain at a furious pace but she made no attempt to chase them away. Anything was better than thinking about that awful dream, alone and in the dark. Even though she knew in her heart that she was asking far too much of him, she had an urgent desire for Vegeta to hold her in his arms, to stroke her hair gently, to whisper in her ear that everything would be all right, to... She sighed and closed her eyes.

 

A sudden rapping at the window startled her from her thoughts and she hurriedly slid off the bed to unlatch the lock. She stepped aside as Vegeta floated into the room and stood before her in his typical Vegeta stance.

 

"Well? What is it, Woman-"

 

Bulma's face crumpled. ~He came for me!~ "Oh, Vegeta!" She threw her arms around the startled Saiyan prince. "Please hold me for a little while," she implored him, turning her tear stained face up to look at him. Another fat tear rolled its way down her cheek and she let her face collapse against his chest. "Just hold me!"

 

He remained motionless for a moment before hesitantly encircling his arms around the woman clinging desperately to him. He had even less of a clue of how best to calm the sobbing woman in his embrace than he did on how to quiet his fussing son. The worst part was that, although he refused admit it even to himself, his attraction to Bulma continued to grow stronger all the time, and the fact that the only partially clad woman was pressing every delectably soft curve of her body against him wasn't helping in the least. "Okay... all right, Woman," he murmured in a low voice, patting her back awkwardly. He honestly didn't know what else to say or do.

 

Bulma let out a sigh, then moved back just enough to scrub a hand across her face. "I- I'm sorry," she apologized, embarrassed. "I just had the worst dream, and you were in it." The last part came out as a whisper. "I was just relieved to see you is all." She raised her face again to look at him.

 

~Good Kami, she's beautiful.~ "Would you like to tell me about it?" he continued in the same low voice, hardly aware that he was smoothing a tear from her cheek.

 

She sniffled and nodded. "I guess so." Vegeta found himself unexpectedly disappointed when she unwrapped her arms from around him and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Come here and sit with me," she whispered, patting the mattress next to her.

 

Without even thinking about it, he found himself obeying as he sat down next to her. The arousal he'd felt when he held Bulma in his arms returned with a vengeance when she curled up against his side. "Tell me about it, Bulma," he coaxed gently. "What got you so upset?" He could hardly believe that the sight of Bulma in tears because of a dream involving him could make him act in such a weak manner. Even more unexpected was the sudden realization that at the moment, he honestly didn't give a damn.

 

She was quiet a moment before daring to edge herself between his arm and body, sighing contentedly when he didn't try to prevent her and actually curled his arm around her body. "I dreamt that I was back on Namek, and the baby was lost," she began. "I could hear him crying but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find him anywhere. I ran around frantically until I finally saw him. I was about to scoop him up when I noticed that he was just covered with blood."

 

Vegeta's brow furrowed. "I can see how that would be disturbing," he offered when she paused to blow her nose, bothered himself by the thought. "Could you tell what happened to him?"

 

She nodded and leaned back against him again. "I picked him up to look him over and he seemed all right, and for some reason I knew it wasn't his blood on him. I got this really creepy, sickened feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I knew that something was terribly wrong.

 

"Suddenly VJ started crying hysterically and his little fingers were flailing behind me, as though he was reaching for something." She closed her eyes momentarily before continuing. "I- I turned around to see whatever it was that had his attention and I could see someone lying on the ground. Somehow I knew... I just knew, but I didn't believe it. I ran over and knelt on the ground and you..." She sucked in a ragged breath. "You were... you were dead!" She began to cry again, head bent down and her face in her hands. "It wasn't just dead, it was... gruesome. Like a hate crime, or someone had gotten a sick thrill out of hurting you. I started to scream, and I could hear voices laughing and saying all these horrible derogatory things which I won't repeat, so don't even ask. Then a shadowy figure came out of nowhere and was reaching for VJ and me. That's when he woke me up." Her voice wavered as she spoke.

 

Vegeta didn't know what to say. Geta hadn't gone into detail about how he or any of the others had died, except what he'd shown him privately. ~I'll have to talk to him more about it. But I'm not sure how much I want Bulma to know.~ "Shhh, Woman, don't cry," he told her in a helpless attempt to calm her. "It's okay, Bulma. Shhhh..." He pulled her onto his lap, his arms cradling her close to his chest.

 

They sat there in silence for a moment as her sobs began to subside somewhat when suddenly she spoke. "I- I wondered at first why I would dream about Namek when I realized that what happened there, how you died, had affected me more than I thought at the time. I realize that now." She wiped her cheeks with the back of one hand. "I know we both say all sorts of stupid things to each other but I also know that neither of us really, truly means it underneath it all." She looked up at him, their eyes locking, and reached up to cup the side of his face gently with one hand. "I don't want you to die, Vegeta," she whispered, "and it scares me."

 

His face softened as the double meaning of her words sank in. "Bulma, I..." He trailed off, hearing her words again in his mind. I don't want you to die, Vegeta, and it scares me... He raised a hand to cover hers. "I don't want that either, Bulma," he whispered back, "not to any of us."

 

Trembling, she slid both arms around his chest, holding him close. "Don't leave me... I don't want to be alone, Vegeta."

 

~What does she mean by that? Another play on words?~ "You won't be, Bulma." His hands smoothed over her back and he tightened his grasp around her body, desperately willing his own to behave. He rested the side of his chin against her forehead. "I swear it."

 

Her eyes closed when she felt his lips brush against her forehead ever so gently. "I'm sorry you had such grief over this dream, Bulma. I swear to you that I will do whatever is necessary to keep you and our son safe until my dying breath." He rested his chin back down against her forehead. "But for now, you should get some sleep."

 

Bulma sat up in his arms. "No, Vegeta, don't go," she implored. "Stay with me."

 

He grunted an affirmation. "I will stay until you fall asleep if you wish."

 

She looked deep into his eyes again. "No, I mean... stay with me tonight," she whispered, turning in his arms to face him better. Her arms slid up and around his neck, drawing him closer. "I need you- I want you so much tonight."

 

He drew in a deep breath. Her warm lips were slightly parted and so close to his own, so accessible... Her soft curves felt so good pressed against his body... ~Kami knows I want her more than anything right now, but Geta knows about all of this. I have to be absolutely certain that this is what she wants. Kami, I hope it is...~ "Are you sure about this?" he asked, trying to keep the regret that she may not be certain out of his voice. He knew he was utterly failing to maintain any semblance of control, and his body was betraying him. "What will Geta say? I don't want him thinking that I..."

 

"Took advantage of my weakened state of mind and my concern for you?" she finished.

 

He nodded dumbly, staring at the floor. "Yes..." He hated how pathetic his voice had just sounded. ~All over a woman... A human woman... A damn sexy woman.~ He sighed, trying to clear his head of the traitorous thoughts. ~And here I am being honorable for once. Stupid idiot!~

 

Bulma slid off of his lap, making him feel even worse. ~So she isn't sure after all.~

 

"You want this Vegeta, don't you?" she asked softly.

 

"You're a mistress of the obvious, Woman," Vegeta muttered wearily, his elbows on his knees and forehead resting in one hand. His shorts were painfully tight, his pulse racing, his body afire with his overwhelming desire for her.

 

"Then I'm positive about this." As he stared at the floor, his sensitive hearing detected the soft whisper of silk sliding down her body to pool at his feet.

 

He lifted his eyes slowly, his gaze following up her now nude figure. He began to breathe even faster, helpless to look away. He wanted her so badly that in another minute he thought he'd die if he couldn't have her. He sucked in his breath and groaned as she took a step forward to sit on his lap, her legs straddling his hips.

 

"I want you tonight, right now. Make love to me, Vegeta," she demanded breathily, nuzzling his neck. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling their bodies closer together. "I want to feel you inside of me." She bit down hard on his earlobe, licking it and sucking it into her mouth.

 

He needed no further encouragement as he turned them over and pressed her back into the mattress, devouring her mouth with his own.