Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wherever You Will Go ❯ Ch 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter 14

Vegeta blinked back the haziness in his eyes and reached a hand up to remove the mask from his face. He stepped out of the tank; dripping red stained water that reminded him uncomfortably of times he had been sent to the regeneration tank, usually after-

But now was not the time to think of that. He scowled as he viewed the room around him, not seeing the woman anywhere. She hadn't even waited twenty minutes for him to get out?

The light from the computer screen in the otherwise dim room drew him over to gaze at it. His scowl turned into a genuine frown that forewarned death and destruction. He was staring at the same encoding he had used for the program for the MakiGari.

Some of the coding stated special parameters for the MakiGari itself and anything afterwards, while others allowed the program itself to choose certain things, such as whether the MakiGari had been done correctly or not.

Scrolling down, he found some coding he did not recognize and some of his own coding looked to have been changed around, probably to fit Earth's own encoding procedures. He straightened, wondering if there would be any way to find out what she had done with the program. Surely she wouldn't just leave it out in the open for him to-? Shrugging, he used to foot to unplug the computer from the wall, smirking as the screen went black with a soft pop.

He remembered when he had made the program. It had been right after one of those Regeneration scenes he hadn't wanted to remember. Nappa had been waiting for him and seemed very agitated. He had asked Frieza for permission to take Vegeta on the MakiGari that every Saiyan youth was supposed to perform when their elder saw fit. Sure, Vegeta would have been the youngest Saiyan to go on the MakiGari-would have. Frieza had denied the request, stating that Vegeta needed no such barbaric ritual. Nappa had never explained then why he had been upset, but years later, when Vegeta started to have certain urges, it had been explained.

The most noticeable effect of the MakiGari was increased power. The Hunt awoke latent instincts that were dormant before the ritual, these instincts reawaked every time the Saiyan engaged in battle or courtship, heightening the five senses and the sixth sense that seemed to include a multiplicity of different things not exactly tangible.

Nappa then went on to explain that Saiyan women had not been numerous on Vegeta-sei, so it was only the most worthy males that were allowed to mate with them, ensuring strong offspring. Every Saiyan male performed the MakiGari. When the Hunt was performed correctly, they were given leave to take a mate.

In regard to the mating, the MakiGari awoke certain hormones that aided in the procreation process, not to mention sorted out the hormones that drove the male sexually. It wouldn't do to have a Saiyan be so indiscreet as to have sex with every two-legged female being. Who needed that many hybrids and illegitimate Saiyans? The MakiGari ensured that the male would mate one and only one female their entire lifetime.

Vegeta would have been too young to take a mate when Nappa had felt him ready to perform the MakiGari, but he would have been allowed to take one later.

Since he didn't get to perform the rituals, Vegeta would not be able father children. It wasn't guaranteed that he would stay with the mother; that she would hold his interest sexually, which was the only way he could be attracted to a female according to Nappa. Having twelve little Vegeta's running around would cause rifts that would tear what little of the Saiyan Empire, Nappa and Radditz, apart in the battle for title and loyalties.

"Finally!"

Vegeta almost jumped at the voice and whirled angrily at the lavender-haired man staring impatiently at him. Trunks's face was framed by the monitor of the video-communications consol set on the wall just to the right of the door and he was looking decidedly smug.

He walked up to the screen and glared at his son, "What do you mean 'finally'? If you wanted something that badly, go find your mother!"

Trunks merely crooked a finger at his father, not saying a word to his snappish father. Vegeta looked shocked for a moment before growling and stalking to the door. Pressing the button that would open it, Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and scowled. If the boy thought he could be so blatantly disrespectful and get away with it….

Vegeta's thoughts trailed off as the door slid open to reveal Trunks holding a man up by the collar of a very dirty jacket. Vegeta raised a brow at the man's reaction to the Prince's appearance. Of course, Vegeta's simple action caused the man's whimpers to rise to wail, which were cut off when he was cuffed by a scowling Trunks.

Trunks turned his attention from the man and again smirked at his father, "I found this rat squealing about something you'd like to hear."

Vegeta frowned, "I didn't know you had taken to picking up strays, boy," he returned his son's smirk, "Although your treatment of trash is commendable." He shot an impassive look at the 'rat'. "What did this-human say that would interest me so?"

Scalthus whimpered at the disdainful tone the man's voice took on the word. His teeth were suddenly rattled as Trunks shook him hard, "Tell him."

Scalthus recovered from the shaking only to find himself rendered silent by the raised-eyebrow look of the alien before him. He was shaken again, his teeth almost popping out of his mouth; he only wore dentures after all, even if they were stolen. "Tell him. Or I will and then you'll be punished for making me say it."

Scalthus felt like a person given the choice of death by being eaten alive by fire or death by having his innards slowly removed from his body. "I-I'm-no-not-having-can't…."

He was shaken again, but the shaking was suddenly halted. He looked up, almost hoping to see some savior's face. His fate had already been sealed it seemed. Vegeta had stopped the shaking.

Trunks looked up inquisitively at his father, who motioned for him to hand Scalthus over to his 'care', "You're doing it wrong, boy. Let a pro handle this."

Scalthus almost fainted at the words and thought he'd be physically ill when the son gave him over without one word of complaint.

Vegeta held the human away from him with a look of disgust. He smelled! He stunk worse than that Turtle Hermit! "This is better done in the GR. Any messes here and the woman will be suspicious."

Trunks nodded, grinning anticipatorily. Vegeta shared the grin. Finally, something both were agreeing on! As they began on their short way, Scalthus again muttered a prayer. Hearing a chuckle, he glanced up and wished he hadn't. Vegeta was looking at him from the corner of his eye with a pleased smile, "You know, of all the people that have prayed to their gods, I have to say, your plea looks the most hopeless."

Scalthus trembled in the man's gaze and closed his eyes. He opened them when he felt himself being dropped into a seat. He envisioned chains, manacles, and whips all in one heart-rending vision before looking around in confusion.

They weren't doing anything. Trunks was nowhere in sight. Vegeta was half-kneeling to be at Scalthus's level and he looked almost-friendly?

Vegeta cocked his head to one side and smiled. He appeared genuinely concerned and curious. "What's your name?"

Scalthus was put-off by the question. Did tormenters ask that kind of question? "Scalthus."

Vegeta nodded, acting as if the answer was very important, "Well, Scalthus. You'll have to excuse my son. He takes after his mother in his viciousness. As you probably know," he chuckled, "A good one you pulled on her, by the way. She deserved it. She asked for it, didn't she?"

Scalthus's eyes were wide. At last! A man who understood him! "Exactly! I was just telling Mr. Darren that!" He smiled conspiratorially at Vegeta and his smile was answered, "I bet you did the same thing, huh? What was it like? You wouldn't mind sharing would you?"

Vegeta still had the grin on his face; sharing secrets with Scalthus, "Oh yes." He frowned suddenly, looking down, as if wondering something. With that wondering look still on his face, he glanced back up, "Who is Darren? I've never heard of him. Was he going to help you with her? Get a piece himself?"

Scalthus shook his head, "No, he owns Paxel Corporation. Thirty-some years ago his mother wanted Capsule Corporation, so she hired three assassins to kill Bulma Briefs." He looked a little nervously around, "Is she here? And where did her son go?"

Vegeta waved a hand casually, "Oh, I took care of him. You're just lucky I got you away from him! He would've-" Vegeta didn't finish the sentence as he frowned slightly and averted his eyes. Scalthus's imagination finished it for him.

Vegeta met his eyes again, once more amiable, "Don't worry about her either. I've been waiting for some proof for a while now." Vegeta grinned then put a hand companionably on Scalthus's shoulder and asked his next question, "Is that what you are? An assassin?"

Scalthus shook his head, "No, just an informer…who likes to taste the prettier side of the job." He leered.

"Ah," Vegeta's grip tightened in assurance, "I can understand that. I like the prettier side of the job too." He put his other hand under his chin and massaged it in thought, "But-I don't understand. If this Darren wanted Capsule Corporation, why is he going after this girl?"

Scalthus's eyes lit up, "Oh! That's the best part! I told Mr. Darren this girl was Bulma Briefs! I recognized her in the parking garage! I don't think he believed me though."

Vegeta nodded and his face broke out in a grin, "Thank you." The grip on Scalthus's shoulder tightened suddenly.

Scalthus squirmed under the grip, "You're hurting me!"

Vegeta cocked his head to one side and the mask he had been wearing while questioning Scalthus fell. And here Scalthus thought Trunks's eyes were cold! "Am I?" With one swift move, the shoulder bone underneath his glove cracked with an audible snap, though the man's scream drowned out the noise easily.

With a sudden grin, Vegeta brought himself and the man upright, using the broken shoulder to do so. Scalthus could now see Trunks step out of hiding, looking quite impressed with his father, "I never knew you could act so well! You could've been in the movies easy!"

Vegeta smirked, allowing the praise to swell his head, as if he needed that, "My talent would've been wasted in such a tedious career. I like the prettier side of the job." His echo of his earlier words made Scalthus suddenly heave.

Vegeta reacted immediately to the projectile coming his way and threw Scalthus at Trunks, nimbly leaping out the way of the vomit. Vegeta's son caught Scalthus. He was seized by the shattered shoulder bone and screamed.

Vegeta grinned, walking toward Scalthus, "You should know, Trunks, that a man will believe something is true when he wants to believe it's true. Scalthus here believed he would find an ally who would save him in the nick of time. I gave him that ally."

Vegeta leaned in toward Scalthus, "I could've had him licking my boots. Instead he told me everything I wanted to know." He drove a fist into the man's gut.

Scalthus bent over, heaving what he'd already lost. At least, he would've but for the grip on his shoulder, the wrenching of which caused him to scream again. Unfortunately, he had no breath with which to scream, a most painful conundrum.

Scalthus was allowed to catch his breath. He looked up to find Vegeta inches from his face, staring at him with no expression. Scalthus finally felt something wet seep down his pants. Trunks stepped back, not releasing his hold, to avoid the growing puddle at Scalthus's feet, face twisted at the added smell.

Vegeta suddenly grinned and removed Trunks's hand, replacing it with his own. Scalthus hissed as the very terrifying man's hand convulsively tightened on the shattered bone. "Well, I have to say, Scalthus. I'm quite tempted to know what your master will do to you. I'm quite tempted to let you go."

This time, Scalthus's hopes did not rise, not with that look on Vegeta's face, a grin, showing teeth, which would've made a wolf proud. "Unfortunately, you seem to have followed in a long dead assassin's footsteps. I believe his name was Henry."

Vegeta's eye twitched at the recognition in Scalthus's eyes, "The other two's deaths were much quicker than Henry's. He-fell in 'love' with his target. Unfortunately his definition didn't fit her's, so I…" Vegeta leaned in, whispering exactly what he had done to Henry, adding what he had done to the other two for flavor. So what if he exaggerated a little? It was worth it for the look in the worm's face.

Scalthus's knees trembled, only held up by Vegeta's hand. He couldn't even feel the pain of the shoulder anymore. How could he with a promise of much greater pain in store for him?

Vegeta smirked and cocked back a hand, casually slapping the dirty man before him in the face once, twice, three times. While the slap was casual to Vegeta, it made Scalthus's neck snap back and forth so that it felt it would come off at the next hit, which didn't come.

Bending his knees so that he could again meet Scalthus's eye, Vegeta growled at the man, "So, you're the one who tried to rape her. Very stupid on your part, although I don't mind the diversion." He took a good look at Scalthus, "It looks as though Trunks already got to you, so I believe I get to pick your death."

He straightened a put a hand under his chin, mimicking his earlier thoughtful pose, "Now let's see, what shall it be." With a sudden snap of his fingers, Vegeta came up with the ideal death and leered at the pale, trembling Scalthus, who looked as if he wanted to puke again. "Perfect…." He practically purred the word.

Vegeta suddenly released the man and stepped back. Scalthus crumbled to the floor and met each man's merciless gaze with his own panicked one. The suspense of how they were going to kill him was-killing him.

Vegeta met his son's eyes and walked over to the control panel. Still locking gazes with Trunks, he went Super Saiyan. Trunks grinned and followed suit, both ignoring the gasp from the floored man behind them.

Scalthus tried to rise; tried to get his feet under him and found himself being helped up none-too-gently by Trunks. A sudden sound from Vegeta had both looking his way.

Vegeta was standing next to the panel, looking at Trunks with a steady eye, "Such an worm does not deserve to die standing. Let him sit on the ground in his own piss. That is how he shall die." His words cut through the air like a bell's toll.

Trunks tilted his head to one side and grinned with awe, "Man! You're so cool, dad! One day, I want to torture victims just like you!" The words were obviously meant for Scalthus's sake, as the side-glance Trunks gave him confirmed. And here Scalthus thought he couldn't be shaken any worse.

With no more words, Trunks let go of the man, letting him drop to the ground again quite painfully. Trunks grinned at the fear that permeated the air. It was quite addictive.

Scalthus frowned. He was indeed sitting in his own pee. He heard a chuckle and looked over at son and father. He frowned at them, trying to see his future. Okay, death in both eyes. Boy, what a selection.

Vegeta savored the smell as well before leaning toward the panel. He spoke clearly and distinctly into the speaker the last words Scalthus would ever hear. They came out as a velvet hiss.

"Vegeta program number thirteen."

* * *

Vegeta easily stepped over the bloody pile to get some of the towels to sop up all that was left of Scalthus. He arched a brow at Trunks's slightly green look, "What's wrong, boy? You seemed to enjoy everything up until now."

Trunks grimaced and managed not to look at the pile, "Yeah, well I didn't think it would be so-messy."

Vegeta grinned and tossed a handful of towels to Trunks who didn't look thrilled at the prospect of having to clean up. Vegeta, however, merely bent down and cleaned as if it were spilled milk instead of the remains of a man turned inside out. Sure, he admired his father, but this was a little too-Vegeta for his tastes.

Vegeta heaved a sigh and glanced up from his work, "Well boy, you did have some hand in this, you know. You could help. Then we'll go get some food."

Trunks's eyes bulged out of his head. His father was thinking of food? The smirk on Vegeta's thoughts almost made him want to kick the man. "That wasn't funny."

"Nope. That wasn't. Your reaction was. I was quite serious." Vegeta leaned back into his work. Trunks did not move to help.

After a few silent moments, Vegeta leaned back up and regarded the bloody rag he held in his hands, watching disinterestedly as bits of flesh fell to the floor with small splats. "You know, I've never tasted human before."

That was the last straw. Vegeta made a satisfied grunt and did not look over at the liquid sound as Trunks lost whatever had been in his stomach to the tile floor. So intent on throwing up was the son, and so intent on congratulating himself was the father, neither was aware of the presence until the door slid open.

Trunks's head jerked up, and he quickly wiped his mouth, feeling his stomach still trying to heave as the scent of-well, many things best not mentioned again, assaulted his nose. Vegeta turned to the door with the bloody rag still clutched in a red-stained glove. Most of the mess was up, but it was quite evident that something had died.

Bulma sucked in a breath and took in the various sights. Two piles of puke, one obviously her son's, Trunks bent over, looking an interesting shade of green, Vegeta squatting over a bloody pile with a bloody rag in his bloody hands. Not to mention the smell of all these things. She held her nose and stepped into the gravity room fully. The door slid shut behind her.

"What. In. The. World. Is. Going. On? Have we taken to sacrificing now?" Bulma pronounced the first sentence through gritted teeth. The second one came out plain angry.

Neither man answered her, just seemed to be staring at either her or the closed door behind her. To escape, they had to go past her. She wasn't likely to let that happen. She glared at Vegeta and he shrugged and went back to cleaning up the blood, although the rag he was using couldn't soak up any more of the liquid. She glared at Trunks, who took an interest in his shoes, ill feeling gone in the face of his mother's wrath.

"Go get cleaned up and wait for me in the kitchen, young man! I'll talk to you after I talk to your father. Don't go anywhere, got it?" She glared at him to make her point.

Not that she needed to. Trunks contritely nodded his head and scurried past her. Why should he argue with her? Did he really want to stay here while Vegeta and Bulma 'discussed' things? No! Not when Bulma could always turn to him to take out some of her frustration. At least he had time to prepare. Although, knowing his luck, it would probably just be time to envision the worst.

Once the door had slid shut behind the fleeing Trunks, Bulma walked to stand just behind Vegeta's left shoulder, glaring down at him, "Don't you shrug at me! I want an answer, mister! NOW!"

Vegeta couldn't help a wince at the shrilly spoken word and whirled to face her, glaring up, "We killed a rat, woman. Nothing more."

Bulma smiled grimly, "Did I ever say it was anything more?"

Vegeta glared and looked away, finally realizing that the rag wasn't doing anything, and switched to a still white one. The towel was snatched from his hands and he stood this time, facing an equally irate Bulma, "You're ruining my white towels, idiot! And look at your tail! You dragged it through that-rat." The last word sounded highly doubtful.

Vegeta's eyes widened and he stood up to look behind him. He indeed had a tail. As of now, it was gently curling back and forth, revealing his mood of surprise. The tip of it was darkened with drying blood and some of the liquid was flicking onto clean parts of the floor with each wave. He grabbed it gently and held it up for inspection.

Bulma rolled her eyes and would've giggled at the sight of Vegeta holding his tail so close to his eyes he almost crossed them, had it not been for the fact that he still had to explain this-rat.

She opened her mouth again to remind him of that question, but Vegeta squeezed his tail at that moment. He let out a yelp of pain so sudden and sharp that she almost jumped through the ceiling. Vegeta's eyes were wide, probably with shock and not a little pain.

Bulma again rolled her eyes and grabbed the tail from Vegeta's hands. "You're being such an idiot today! First you didn't even notice you had your tail back. Then you squeeze it to make sure it's real? Did that Regen Tank do something to your head?"

She stopped her tirade as she noticed a strange look come over Vegeta's face. In fact, his whole posture had changed. She had been absent-mindedly rubbing his tail between her fingers, rolling it with an even pressure.

Vegeta looked to be having trouble standing. He was unconsciously swaying towards her. His eyes were half-closed, lids barely fluttering in a manner she had once seen Kitty do when her father scratched a particularly hard-to-reach itch. A deep rumbling sound from his chest told that he was purring, his half-open mouth amplified the sound so she heard it clearly.

Vegeta's eyes suddenly snapped open and Bulma immediately reacted to the look in the black eyes, not that she hadn't been reacting to the purr…. As Vegeta raised his gloves to her, she noted the blood on them. It was an immediate turn-off.

Dropping the tail and stepping back, Bulma grimaced and put her hand to her nose again. "No way, Vegeta! You smell worse than when you came back from space! Besides, I still want to know about that rat. I've never seen one that big." She raised her eyes from the blood to meet his own strained ones, "And you didn't have to turn on the gravity to dispose of it either." She looked thoughtfully at what was on the floor and the rags, "I'd say somewhere between two hundred to three hundred G's."

By the time she was finished, Vegeta had managed to calm himself somewhat with more than a couple deep breaths. His tail curled tightly around his waist, just so she couldn't grab it again. Now that she knew how'd he react, she would do something like that. "Three hundred and fifty, and they can get awfully big, woman." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

Bulma sighed. She had hoped not to resort to Plan B, but Vegeta's stubbornness was slowly pushing her towards it. Let's see, threats? No, that would make him even more stubborn, in fact, downright hostile. Seduction? No, they'd both resent that. Begging-?

Vegeta made the decision for her. It seemed her silence was almost enough, "I wasn't lying when I said it was a rat. It squeaked things it shouldn't. I silenced it."

Bulma's eyes narrowed, "So it was a human?"

Vegeta smirked, "I never said that." Bulma shrugged, acting as if it didn't concern her. She casually walked over to the control panel only to have her way blocked. "You're not locking us in here, woman!"

Bulma smirked, perfectly mimicking his earlier one, "What? The Great Vegeta is afraid of a woman? I thought no one on this mud-ball of a planet could even scratch your royal person."

Vegeta glared at the woman before him, plotting exactly how he would wipe that satisfied look off her face, but she, not about to let up on the attack, hit before he did, "There's goes your dignity. You'd better hurry up and get those Twinkies and watch your wrestling!"

Vegeta's mouth opened only to find Bulma slipping around him and dashing to the panel. He whirled around only to hear her shout out something that halted him in confusion that slowly gave way to horror.

"Program MakiGari-Ainiueru!"

"Woman!" Before he could do more than dash at the control panel, intent on destroying it, the scenery around them changed, taking the control panel with it. He whirled at Bulma with a snarl, "Shut it off!"

Bulma clasped her hands behind her, "I can't. It won't shut off until the program has reached its completion." She said this in such an impassive voice that Vegeta blinked, taken aback.

"Woman, you have to turn it off. I can't do the Hunt."

Bulma frowned, "Why not?"

Vegeta growled softly at her, "You wouldn't understand, woman. I can't- What was with the ainiueru thing?"

Bulma shrugged and looked around at their surroundings, "I've heard you mumble it a few times after some particularly introspective conversations. I didn't know what it meant but I thought it might be appropriate." She looked right at him, asking him what it meant.

Vegeta looked away, a blatant refusal to answer the question. Instead, he too looked at their surroundings, though he knew them well.

The red sand of Vegeta-sei was kicked up by a hot wind. His planet had always been hot. Vegeta had almost forgotten the feeling of the heat clinging to a person, like a blanket. Space was not even warm, much less hot. He saw a stretch of forest just ahead of them and some bare, skeletal trees just to the left. Glancing up the red sky, he took in the sight of the two moons and quickly averted his gaze. The moons explained the fire running in his veins.

Bulma looked at the moons too and sucked in a breath, glancing at Vegeta just in time to see him look away from them. She frowned and moved to stand in front of him, "Two moons? Are we on Vegeta-sei?"

Vegeta met her eyes and she almost stepped back at the pure frustrated rage contained in them. His hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides, "Yes, woman! We're on Vegeta-sei! Are you happy now? This is that oh-so-famous program I gave you!" He looked around, trying to guess where the control panel was.

Raising a hand, he fired off a simple blast. It flew through the air, hitting and knocking down one of skeletal trees. He turned his gaze back to the woman in front of him, "Where's the control panel?" With the snarl as a background to his voice, the words came out clipped and loud.

Bulma winced at the tone, "I don't know. I programmed it so that the panel would be invisible until it was completed. You can't even hit it. The program is set up as if our environment is our reality. The panel isn't part of our reality, so it's not real."

Vegeta grasped her shoulders, putting his face so close their noses almost touched, "We don't have much time! Make the panel real!"

Bulma tried to shrug out of his grip, but it was like trying to free herself from steel manacles. "I can't! What's going to happen, Vegeta? Why didn't you want this?"

Vegeta cursed and let go of her, stepping back a ways and gazing into the dark woods, "You're a fool, woman! You have no idea what the Hunt really involves. It's supposed to be a ritual to strengthen a Saiyan before-What do you think would strengthen me in my present state!?"

With wide-eyes, Bulma bridged the distance between them, "But the paper you gave me…it was old. You didn't have time to make it after we came back so it wouldn't know your strength now."

Vegeta did not look at her, intently studying the woods, "I made it long ago yes, but I encoded it so that it would read my power and set me up with something stronger than me."

Bulma thought about his earlier statement, "Does this do more than just strengthen you? You said it was something before something else? What's it before?"

Vegeta snorted, "You should hardly be concerned with that, woman. You probably won't survive-" He paused and looked at her in such a manner that she squirmed, "Let me amend myself, I probably won't survive this."

As if the dire statement were a cue of some sort, something dark flashed through both their visions. The dark thing paused so that both Bulma and Vegeta got a good look at it.

The thing was like a black, humanoid shadow, yet the outline of the thing was blurred and shifted to an almost vertical line and back to a horizontal, including every shape in between.

The shadow suddenly moved, rushing Vegeta. Vegeta leapt backwards, crouching down and suddenly thrusting himself upward, roundhouse aimed for the head of the thing and passing straight through, doing no damage.

The damage to Vegeta, though, was immediate, as the shadow seemed to merge with him, hiding him completely from view in its black folds that moved and shifted too rapidly to be solid.

Vegeta shrieked from inside the shadow, clawing at himself in an attempt to get the thing off him. It burned everywhere it touched. He felt himself fall to his knees, trying to raise his ki to burn it off only to find it being sucked from him into the shadow, seeming to make the thing darker and him weaker. The more ki he called upon, the more the thing took, the more the thing burned, the more the darkness began to seep into the edges of his already black vision. His mind grew warm and fuzzy. The fact that his cheek felt cooler than the rest of his burning body let him know that his head was lying on the ground.

With a battle cry worthy of any Saiyan, Bulma pounced on the black blur; swinging her arms to hit something that moved so fast that all its colors blended together. Surprisingly, the black thing leaped away from her attack, revealing the completely unmarked yet obviously injured Vegeta.

Bulma was by his side in an instance, crouching on her hands but not touching him. Her movement halted the black form, which never seemed still, before the thing could move to attack Vegeta again. It seemed to want to keep distance between itself and Bulma.

Vegeta slowly felt the burning sensation leave and some of his ki return. Laboriously, he struggled to his hands and knees without assistance, head whipping up to meet her eyes with such ferocity that she cringed. He turned his head to clear his throat of blood that in no way should have been there, "The program has read both our power levels and combined them in that-thing!"

Bulma looked up at the black blur. "It won't attack me, it just retreats. But I can't hit it either." She looked back to Vegeta, who was rising to his feet and looking at the shadow with narrowed eyes, before pulling his head back slightly and letting out a grunt of surprised identification.

He looked at the woman and smirked, chuckling fatalistically. "Well, something stronger than me and you. Think of it, woman. It's beaten me twice before. It's come for round three."

Bulma's eyes widened in understanding, "No, Vegeta!" She struggled for the right words and decided truth would be best; the blunt truth, "You came back from death! You beat it before! You belong here! That's why you gave me the program-"

Her eyes widened further, "That's why you didn't want to do it!" She tried to reach out to him, but stopped, knowing he would draw away and Death would attack him. "Why does a part of you want death? Why don't you want to live? Am I that horrible to live with?" She thought for a terrifying second that she had been wrong all these years; that he didn't feel the same way she felt for him. Maybe he was just the moon, impassively causing her as the waves to crash into the rocks again and again.

Vegeta eyed the shadow of Death. He wanted her to know the truth, see what he was really was. She'd always seen something in him he couldn't see. He wanted to show her it wasn't there. "Stupid, woman. You're not horrible to live with. It is I that is horrible. All my life I've killed and destroyed. In Hell, I almost destroyed you. The dragon-me, he told me that. A part of me didn't want you to go and your soul would have been destroyed as a result.

"I don't belong here; you don't belong there. It's that simple. It is the way things are, woman. You can't change the way the world turns. Don't try."

Bulma scowled, getting very tired of Vegeta always putting himself down. "Me stupid? You're the one with all the nonsense spouting from your mouth! If you were that horrible to live with, do you think I would live with you? What am I? Some pitiful victim of yours that you seduced into your bed? Did you ever try to kill me? Did you ever try to destroy me?"

She looked down at herself, "Let's see here. I seem to be living still." She put a hand on her wrist, "Yup, there's that pulse."

She raised her eyes to meet Vegeta's, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression, unreadable because he was hiding it. "As I recall, in Hell you were all about me getting through that Gate no matter what. You wanted me to leave you there to die. It's funny, I never heard the words 'Stay in Hell, woman'," she mimicked his tone.

She folded her arms across her chest, "I could belong there if I wanted, but I can't, you're right. It wouldn't be me. But you? Who are you, Vegeta? Do you know?"

He cut her off suddenly, "Shut up!" He purposefully moved away from her, about a half a foot. The shadow drifted towards him.

"I know who I am, woman! I am the Prince of all Saiyans. I am the one who was alive when the rest of my people died! I'm the one who served Frieza! I am the one whose killed countless with a smirk on my face, enjoying it! I still enjoy it! I'm the one who was defeated by Frieza, died thinking my race would at least be avenged, though I be in shame forever. I was the one who was resurrected without purpose on a planet full of enemies! I was the one who died again at the hands of some tin cans! I know who I am! I am weak!"

Bulma took a step toward him, such a determined look on her face Death could have retreated because of that alone, "You're the one who saved Gohan! You're the one who helped heal Goku! You're the one who didn't destroy this planet! You're the one who didn't kill your enemies here! You're the one who saved me! You're the one who shared a night of passion with me! You're the one who was with me at Trunks's birth! You're the one who fought for your planet against those tin cans! You're the one who inspired me to make the time machine! You're the one Trunks remembers more than Goku in the past, and Goku was his idol! I know who you are! You are the man I love!" She was gulping in great heaps of air at the end and looked truly spent, as if she had been the one battling.

Vegeta looked pole-axed. He was still trying to absorb all she had said. But the last sentence…. She loved him? In all their time together, neither had ever said it, not since the first time she had said it all those years ago when Henry had asked her why she had wanted to save him.

He remembered many times it had acted as if she would say it, then she had looked at him strangely and stayed silent. He had known why she didn't say it. She was afraid he wouldn't say it back, and in truth, he didn't know if he would have either. He certainly hadn't the first time. Now, she stood before him, looking more beautiful than ever, her heart in her eyes. He was, as he had feared, stuck.

She shook her head, taking his silence as any woman would have. "It doesn't matter if you don't love me back, Vegeta. I know I'll never be what you need. But you are what I need. I've found strength to love you in you, no matter if you love me or not. Sounds like a contradiction, eh?" She smiled mockingly. He remembered that smile too. He hadn't like it. He didn't like it now.

Frowning, he moved toward her, not noticing the shadow retreat even further back, looking almost transparent, "Woman, you don't need me. You have Trunks."

She shook her head again, "Trunks couldn't help me when Android 17 raped me. I needed you. When you helped me forget, I knew I needed you. I was dead before you." She would be dead again if he left her now, like this.

Dead-? Yes, he understood that. What was it that humans called this-an epiphany? He was dead without her; he was alive with her. He sucked in a breath and ran his fingers through his hair, thoroughly frustrated that words did not come that easily to him. Suddenly he knew exactly what to do and his dark eyes lifted to probe into hers, "Ainiueru; it means hunger."

Bulma's eyes widened, "Hunger?" She said the word softly, as if afraid, once uttered, the word would simply cease to exist. She smiled at him, inviting him to clarify with her eyes.

Vegeta took another step toward her, smirking; closing what distance had been between them. He leaned in to her ear. His hot breath tickled it, "Ainiueru." By his tone, there was no mistaking what he was hungering for, or rather, who.

Bulma met his eyes and saw the ghost of that same smile that had been on his face as he died in her arms. She reached a hand up and caressed his jaw, marveling at how it twitched under her fingers. She felt his tail wrap around her thigh, trying to pull her closer.

A sudden gust of wind reminded them both of their enemy. However, it seemed to their eyes that their enemy was simply gone. There was only a black, rag-like pile where it had once been. Another hot gust of wind blew up and scattered the rags out of sight.

* * *

Trunks impatiently drummed his fingers on the table, wondering what was taking so long and why he hadn't heard any screaming since his mother had yelled out 'now'. He put both his arms on the table and allowed his head to flop down into them.

Suddenly his head shot up and his hands thumped down, palms flat, with a smack on the table. What had Scalthus been talking about in the alley? Darren has the same goal as his mother, except once Bulma died it transferred to you. Now he'll find out that both Bulma and your father are alive.

Which basically meant that Darren was planning on killing his father and mother, possibly even him. Oh yes, he remembered Darren. Paxel Corporation had long been a friend to Capsule according to his mother, but after Darren saw Lilith die before his eyes, her heart torn out by the Androids, he had changed considerably. It was obvious now how much the President of Paxel Corp had changed and Trunks was going to do something about it.

He seriously doubted that a mere talk would do anything to persuade Darren, but surely it couldn't hurt. It was even possible that Scalthus had made it all up in the hopes that he wouldn't be killed, and if not, well, Trunks could take matters into his own hands. Nobody messed with his parents without repercussions from Trunks himself. Didn't they have enough to worry about without assassination attempts? With that thought it mind, Trunks rose, retrieved a pen and sheet of paper and wrote a quick note to his parents for whenever they finished whatever they were doing right now.

Setting the pen down, Trunks exited the house and lifted off, heading toward the newly rebuilt Paxel Corporation.

As he left, several black, windowless vans pulled up in front of Capsule Corporation, unloading about five dozen men before driving off and leaving the black-clad 'army' to disappear into the shadows and enter Capsule grounds however they could, target and purpose clear. Their goal: find anything and everything to sabotage and do so. Namely where Vegeta had been seen the most. The Gravity Room.

* * *

Dark in the city, night is a wire
Steam in the subway, earth is afire
Woman you want me, give me a sign
And catch my breathing even closer behind

Vegeta had just turned to Bulma to question her about the strange enemy's disappearance since she looked to know the answer, when several masculine voices boomed as one through their surroundings.

"Saiyajin no Ouji, anata shite shimatta Tsuukagirei to issho ni seiko shita. Susumu ni Onna no MakiGari." (A/N: Forgive my butchering of the Japanese language. I believe I have said: "Saiyan Prince, you have finished doing the Tsuukagirei with success. Proceed to the Onna no MakiGari." If this is wrong gomen nasai, and please correct me.)

Bulma glanced wide-eyed at their surroundings, looking for the source of the voices and finding nothing. Vegeta's statement overran her search, "That was the GiKai. I have completed the Hunt to their liking." He narrowed his eyes at her, "Now, shut off the program."

Bulma looked around at the still Vegeta-sei surroundings, "Vegeta, the program isn't done. Otherwise, it would automatically quit." She met his eyes with her own, trying to read the shadowy depths that elusively evaded her, "What's this about a Onna no MakiGari?" Her tongue barely got the foreign word out. "What is that?" She grabbed at the tail around her thigh and he gave a sharp intake of breath.

He stubbornly refused to show any more signs that she was getting to him. "Nothing impor-" It was awfully hard to ignore the fact that the rubbing on his tail was getting a little firmer and faster, not to mention the look in her eyes. She knew exactly how this was affecting him and she was enjoying the sudden power she had over him. With gritted teeth he noted that he did not like it.

Grabbing her arms roughly, he quickly took her lips in a harsh, animalistic way that Bulma found she not only absolutely loved, but returned. She felt herself almost going up on her tiptoes; such was the feeling raging through her veins. She moved lower to the base of his tail and felt his whole body shiver as she kneaded the fur under her fingers.

He broke away from her suddenly, but not with what she feared. Instead the look in his eyes almost made her initiate another frenzied kiss. "Woman, if we complete the program, you will be mine. None will ever be able to touch you. The Onna no MakiGari is like your human wedding vows. I made it so that my chosen mate would be mine; marked by the ritual."

Bulma threw back her head and laughed long and heartily, "You kiss me like that and think I'll want anyone else?" She gave his tail another firm stroke and watched with a smirk as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, "It is you who will not be touching another. I'm very ready to complete this program." This certainly wasn't the proposal she had always dreamed of; that every girl dreamed of-it was better by far.

Vegeta focused on the woman before him, grabbing the hand on his tail so she couldn't do that again, "You think you're ready, woman? The program's variables for this part are quite specific. You have to be willing. Certain changes will occur…. Unless you don't wish them to."

Bulma frowned, "Do you need a megaphone attached to your ear? I said I was ready, and I'm quite willing. I don't think you'd set up the program to hurt your chosen mate so any changes to be made are agreeable with me."

Vegeta raised a brow and smirked, a knowing look on his face that made her slightly nervous, as it would any sane person, "Well, let's see how in touch with your supposed ancestors you are then. Let me go, woman. I'll start the program."

She nodded and stepped back, releasing his tail, which he let unfurl behind him like a lazy banner.

Smirk still in place Vegeta raised his eyes to the moons, "Let the Onna no MakiGari begin." Before his features could do more than shift a little, before the fire in his veins could pour out of him in the form of fur and instinct, Vegeta tore his eyes away from the moons. Their surroundings let out a soft beep and Bulma let out a not-so-soft gasp.

Vegeta turned to her, folding him arms across his chest, "It's not permanent. It'll stay there until the program is completed."

Bulma was grasping a blue tail in her hands that had apparently sprouted from her bottom like a germinating seedling. She wondered if she looked the same as Vegeta when he had realized his tail was there. By his chuckle, she assumed she did. She dropped her tail and watched it curl behind to sway back and forth like a pendulum, "Well, at least I didn't feel the need to squeeze it."

A growl made her head whip up. Had she offended him that much? Upon seeing his face she realized that wasn't true. The growl was genuine, but the look that accompanied it was not anger, but almost predatory in its intensity. "Woman," the word came out guttural and very non-human, "Onna no MakiGari means Woman Hunt. I will hunt you now. I'd suggest running."

Bulma's eyes widened. "Hunt me? What?"

Vegeta looked to be getting impatient; his eyes were roving up and down her body so that she felt like a piece of meat. And Vegeta was one hungry carnivore. "Look at the moons. Not for too long."

Her brow was furrowed, but she did as told. At first, the moons were nothing notable, just two big, pale circles in the red sky. Then the moons seemed to fill her whole vision. The blood sang in her veins and her tail started to flick from side to side in a rhythm her heart was matching.

Hands suddenly grabbed the sides of her head and forced her head down. Startled, she met black eyes that burned through her. She could see a glaze over the eyes that she knew her own eyes were reflecting. The hands dropped but the gaze did not. Bulma could still hear her heart pounding in her ears, but this time it was Vegeta's eyes that filled her vision.

He emitted another growl and the growl seemed to thrum through her whole body. Instinct, an instinct she'd never had before, kicked in, propelling her feet backwards and sending her running for the trees. Behind her, she heard a chuckle and knew Vegeta was following after.

* * *

A sudden beeping sound had Darren looking back from pouring his coffee toward his desk, which made the boiling hot liquid run all over his hand. He turned back to his now red hand and cocked his head, as if he'd never seen anyone, much less himself get burned. If there was any pain from the coffee, he wasn't showing it.

He sat down the coffee pot and returned to his desk, shaking the wet hand dry and sipping his coffee as he sat at his chair and looked at the monitor on it. He almost choked on the drink he had taken and was half out of his seat in an instance.

Frantically he pushed the call button on his phone and yelled into the speaker, "Pixie! I need you to run interference! Trunks Briefs is here NOW!"

Before his secretary could give more than a 'yes, sir' Darren clearly heard the double doors in front of her desk open through the speakers. He left them on so he could hear exactly what was said as he dashed around his office, searching for something.

"Hello, sir. Can I help you?" The high-pitched feminine voice was Pixie's.

"Yes, you can. I'm here to see Darren. Can you tell him Trunks Briefs is here?" Darren almost paused his search at the sound of his rival, seeing red.

"I'm sorry, sir. Darren is not available at the moment. He's-taking his lunch."

Darren was definitely firing the girl. He heard a snort, "Lunch? At 8:30 at night? Well, can you at least tell him I'm here? I'd hate to interrupt his-lunch." The way the last word was said; so amusedly, it was clear Trunks did not believe her.

"Um, he doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating. Besides, like you said, it's 8:30. He doesn't see visitors after eight."

"Really? He was always one to follow his mother's procedures and she saw people all the way up to nine; twelve-hour workday and all. So, if he only sees people till eight, why are you here? Filing?"

The girl giggled, "No, my nails were filed this morning. Why? Aren't they even?"

Darren continued to search, stifling a groan. This put a new spin on 'dumb blonde'. He heard Trunks chuckle, "Oh, your nails are perfect, dear. Listen, why don't you wait here and make sure no one else bothers Darren? I'll just peek in and see if he needs anything that way you don't have to get up."

"Oh, you're so sweet! Okay!"

Aha! There it was! Darren pulled out the item and pushed a part of the wooden panel of the wall he was facing. With a soft sigh the wall to his right slid open to reveal a passageway that Darren quickly took just as the door to his office opened. The panel closed once again with another soft sigh.

A lavender head peeked into the room and looked right at where he had heard the noise. Obviously, Darren did not know of Saiyan hearing.

Trunks frowned at the empty office, eyes scanning every inch before his gaze settled back on the wall. He spared a glance behind him that was unnecessary. Pixie was currently fixing her hair in a pocket-sized mirror she held in lacquer-nailed hands.

Trunks entered the room fully and closed the door behind him, putting it to his back. It seemed that Darren had seen him coming and since Pixie wasn't bright enough to just say he wasn't in his office, he was either still here or-Trunks again looked at the wall and moved to it. Or there was more to Paxel Corporation than anyone had suspected.

Trunks eyes narrowed and he carefully moved his hand across the wall. He felt something move beneath it and stepped back as the wall slid back with the same sound he had heard upon entering. He narrowed his eyes further at the darkened hallway, briefly lit with small, dim lights on the floor, tracing the way further in and fading into blackness.

He thought for a brief moment of turning right back around and going back home to tell his parents of this find but hesitated. Didn't he want to keep them out of this? They had just come back from Hell; in the most literal sense and right now, they were probably trying to tie up loose ends, if he gleaned anything from the determined look on his mother's face. When she wanted something, she got it.

Didn't they deserve to get to live the life they never got to live? Vegeta had died when he was one. Bulma had never seen him again; although she always got a look in her eye that told him she was thinking of him. Even when he had first asked about Vegeta, she'd had that look in her eye.

Meeting him in the past…. He'd gone back expecting what he'd got and yet still disappointed. But then he'd gotten even more than he could've hoped for. He'd gotten the respect of Vegeta.

If Trunks took care of this little problem before it became bigger, then Vegeta and Bulma would have what they'd never had. He'd have what he'd never had. A family.

With an expression as determined as any his parent's had ever shown, Trunks stepped into the shadowy hallway, hearing the door close behind him and seal off all the outside light.

* * *

In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd
And I'm hungry like the wolf

The smell teased his nose. He couldn't have described it, but it was sweet, and blue, and all her. His woman. Or at least, she would be when he caught her. He smiled anticipatorily, imagining her body moving beneath him in time to his own movements.

He shook his head to clear the lust-filled cobwebs of his mind and bent back to the trail she had taken. A broken branch here, a footprint in mud there, her scent clinging to a branch she had accidentally brushed in passing. He could feel her, just ahead of him, enticingly close, frustratingly far away. She was keeping ahead of him somehow, and he had to assume it was because of the tail. If it gave a Saiyan added strength, it must do the same for a human.

A breeze tickled her scent underneath his nose and he had to stop or risk missing some little clue. It was his stopping that brought to his attention the fact that her scent had now gone in two directions. One trail went straight ahead, the other went up the tree right beside him. He peered up the branches, but even his superior sight couldn't see past the dense foliage.

He smirked; glad she was being so-difficult. That was one of the many things that had attracted him, after all.

He could continue on the path, but if she'd taken the tree route his move would allow her to backtrack or change direction without his knowing until he caught up with the fake trail. However, even if the tree-trail were the fake one, he would be able to catch up to her easier with the advantage in height.

With a leap straight up into the air, he pounced onto the rough bark, fingers clutching the crevasses long enough for his boots to touch the tree before he pushed off and up, fingers finding a hold further ahead. Basically he climbed the tree like a panther.

Breathing a little harder now, he perched on a branch that afforded him a view of the ground and grunted in satisfaction to find that the smell was still there. Either the woman had found something live to rub her scent on, or she had taken this path. Either way.

He grinned and dropped down so that his hands held onto the branch. Swinging himself back for momentum, he swung forward and let go, grabbing the branch of a nearby tree and swinging himself forward and up to crouch on it. From there, the smell went up, and so did Vegeta, nimbly climbing, swinging, and leaping as the moment, or rather, the trees, dictated. From the erratic pattern of the scent trail, Vegeta almost thought she'd gotten one of those Earth squirrels. He couldn't quite remember what animal on his own planet corresponded to that.

Within a few minutes he had caught up to the chattering little creature. He watched it for a minute, wondering how the woman had gotten the rodent-like, floppy-eared, gray-furred, animal to come to her until it spotted him. It cocked one ear up and the other down, wrinkling its pink nose before deciding what it had decided with Bulma and scampering over to sniff Vegeta.

Vegeta raised a hand and petted the tiny creature no bigger than his hand. Her scent was all over the thing courtesy of her watch around its neck, but its own scent was unmistakable now. He had almost forgotten that Vegeta-sei's animals did not show the fear that Earth's did. He didn't remember putting in a code for animals though.

He shrugged and stood on the branch with perfect balance removing the watch before the animal grew disinterested and scampered away. This was going to take longer than he had thought.

He grinned yet again and scented the air. Now the woman's scent was totally gone. He could backtrack, but that would waste time. Instead, he dropped lightly the five feet down and tried to pick up the trail from where he was.

It was only the slight sound of splashing that alerted him to her location and he took off in the direction of the sound, certain body parts making him speedier than usual in his search.

* * *

Straddle the line, in discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Mouth is alive, with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf

The first thing Bulma had done upon entering the forest was think of a way to throw Vegeta off her scent. Now that she had a Saiyan's tail, it seemed the rest of her body had followed with the Saiyan properties. She could smell Vegeta behind her. He smelled like she imagined the night would smell, dark yet expansive, with myriad little points of light to break up the black.

She easily moved around, under, and over the foliage, never quite stopping. She remembered some hunting guide or other saying something about animals crossing water to cause hunting dogs to lose their scent. Unfortunately, she had yet to come upon water, although there should be at least a creek in this thick forest.

A sudden chittering sound had her paused, one foot up slightly. She carefully turned her head to the right, where the sound had originated. Her posture relaxed as she saw the creature who had made it. It looked like a squirrel, but its tail wasn't nearly was bushy and its ears were rounded at their tips. It held something in its paws and was nibbling at it while it curiously gazed at her.

She bent down, conscious of the closing Saiyan behind her, and clicked her tongue at the creature, holding a hand out toward it. The animal's ears bent forward and it dropped its food to scamper forward and sniff the outstretched hand. Quickly, before the animal could retreat, Bulma grabbed it and latched her watch around the creature's neck. The watch was stretchable, so if the animal got hung up on something, the watch's band would release.

The creature ran halfway up a nearby tree as soon as it was released and scratched at the foreign object around its neck with a hind foot before twitching its nose at Bulma and running the rest of the way up the tree.

Bulma quickly got up and ran away from the tree, barely getting behind the trunk of one before Vegeta arrived where she had been. She held her breath as she heard him pause and let it go in a sigh of relief as he took to the trees after the fake trail.

Breaking from her cover, she ran forward. She really didn't know why she was running. But a part of her absolutely loved the feel of outwitting an opponent, and the fact that she had just tricked the Prince of all Saiyans made her head swell. If Vegeta had thought his prey would go down easy…well, she was out to prove him wrong.

Minutes later, she came to the water she was looking for. She stared in dismay at the river that was probably was deep as it was wide. And it was pretty wide from where she was. There was a tiny island in the middle and vines hung down from the trees from that point on to other side.

She considered the tail wrapped around her waist. It had given her extra speed, stamina, and strength. Would it enable to at least swim to the island? From there she could grab onto the vines and make it to the other side.

Taking a deep breath she slowly eased herself into the water, surprised to find the water chill with the hot air all around, it was quite the contrast.

Careful not to splash, as she didn't know how close Vegeta was, Bulma started swimming toward the island. It seemed like no matter how much she tried to pull herself forward, the shore got no closer to her.

It wasn't until she came up for air the fifth time that she realized that she didn't even feel the normal pull of her muscles as she would have from swimming across half a river. The shore was inches from her nose and she backed up, dog paddling, and clambered onto it.

Grinning she inspected the small island, seeing nothing of interest and moving toward the vines. Things were much easier with this added Saiyan appendage.

It was no wonder Vegeta had always gotten irritable when it was mentioned. One would notice its absence. She regretted the fact that she would only have it for the duration of the program.

She smirked and leapt up, grabbing a hold of a vine and twisting her legs around it. She would just have to make this last as long as possible.

However, time was conspiring against her and the vine she hung on suddenly snapped, dumping her into the water with a great splash. She almost gulped water in at the shocking change in temperature.

Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side
High blood drumming on your skin it's so tight
You feel my heat I'm just a moment behind

When she finally surfaced, it was to see Vegeta's smirking face inches from her own. He had levitated out to where he had seen the air bubbles. She frowned at him and made to dive under the water, only to have her tail grabbed when it flicked out to join her body in the water.

Yelping, she leapt out of the water and wrapped her arms around Vegeta in an effort to escape the pain and pulling the surprised Saiyan into the water with her.

Vegeta quickly tried to right himself, only to find himself yelping as his own tail was yanked from behind him. He turned around to catch Bulma's blue hair in his face. Hands suddenly clutched his sides and began to tickle him. Luckily, the Prince had a little more control than that. His own hands sought out her sides and returned the favor. She obviously did not have his control as she suddenly had to shoot out of the water for air.

He shot up beside her and grinned, only to find himself sputtering as she splashed water in his face. He used his tail to slap water back at her and she herself was sputtering. He grinned again and dived underwater, deciding that if she wanted to play he'd be more than happy to oblige.

As he ducked under water and tried to come up from underneath her, Bulma leaped forward and over Vegeta's grabbing hands purely by instinct. In their little underwater tickling contest they had drifted closer to the other shore, at least, Bulma thought it was the other shore.

As Vegeta rocketed out of the water and into the air, Bulma clambered onto the shore and took off, diving headfirst into the woods, weaving through the trees. She smirked as she heard an explosive curse behind her and Vegeta landing and giving chase. He couldn't fly through the forest, not when he wanted to take her down by force.

Bulma was so intent on running; she didn't even notice she was out of the forest till she realized she wasn't dodging as much as she had been. She almost slowed down but could hear Vegeta right behind her, so, with a burst of speed, she picked up her pace, hoping to gain the cover of trees before Vegeta gained on her.

The two moons of Vegeta shone down on the pair, highlighting the chase. It seemed Vegeta was indeed gaining ground on Bulma.

* * *

Trunks had begun to notice that the passageway was sloping down steeper and steeper as he went. He slowed down abruptly and slammed himself to the side as something brushed past where he had been. It was only the quiet clicking sound a human wouldn't have caught that had saved him from being slice in half by the blade that was now retracting back into the ceiling, having dropped straight down from there.

Now he was sure that something was happening within Paxel Corporation that Darren was trying to hide. He shook his head and moved on, this time wary of more traps. Dr. Gero, Androids, Cell, Scalthus, now Darren. At least bad guys were stupid. He almost chuckled, but opted on silence and smirked instead. Stupid to mess with his family.

It seemed the passage had finally stopped sloping and was becoming wider, so he slowed. As soon as he felt the tile under his foot slide down, he rolled to his left, hearing a number of light snicks at the place he had just vacated.

Getting up into crouch he made a face. Trunks chi kabobs filled his vision at the spikes that now protruded from the floor. He was seriously starting to think he was going to be cut up before he even got to wherever this led. All this was making him wonder just where this path did lead….

He got up and continued on his way, straining every sense to catch even the slightest indication of anything. So it was that he had plastered himself up against the wall before he realized that the sound he heard was a door opening and no trap.

The light was considerably dimmer where Trunks had thrown himself and the room the open door revealed was much brighter, so the man in the white lab coat who had stepped out walked right past the intruder without even seeing him.

Trunks let the man pass, deciding that he would enter the room and find out what he wanted without accosting the man and perhaps alerting everyone of his presence.

He slipped in before the door slid shut and moved so quickly behind a machine that the doctor he had passed felt only a light breeze.

Trunks peeked around the corner and had to hold in a shocked gasp. Before him stood a giant tube attached to the floor, like the ones the late Dr. Gero had used to create Cell. And indeed, like Gero's tube, this tube contained something in it that floated in a clear liquid.

Trunks eyes were as wide as they could go as he gazed upon a sight even he, in his wildest dreams, could not have invoked at any time in his thirty-six years of age. It was simply inconceivable. He no longer wondered if Darren was insane. It was quite clear now that he was.

* * *

Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Scent and a sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Falling forward into the ground was the first indication that Vegeta had caught up to her. Being turned over and seeing his smirking face and lustfully dark eyes inhaling the sight of her was the definite proof. She fought against him and surprised him, obviously, for she managed to get away for a second. That second was long enough for her eyes to lock onto the moon.

Vegeta was way too late to divert her gaze. Her face began to elongate into the baboon-like muzzle and hair, blue hair, began to sprout every which way. In only a few minutes time, long enough for him to fly up near her face in an effort to think of a quick fix for this big problem, Bulma was a big, blue monkey. He suddenly had a dodge a well-aimed hand that swatted at him.

Bulma would not be reasonable in this stage and destroying the moons-that would end the program in failure. Cutting off her tail would end the program the same way. There was only way, and Vegeta had to admit that it wasn't an abhorrent option.

He grinned and dodged another swipe of a blue-furred hand as Bulma roared at him. He suddenly shot off to the cover of the forest and landed in one of the trees, looking at the moons with an eager grin.

Bulma was upon him in a second only to stop in confusion. There seemed to be-another her, but with brown fur. She roared a challenge and was answered with another roar and a voice, "So you want to play with these terms?" He laughed at the power, savage and unbridled, flowing through his veins.

Bulma let out another roar and charged Vegeta, who easily evaded the clumsy attack by sidestepping it and sticking his foot out, chuckling as Bulma tripped over it and crashed into the surrounding trees, flattening all that were in her path under her blue, monstrous form.

Now, all Vegeta had to do was get her to see reason. Woman!

The blue haired monkey version of Bulma's head whipped around to stare at the equally giant monkey behind her. She rose to her feet and growled at the other.

Vegeta was slowly losing his patience; what little of it he had, Woman, gain control of yourself!

The mind-voice echoed in Bulma's head and she let out another roar that ended in a confused sound as the voice again sounded, Woman, I know you can hear me. Rein in your primal urges. Control them. Do not let them control you. Surely you can do what I have done. Vegeta grinned mockingly.

The words were indeed sinking in and a grimace passed across Bulma's face at the challenge in Vegeta's tone. Indeed she could control it, especially if he had!

Bulma's face scrunched up and Vegeta couldn't help but chuckled at how that looked, earning himself bared teeth with a growl. Finally, Bulma felt she had enough control to come at Vegeta again; this time in a more controlled manner.

She still found herself face down on the ground and snarled in frustration. Getting up to her hands and knees, she was suddenly knocked back down, all air gone, when Vegeta's form landed on top of her.

Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine I'm after you
Mouth is alive, all running inside
And I'm hungry like the wolf

"Are you in control, woman?" The voice was harsher, more guttural, in his ape form.

"Of course! Now get off me!"

Vegeta's chest vibrated as he chuckled, eliciting certain reactions inside her, "No, woman. Rules are I catch you, you're mine."

She bucked, trying to throw him off and felt something other than his body pressing into her demandingly, "I'm no one's!"

He chuckled again and his fangs came down, nipping on her neck, causing her to grit her teeth. The teeth traveled down her shoulder to her arm before traveling back up in an agonizingly slow manner that had a strange sound coming from her throat.

"You're purring, woman." Vegeta's voice was far too amused.

"I am not!" She rolled her eyes at how very like him she sounded, petulant even.

Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
I smell like I sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf

He chuckled and she took the opportunity to ram an elbow into his gut, satisfied when the air went out of him in a gush. She flipped over quickly and took his quite startled lips in her own, hungry to give him the same reactions he was giving her.

Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine I'm after you
Mouth is alive, with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf

He growled at her aggressive behavior but she knew from his own hungry answer to her kiss that he secretly liked it; wanted it. His furry, meaty hands searched her body in a way that knew every place to touch, every way to make her ram her body up into his.

Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Scent and a sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf

She made sure to work her own hands so that he soon couldn't control his want of her. There were no words, only the primal sounds that could only be expected from two monkeys, huge as they were, marking each other as their and only their territory. Let any who try to take the other away suffer more agony than that found in the ninth level of Hell.

As if in answer to that challenge, the Gravity Room exploded.

* * *

It was him. Trunks rubbed his eyes, making sure he was seeing what he was seeing. People in white lab coats bustling around, hitting buttons and checking dials; in the center of the action was Darren, frantically directing as many people as he could, a square something held in his tightly clenched fists.

Trunks looked again at what, or rather who, was inside the tube, floating in a clear liquid, limbs attached to tubes and sensors on his chest and forehead. It was an exact replica of him. Well, a naked exact replica of him. Purple hair, Vegeta's eyebrows, Bulma's nose, well-honed muscles, yes, it was most definitely him.

While Trunks was still in shock, trying to assimilate the sight before him, Darren was shouting out various commands, "Hurry up! He's right upstairs! I don't want him accidentally finding this place; as unlikely as that may seem."

One of the doctors scurried up beside Darren and stood, nervously rubbing his hands in front of him. Darren turned to him, looking very irritated, "What? Is he ready?"

The doctor nodded and Darren let out one relieved sigh and hit the button on the remote control he held in his hands. Trunks only had time to realize what was happening before the water began to drain out of the tube. He had to destroy the thing!

He stepped out of hiding and let out a long, loud scream, powering up as quickly and high as possible before letting out a great stream of ki that overrode all the other protesting screams and went through glass and his clone with equal ease.

Darren had lunged out of the way in time to receive only a slamming into a wall and a badly burnt back. His had been the loudest scream of protest, but it still hadn't been heard. Now he peered through smoke and fire in an effort to see his creation.

Trunks too peered through the smoke, ready for anything but the sudden appearance of his clone, fist cocked back for a punch. Trunks cursed and twisted his body around, finding himself on the defense so fast it almost left his head spinning.

The clone him was smirking as it threw punch after kick after punch in combinations that he recognized as his and Vegeta's style. Trunks barely caught the reverse backfist aimed for his cheek and took the opening this gave him, leaning back and throwing a sidekick right into the other's ribs. His leaning back while keeping a grip on the clone had pulled it forward and into the kick. The clone's eyes went wide, strangled sound making its way out of his mouth. Trunks quickly released the clone. Okay, time for some of his mother's tactics.

"Why are you fighting me? There's the one you should be fighting!" He pointed right at Darren.

The clone did not even glance over. He regained his footing and sank into a lower fighting stance, smirking coldly at his counterpart. "No. I must fight you. I must kill you. Then I'll take your place and kill Bulma and Vegeta. Or should I say mom and dad?" His smirk changed to a sneer, "Now be a good boy and die!"

The clone lunged at him and again Trunks was on the defensive. Every time he looked he saw his own face, his own eyes. It was his own hand coming in for a punch, his own leg retracting for a kick. Trunks took an opening he saw in his counterpart's defenses and leapt backwards, hands back in a form familiar and yet not to the clone.

"Gallic Gun!" The ki blast streamed from Trunks outspread fingers and the clone barely had to time to put up a crossblock, flying back to hit the far wall, finding himself being pushed further and further back. Finally the clone retaliated with his own ki, expanding it outward to shield him from the blast and dissipate it.

The clone emerged from the man-shaped hole with a smirk. He pushed back a strand of purple hair with a flick of his hand and the real Trunks grimaced. That was what he looked like when he did that? It was so gay!

"Nice one!" He landed on the ground and approached his downed creator, "Darren, I'm supposed to have a sword."

Darren gave a nod that grew in its confidence and rose to retrieve said weapon, throwing it to the clone, who caught it deftly with one hand, swinging it an arc and smiling, pleased at his own aptitude with the weapon. He arched a purple brow at Trunks, "Well? Shall we commence?"

Trunks reach behind him and pulled out his own sword with a hissing sound that ended in a ring of treble. He smirked at his clone, getting right into a fighting stance with none of his fake's showing off. What had Darren done, put Vegeta in him?

The clone charged him, sword swinging in a low arc that Trunks's own sword easily moved to block at an angle so that his opponent's blade slid harmlessly down, all the kinetic energy from the blow going to the ground.

Trunks's sword flicked upward, faster than light toward the clone's head, intending on taking off more than just the top of his hair and was met by the clone's sword. Both the clone and Trunks's pushed inward, swords edges at each throat, arm muscles bulging to push the other sword away and bring their own sinking into the other's throat.

Blue eyes locked with blue and both ki's rose in response to what they saw in those eyes. The intense need to destroy the other. Finally they made a silent agreement and both pushed away at the same time, staring at each other across the distance they had made.

Again they both charged, swords meeting in high arcs that clashed with blue fire, highlighting the savage look on the clone's face and the intense gaze of Trunks. The sound when the swords hit was pure in his tone and turned sour at the end, rich tenor ruined by the cracking sound that was echoed.

Both men leapt backwards and two broken hilts were tossed aside. The clone, as if the sword was useless garbage, Trunks with regret. The sword had become a-companion of sorts.

Blue eyes met blue again like glaciers striking off one another with a grating, screeching noise whose discordant harmonies were heard only by the two battlers.

A voice spoke out but neither man looked at it. "What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

The clone smiled grimly, "Isn't this when you reveal what your big plan was the whole time? Isn't it time for you to gloat over the position you have him in now? In other words, the spotlight's on you, Darren. Take the stage."

Darren tittered nervously, "Yes, you're right. Of course! I forgot I programmed you that way."

Trunks looked from the clone to Darren and couldn't help guffawing in ridicule, "You programmed him to wait until you boasted?"

Darren puffed his chest out with indignation. "Yes! There is always a time when the antagonist, that would be me antagonizing you, must reveal his true design and the depths of his hatred for his enemy."

Trunks grinned cockily, "You mean the depths of your stupidity."

"No! I mean no such thing!" He looked flustered for a moment, "Now shut up and let me talk!

"You see, it all started when those Androids attacked Paxel Corp. We tried to hold them off, but the inevitable happened. They got inside."

Darren's eyes met Trunks with a wholly insane light, "Where were you, mighty savior? When they were tearing the heart from my mother, where were you? Out playing your little games with the rest of the world while mine fell apart?"

He did not allow Trunks to answer, not that it looked like the narrow eyed demi-Saiyan was going to, "It was after they had left me cradling her dead body that I vowed to her I would kill you! She was quite eager to help me. She would get all Capsule Corporation had and her death would be avenged, why wouldn't she be eager?"

Trunks eyebrow rose, "She was eager to help you?" He sounded hesitant and not a little amused, definitely a crack case.

Darren's chest puffed out, "Yes, she talked to me out of the picture; the big one in my office. She told me how to get you. She told me to attack Capsule Corporation and unleash your clone. But now you're here and you get to fight him before your parents are dead." He frowned, "I was hoping to at least have that little point on my side."

Trunks's eyes narrowed so that his eyebrows completely shadowed them, a dark and forbidding expression in mouth and stance, "Capsule Corporation is being attacked? How?"

Darren again looked proud, "Sixty men."

Trunks gave a loud laugh that made Darren start in surprise, "Sixty humans? That might give dad a little of a challenge. He'll probably thank you once he's finished with them. That is, if there's enough pieces of you left to thank, or even recognize."

Darren paled visibly at the feral expression on Trunks face, "No one can take out sixty men as easily as you make it sound. You're bluffing!"

Trunks chuckled, "You keep telling yourself that. But I might have to tell you a little something. Though I didn't have to tell Scalthus. He guessed it."

"Scalthus! Did that little rat turn traitor?"

Trunks laughed with an easy style that caught Darren's anger in his throat and made it stick there, "No. Vegeta just played with him for a while before turning him into a puddle of ooze. Three hundred and fifty times Earth's gravity will do that a man, you know."

Darren looked sick at the mental image that was creating in his mind. Trunks wasn't through yet, "Oh yeah. And my dad's not human."

Darren's ears perked up, "Your father? Well, I suppose that makes sense. Tell me before you die. Who was your father?"

Trunks grinned evilly, "My father was-is Vegeta. Prince of the Saiyans."

Darren's mouth dropped open and his gasp was quite audible and pleasurable to Trunks's ear, "Vegeta? Alien? Prince?"

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Yes, now can me and him," he pointed to himself and the clone, "continue?"

Darren nodded mutely; looking too shocked to form words. Trunks turned back to his counterpart to find him flying at him, ki blast in hand.

Trunks frowned and watched impassively as his mirror image charged him. All thoughts of this clone being anything like him vanished in one white-hot second. His family's happiness would not be compromised.

The clone suddenly found himself stumbling forward, ki-filled fist going through Trunks's afterimage. The clone had the privilege of hearing Trunks's cold chuckle as a front snap kick sent him flying forward, nose grinding into the ground.

As the clone leapt up and around, he met another hit; a fist across the face that snapped his head to the left. Another blow with Trunks' knee brought tears to the clone's eyes and had him howling. It seemed his clone was lacking in nothing.

As the clone stumbled back a few steps, he looked up at Trunks with hate-filled eyes that suddenly turned alarmingly amused. Trunks found the reason when a stabbing pain hit his left arm. He whirled around, out-swept arm knocking Darren off his feet and sending him skidding; to stop when he hit one of the control panels, neck at an odd angle, dead.

Trunks spun back around only to find the room tilting to one side. He felt himself stumble slightly and met his clone's eyes when his chuckle echoed in his head. Wait. His mother had told him about this-What was it?

The clone answered him, advancing slowly on his counterpart, a predator seeing weakness in a prey. "Well-ell. The very thing that got your father-er. Now it will get you-ou."

Trunks squinted his eyes at the three naked him's, trying to decipher which one he should attack. The drug was working fast. Probably faster on him than on his father since he was only half-Saiyan.

Through drug-hazed mind Trunks tried to recall what about that last statement should be jumping out at him. His only answer was in the form of a knee right where he had put his in the clone. He heard his own howl of agony and felt himself go down on his knees, stabs of pain shooting up, black spots dancing in his vision.

His clone wasn't quite done with him yet. Trunks felt a flash of pain as his clone's fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying in reverse to land on his back in the broken glass from the tube. He tried to lever himself onto his elbows but found his body not willing to respond to his command, in fact his lungs seemed not to want to respond to the command to fill themselves with air. He gasped, trying to get in much needed oxygen, but being deprived by the heavy weight sitting on his chest, though nothing physical was there.

Again the clone's laughter echoed through his head, bouncing off his mind's walls until he was sure his head would explode. "Look at the mighty Saiyan-an. I'll take you out-t, then go for your father and mother-er. Which do you think I should do first-t? Do you think your father would be in more pain seeing her go-o, or the other way around-d?"

The clone's first sentence tumbled in Trunks's head, trying to find some connection to the mental image of him hitting himself on the head and the actual words. Saiyan! It suddenly clicked and he totally agreed with the mental image as he let his power expand to fill his entire vision.

He heard his clone clearly gasp and he grinned as he rose, a golden picture of pain; for the clone that is.

He had the imposter in a death grip around the neck before the man could blink, gasping for air as he had been gasping for air, "Actually I think you're the one in the most pain right now." He suddenly let go of the clone, pushing him backwards and watching with a smirk as the man, face as purple as hair, regained his breath, "Well, I want a fight now! Go to the next level and we'll finish this! I don't have all day."

The clone looked pole-axed, "Next level? What are you talking about? What did you do? Why do you look like that? You should be dead!" The words tumbled out of the panicked clone before he could halt them.

Trunks sighed with disgust, "Jeez! I wanted a fight! You mean that pile of dead trash over there," a hand waved at Darren's body, "made me without my full potential? Pathetic!"

The other him gaped, "Full potential?"

Trunks rolled his eyes and smirked, "Well, if you insist."

Throwing back his golden-maned head, Trunks roared his need for power to the heavens and received an answer as his muscles suddenly bulged, clothes straining to contain them, and his hair grew even wilder, spikier.

He brought his head back down and looked at the clone from lowered eyes seething with wicked mirth, sneering at the now floored clone. He intoned in a voice that was thick with faked-honey and brought both arms out horizontal, hands palm up to display his powerful aura, "This is full enough don't you think?"

The clone had only begun to stutter a reply when a jaw-breaking punch slammed him into the wall eight feet behind him, leaving an indent his body fell out of in slow motion. He didn't even touch the ground before a front snap kick had him sticking to the ceiling like a fly to flypaper.

It was quite comic to watch the clone release itself from the ceiling with a sticky sound and smack into the ground. Trunks took the time to observe the sight and laughed with gusto. "Thank you so much for this opportunity. I haven't gotten to use this power in quite a while."

Trunks leaned over and picked up the clone only to wrinkle his nose in disgust as the head limply lolled onto his hand and blood trickled down it to splatter onto the floor. He threw the body away from him. Okay, that was done and done well he might add.

Trunks went out of Super Saiyan 2, grinned, turned around, took one step, and fell down. He did not move.

* * *

The men were just congratulating themselves on a job well done, gazing at the handiwork of the totally demolished Gravity Room, when the twisted scraps of metal suddenly flung backwards in a blinding flash of light that threw every man on their butt.

The scream of rage, primal and intense, reached such a frequency that the men almost peed their pants from the mere sound of it. They all got up, shaking and trembling, to stare in awe at the man, golden hair spiked up to inhuman proportions, teal eyes scathing in their search, throwing himself into the wreckage.

"WOMAN!" Frantically, Vegeta pulled aside huge sheets of steel, live wires that crackled in his hands, and tangled webs of anything else to the side, not even noticing how freaked-out his actions were making the men who had blown up the GR. "Woman!"

A pale hand peeked out from under one sheet of metal and Vegeta gave a cry half in triumph, half in anguish and threw away the rest of the torn parts from around her body, revealing her bruised and bloody figure.

He cradled it and shook her slightly, his voice lowered, "Woman?" He got no response from the limp form and felt a lump grow halfway in his throat and stay there.

"Woman?" This time his voice cracked a little on the end, its volume increased so that the men watching heard it clearly.

They all exchanged wide, worried looks. Some of them, realizing they had made a big, fatal mistake took off, wanting to try and escape before the man realized they were there and were the cause.

"Woman…." Vegeta again shook the body, this time halfheartedly, knowing in his mind what his heart; what little he had left, could not believe. He lowered his head to touch her forehead, kissing closed eyes and breathing in her scent-and the scent of others.

His head snapped back up and to the intruders, his eyes; blacker than any decay their soon-to-be dead bodies would find, locking them in place.

Vegeta rose, body still cradled in his arms. He took slow, deliberate steps, relishing every step they took back. Once he reached solid ground, he laid the body down gently, though his eyes betrayed what he was feeling. It was too bad the men's deaths were going to be worse than what they saw in the dark depths.

Within minutes all that was left of the forty-five men that had foolishly stayed were blood spots where they had been standing, or where they had died; whichever the case. So stricken were they by his eyes, they did not even resist him. Vegeta had not even taken the time to commit each and every single death to memory. All he could see was her death; all he felt was her, all he tasted was her, all he….

Vegeta was about to take off to catch the others when a groan behind him had him beside the woman he had thought dead in a blink, "Woman?"

Bulma rose onto one elbow and irritably waved away Vegeta's hovering form with her free hand, "Ugh, Vegeta! Kami! Give me room to breath! I think I just got hit by a semi!" He did not listen to Bulma, of course, instead folding her nearly in half in a crushing embrace. She beat futilely on his back, "Vegeta! I'm not an Oozaru anymore! My body's too bruised to take this!"

He let her go quickly and held her at arms length, scanning her to make sure he hadn't hurt her any worse, "Woman, are any bones broken? Are you okay?"

Bulma groaned and put a hand to her head, "Yeah, Vegeta! I'm peachy! I just got caught up an explosion is all! I'm ready to go do fifty jumping jacks now. Promise!" She tried again to push him away, "I love you and all, Vegeta, but you could you stop being a mother hen?"

He pulled back, feigning hurt, though his eyes were twinkling with relief and mirth, "You do this all the time to me!"

Bulma stuck out her tongue, "Yeah, and this is exactly how you act too! Kami, Vegeta! Help me stand already!"

He did so but continued to chastise her, "Would you stop invoking his name? He might come see us just to spite you!"

She wavered a little once on her feet, but his hand on her elbow kept her upright, "What happened?"

Vegeta sounded bemused, "It seems your little rival Darren wanted to kill us. If you hadn't been in Oozaru form, he would've succeeded." He suddenly let out a choked gasp, eyes wide in a shock he'd never shown before, much less felt, at the familiar power signature that just surged through his senses.

He almost dropped the woman and she grunted against him in displeasure before noticing the look on his face, "Vegeta? What is it?"

Vegeta wordlessly shook his head, wondering what Trunks was up against that he had to go to the next level. There was a level beyond Super Saiyan? Vegeta again shook his head. "Trunks is not here. He's fighting something. I'm going to go see what. Stay here."

Bulma managed to huff at him from her position, "What? Stay-"

"Woman, unless you want me to sling you over my shoulder and carry you like a sack of-"

"Ok, okay! But at least guide somewhere where I can sit down! I can barely walk!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, frustrated he would be missing precious minutes of the fight and led the grumbling woman to the kitchen, plopping her down unceremoniously in the seat. She winced and slapped his arm in retaliation.

Growling, Vegeta leaned in close. "If I didn't want to spare you for tonight you'd pay for that now. You'll pay for it tonight."

Bulma grinned eagerly at him, "Anytime, big boy!"

Vegeta leaned back, twinkle in his eyes belying his gruff tone, "You better believe it's big." Before she could retort, he took off, ki trail the only thing he left behind him. That and the piece of paper kicked up the wind to fall conveniently in Bulma's lap.

Bulma cut off her tirade of curses toward the arrogant Prince and picked up the paper to scan its words:

'Mom and dad,

Sorry I didn't stay, but I guess I never said I would. I just thought I'd go have a little chat with Darren. If he won't listen, well, I guess I have to try dad's tactics, eh? Well, all my love to you both. I hope you worked everything out with that Hunt and everything. You guys deserve some happiness after all the Hell (yeah, take it literally) you've been through. See ya later!

PS - Yes, mom, I did remember a change in underwear! Sheesh!

Love your son,

Trunks'

* * *

Vegeta knew something was wrong when he was entered the main secretary's office and still didn't feel Trunks's ki. He strode up to the blonde working behind the counter with an expression on his face she, with her own vacuous one, did not notice.

"May I help you, s-" She suddenly squealed as the flame-haired man reached across the desk and grabbed the front of her shirt, hauling her inches from his own face. Up close she could see that what she had mistaken for dirt was actually blood. The metallic smell of it stung her senses.

It wasn't until he slapped her that she realized she had been screaming and he had set her back down in the chair as gently as he could. "Stop screaming! I'm not going to hurt you! Did a man with purple hair come in here?"

Those dark eyes pinned her own and she felt her will, what little of it she had, flee from her, "Y-Yes! Trunks…. He went into the-the-," for the life of her she could not remember the name of the room, "that room!" Her hand pointed to the doors behind her, and Vegeta left her trembling there without even a backward glance.

His voice did reach her ears before he entered the room, "I would leave if I were you."

Sometimes it is good to be an unquestioning dumb blonde. Without even considering why, Pixie had packed what little she had and fled the building, not pausing to think about the whole incident until she was home, snug on her bed. Even then, she only determined that tonight would be a night on the town for her. A half an hour into the dance music she thrummed to, she had forgotten all about the scary scenario.

Vegeta quickly inspected the room, although he knew no one was in the room. His probing eyes caught a slight discrepancy in the wall just to this left. Upon inspecting it, he found an opening between the panels. When the door had slid shut behind Trunks, it had not closed all the way.

Not wasting time with such trivial things as stealth, he not only pried open the door until it was a warped and twisted image of itself, but sent a ki blast racing down the hallway, setting off all the traps and distroying them with one blow.

The alarm that should've went off from such a commotion didn't and Vegeta flew down the hallway, making it to where the door should have been in much less time than Trunks had. Where there had been a wall, however, there was now a gaping hole of melted metal.

Vegeta definitely did not like what he was feeling, or rather, not feeling, as he stepped into the room. What met his eyes first was the mess. Second were the various bodies of people in white lab coats. His image of the Androids only intensified as he noted the broken glass tube and the puddle of liquid around it. His next sight had him kneeling beside the body and rolling it over.

It was clear how the body had died when the head rolled limply over, but the state of undress confused Vegeta until he saw the clothed Trunks. Then everything clicked into place with a chilling clarity.

Dreading what he would find, hoping it would be as much a false alarm as the woman's had been, Vegeta approached Trunks's body and rolled it over. The eyes were the first indication that what he feared was true. They were open, sightlessly staring right Vegeta. Despite all the people he had killed, all the bodies he had seen dead, a tremor ran through him.

Face suddenly set deadly serious, Vegeta looked around for anything to rant his sudden and insatiable rage on, brought on by a grief he did not want to acknowledge. His son had been too thorough. Not one of the lab rats was alive.

Vegeta felt the anger rise up, canceling out reason. As he had cradled the woman's body before, so now he cradled Trunks. The body chilled him all the way down to the bone and from the cold rose an inferno of rage that unleashed itself as Vegeta rose and screamed, head thrown back, going Super Saiyan and beyond, to that level his son had so recently graced.

The whole of Paxel Corporation trembled in its foundations before crumbling in on itself in the face of such inhuman pain and need. Those left inside; those who had escaped the quick death at Vegeta's hands earlier or had escaped Trunks' rampage in the basement; were now buried under tons of concrete to wish as they died that they had not blindly followed one as foolish as Darren of Paxel Corporation.

* * *

Bulma had finally forced her still shaking legs to accept her weight and was gazing outside at the rising cloud of smoke coming from the direction of Paxel Corporation, one hand shielding her eyes from the red glow of the setting sun.

She hopped slightly in anxiety when the black form with the blue aura trailing behind it became visible but slowly anxiety gave way to dread. The form was carrying something, and where there should be two flying back, there was only one. She covered her mouth with one trembling hand as a heavy-shouldered Vegeta landed before her, almost stumbling, with a limp Trunks in his arms.

Bulma raised one hand, feeling as if the image before her would shatter as soon as her fingers brushed against it. The image did not break though, and her own warm hand rested on the cool flesh of her son. She heard a low moaning sound come from her throat and felt her knees quake underneath her, not resisting as her grief brought her crashing to them.

She clutched onto something warm, mind not registering what it was until the thing moved underneath her. She glanced up, eyes surprisingly dry as Vegeta dropped down beside her, not meeting her eyes, his black orbs caught in the open, unseeing blue ones of his son.

Bulma tentatively reached over and swiped a hand smoothly over the eyes, closing them, as they should be since he wasn't using them any more. She felt her breath catch in her throat and a burning in her eyes she tried futilely to release. The proud warrior before her did not so much as break his gaze away from Trunks' face.

Her hand reached up and grazed the live Saiyan's face and Vegeta blinked, feeling whatever chill had been nestled inside him vanish before the live warmth of the human. His eyes finally met hers and both caught their breaths at the untamed anguish in their eyes, echoing each other; bouncing back and forth until the pain was so great that both collapsed onto the other, seeking what comfort could be gained from the other; one refusing stubbornly to cry but not able to stop the tears, the other wanting nothing more than to release the tears and finding none flowing. In their inability; indeed, in every person's inability to grief properly, they found in the other exactly what they needed.

The cold, still body of Trunks lay between their grieving, gripping forms, a silent semblance of all the ways one should live in his own pose of death.