Redemption
by Kristina Evelina Brannan
kbrannan@raex.com
krystiana@geocities.com
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Dragon Ball and all related characters are owned by a whole bunch of people who aren't me.
Don't sue, as I am not making any money off of this.
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Nothing strange was going when the voices started.
Nobody was attacking anybody, nobody was pregnant, nobody was having serious
problems with his or her lives... as least that he knew of.
In fact, everything was just as about normal as it could possibly be.
The voices started just by tauntingly calling his name. He ignored them at first, thinking
he had imagined them. It could have been the wind rustling the leaves. It could have been
some kids playing nearby, their voices carrying over in terribly distorted ways. After all, the
voices were only sounding as whispers.
But they got louder. He couldn't ignore them anymore as they began shouting his
name, almost frantically. Over and over, louder and louder... they were in his mind... they
weren't real. He was NOT going insane.
But they were there... shouting, yelling, screaming his name...
"Vegiita!!!"
He turned his head towards his wife, the voices suddenly disappearing. He gasped
silently, his eyes widening.
"Vegiita?" Bulma asked again, with a more uncertain voice. "What's wrong?"
Vegiita's pride conquered him again, and his eyes narrowed, his mouth quickly turning
downward into a frown. "Nothing's wrong!" he snarled. "Now quit bothering me!"
"But Vegiita-" Bulma broke off, not finishing her sentence.
"What do you want, woman?" Vegiita spat out, turning his back towards her. He took
his usual pose that told everything around him to stay away - arms crossed, head down, eyes
closed, feet spread slightly apart.
"I was just.. worried about you."
Vegiita opened one eye, though he didn't turn back towards his wife. "Why?"
"I was looking out the window, and the expression on your face-"
"Nothing is wrong, woman," Vegiita growled, closing his eyes again. "Now leave."
Bulma shot one more look at him before going inside.
As she as she left, the voices started again, at a whisper again.
"Trouble..." they whispered. "Vegiita... trouble." They whispered this over and over
again... but Vegiita just stood there, keeping his expression straight. The voices faded again.
~I must be going funny in the head,~ he thought. But just as he was about to resume
his training, one, single, female, voice, shouted at him.
"VEGIITA!! Please, my little prince... DON'T FORGET ME!!"
Vegiita's eyes snapped open. "Nani?!" he said out loud.
The voice... that one voice... it sounded so familiar. But as he thought of all the females
he knew and had ever met, none of them matched it.
Then who was it?
~"Don't forget me?"~ Vegiita thought. ~Who are you?~
* * *
Vegiita finally returned to inside his house, only to find Bulma gone. He remembered
she was supposed to go over to the Son household to discuss something with Chi-Chi. Trunks
was out at a movie with Goten, and Bra was somewhere with Pan and her father, Gohan.
He needed to rest. It was a strange thing for him to do, but he felt wiped out - not
physically, but mentally... a very odd feeling to him. He rarely ever felt like that. In fact...
He had NEVER felt like that.
He got to the living room, closed the blinds, and sat on the couch. As he rubbed his
eyes with one hand, he found that even the tiny stream of light pouring in through the closed
blinds was bothering him. Lying down to try and get out of the glare, he put his arm over his
eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep.
And that was how Bulma found him when she got home nearly five hours later.
* * *
She walked in the front door, expecting to see anything but her husband, much less
lying on the couch.
"Vegiita?" she called to him. She closed the door and crossed the room. She saw he
was asleep, and this worried her. He had NEVER slept during the day. He rarely even slept at
night.
She put her hand to his forehead, and found it was hot. She didn't know what a normal
temperature for a Saiyajin was, but chances were it wasn't burning to the touch, like he was.
Bulma stifled an uncalled for laugh as she got the sudden picture of Vegiita with the flu
- an ice pack on his head, his feet stuck in a bucket of warm water, wrapped up in a quilt.
Bulma grinned and put the vision away.
She shook his arm, attempting to wake him up without making him angry. "Vegiita?" He
didn't even stir. She shook his arm again, a little harder. "Vegiita!" He still didn't move. He was
barely breathing.
Bulma quickly began thinking. ~Should I call a doctor?~ After looking at her husband's
face, she decided against it. If he turned out to be all right, he would be furious with her. But if
he wasn't fine...
She turned towards the phone. Chi-Chi might not know what to do, but she would offer
some comfort. Just as Bulma touched the phone, a sound erupted from her husband.
Bulma turned back towards Vegiita just in time to see him snap his eyes open. He sat
up and looked at Bulma. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were at
Kakarotto's house."
"I was," Bulma said. "I was there for five hours, Vegiita."
Vegiita stared at her. "I couldn't of been training for that long... it was maybe fifteen
minutes after you left that I came inside."
"You were asleep when I got back. I couldn't wake you up, and you were burning up... I
think." Bulma looked at Vegiita's face, which looked unusually pale. "Are you... all right?"
Vegiita snarled and stood up. "I'm fine, woman. Don't be concerned."
"But-"
"I _said_ I was fine!" Vegiita shouted. He stormed towards the kitchen, muttering
something under his breath.
Bulma watched his retreating back carefully. When he crossed the doorway and was
out of site, she walked over to the couch he had been lying on and sat down. ~Something is
wrong with him...~ she thought. ~He's his usual touchy self... but something is off.~
The rest of the week went by, and Vegiita's strange behavior increased. Four more
times Bulma found him sleeping, each time becoming harder and harder to wake him up.
Vegiita had out of the ordinary mood swings - for him, at least. Sometimes he would be still
and silent - brooding, really, others he would be his usual "cheery" self. When he was silent, it
was for hours on end. He gave no sign of moving an inch, and then he would abruptly get up
and stalk out of the room. When Bulma would say anything about it, he would either ignore her
completely or tell her nothing was wrong. Trunks began noticing his father's behavior, but said
nothing of it. But when little Bra spoke to her mother about it, Bulma decided it had gone too
far.
* * *
Vegiita woke up one day to Bulma shaking his shoulder. He opened one eye to see
Bulma with a strange expression on her face... concern? And... someone else that looked
familiar...
Vegiita sat up with a snarl. "I told you no doctors, woman. Nothing is wrong with me."
"For once, put your pride behind you," Bulma said. "I won't tell anyone you're getting a
check up." She expected Vegiita to still give protest, but he instead looked over Bulma's
shoulder at the head Capsule Corp medtech.
"And what about _her?"_ he asked venomously.
Bulma almost laughed. "Taya-chan won't tell anyone," she said. "We grew up together.
We may have fought a lot, but we always kept each other's secrets."
Vegiita gave something of a grunt. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.
Bulma snarled almost as savagely as he usually did, making his eyebrows rise slightly.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm worried about you, veggie-brain."
Vegiita's eyebrows raised even more. "May I ask what for?"
"I-" Bulma paused, catching her breath. "I'm scared I might come home one day and I
won't be able to wake you up." Vegiita only blinked at this, his expression not changing.
Vegiita crossed his arms as he sat up, thinking.
Tayasi bent down beside Bulma and whispered in her ear. Vegiita heard what she said,
and couldn't help but smirk.
Bulma looked at her husband. "You won't shoot her or anything if she examines you, will
you?"
"I'm not guaranteeing anything."
* * *
Vegiita passed the exam with flying colors.
"He's quite possibly one of the finest pictures of health I've ever seen," Tayasi told
Bulma.
Vegiita shot a look at Bulma that quite obviously said "told ya so."
Bulma sighed and thanked Tayasi, and then showed her to the door. After the door
shut, Bulma looked back at Vegiita.
"What's wrong with you, then?" Bulma said, more to herself then her husband.
"I told you - nothing."
"I don't believe that." She walked up to Vegiita and sat down next to him. "You don't
have any reason to lie to me, do you?" Vegiita's lip curled in annoyance, but Bulma continued
before he could say anything. "Is something bothering you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me, woman!" Vegiita said, standing up and turning to leave.
Bulma caught his hand as he turned away. "Please, Vegiita," she said. "Why won't you
tell me?"
"Because I have nothing to tell."
"You're not telling me the truth, Vegiita," Bulma said, shaking her head. "Why can't you
trust me?"
Vegiita looked at her and frowned. "I... trust you," he said quietly.
"Then tell me what's wrong!"
Vegiita was silent for a long time before he sat down. "I keep having a dream," he said,
not meeting her eyes. "That's why I sleep so much - so I CAN dream."
"What is the dream about?" Bulma asked.
"Vegiitasei."
Bulma gasped. "Do you think it means anything?"
"I think something is still out there." Vegiita looked straight at her now. "Something
wants me to go back."
"But there's nothing there, Vegiita!" Bulma said. "There might be... dust... but there's
nothing there!"
Vegiita's eyes flickered.
Bulma realized her words and gasped. "Oh, Vegiita... I'm sorry."
Vegiita blinked. Bulma rarely apologized for anything or to anyone. He wasn't disturbed
that she had spoken of his home planet with such disrespect... he had just sensed a familiar ki.
The front door slammed, startling Bulma. Bra came screeching in the room and
attached herself to her father's leg. Trunks walked in calmly behind her.
Vegiita looked at his son with a familiar expression. Trunks rolled his eyes and nodded
at the unspoken question. He crossed the room and exited. Vegiita followed him, glancing back
at Bulma. "We'll continue this discussion later."
"Papa!" Vegiita looked down and realized Bra was still latched onto his leg. "Can I watch
you an' niichan train?"
Vegiita managed to hold back a smirk. Bulma didn't want her daughter to fight, but she
had promised that if Bra ever showed an interest, she wouldn't interfere.
"Hai," Vegiita said. Bra let out a cry of joy and ran outside.
Bulma frowned. "Don't get too close to her."
Vegiita did smirk this time, and he nodded, walking outside.
* * *
Trunks ducked away from a half-hearted kick from his father. Bra was sitting the
ground, looking up at them with interest.
As Vegiita threw two more punches that Trunks easily blocked, Trunks backed away
and looked closely at his father's face. It had the usual sense of determination, but underneath
it all, his father looked tired, worn-out...
"Tousan?"
"Why have you stopped fighting, boy?" It was Vegiita's usual response when Trunks did
something like this, but this time he sounded like he didn't know what he was saying - just
speaking out of habit.
"What's wrong with you?"
Vegiita's expression turned slightly nasty. "As I've been saying, I am fine."
"No, you're not. It's obvious."
Vegiita's eyes narrowed at his son. "You do not know me as well as you would think."
"Papa..."
"I will here no more of this."
"Damn it, tousan, listen to me!" Trunks snarled, finding his upper lip curling. He knew he
must of looked like a twin to his father at that moment, but he didn't care.
Vegiita tensed and glared at his son. He crossed his arms, tilted his head back and
looked his son in the eye - a sign that he was, indeed, listening.
"Just because you're too proud to admit something is wrong doesn't mean we can't
see it," Trunks said softly. "Believe it or not, your _family_ is worried."
Vegiita didn't move, but his eyes became thoughtful. "I -" He stopped, his eyes widening.
He suddenly moaned, and put his head in his hands.
"Otousan?" Trunks questioned. He had NEVER seen his father in that position. He
never let himself show any form of weakness. "Papa?"
Vegiita was slowly lowering to the ground, his head still in his hands. He landed and
sunk to his knees. Trunks flew down beside him. "Papa..." He touched his father's shoulder.
THAT got a response. Vegiita suddenly snapped his head up and, with a wild look in his
eyes, knocked Trunks away. He then powered up to Super Saiyajin and shot straight up into
the air.
* * *
Gokou looked up, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. "What-"
Uub peered at his teacher. "Sensei?" he asked. "What is it?"
"I need to return home. Something's wrong."
Uub nodded. "I understand."
Gokou nodded back a goodbye and raised his hand, then paused. Gohan would be busy
with Videl and Pan, and he didn't want to intrude Bulma's family with Vegiita's less than warm
idea of welcome, and Chi Chi wouldn't let him leave if he showed up on the doorstep...
Goten.
In a flash, Gokou was gone.
* * *
Gokou appeared in front of his younger son and blinked at the resemblence he saw.
Goten stared for a moment before yelling something unintelligible and stumbling
backwards into a tree.
"Ah... gomen," Gokou said sheepishly. He offered his son a hand.
Goten stared at him some more. "Otousan... you're here."
"Yes... but only to check on something."
Goten's face fell. "Oh."
"Did you sense a burst in a power a few minutes ago?" Gokou questioned, missing
Goten's expression.
"Yeah, but it's probably just Vegiita-san-"
"Something is wrong."
Goten blinked. "Papa, what-"
"Come on!" Gokou leapt into the air and fired towards Capsule Corp, Goten following
confusedly.
When they arrived, the two found Trunks sitting up on the ground and looking dazed,
Bra standing next to her brother and staring straight up... and no Vegiita in sight.
"Trunks-kun?" Goten questioned, landing next to his friend. "You okay?"
Trunks blinked, shook his head, and looked up as well. "Otousan..." He flew up into the
air, ignoring Goten.
Gokou looked up in the direction the lavender-haired Saiyajin flew, a sign of
concentration overtaking his face. "Vegiita?" With that, he shot up after Trunks.
* * *
Trunks found his father still flying upwards, but not very fast. "Otousan!" he shouted,
only to be ignored.
"Vegiita!" came another voice from just below. Trunks looked down to see...
"GOKOU-SAN?!?!?!"
Gokou flew up beside Trunks. "What's going on?"
"I don't know... if he goes any higher, he'll be out of the atmosphere!" Trunks doubled
his speed, as did Gokou.
Trunks flew in front of his father, desperately trying to stop him. Vegiita did stop, and
then he looked below at Gokou.
Gokou eyed Vegiita in the face, watching as the Saiyajin Prince's eyes darted up again,
and then he flew up around and past Trunks.
Without thinking, Gokou and Trunks flew after him, each grabbing one of his arms and
trying to drag him back to the ground.
"KHEV T'LIK!!" Vegiita shouted, struggling against their grip.
Trunks blinked. "What?"
Vegiita began hissing and sputtering words that made no sense to ears of Trunks or
Gokou, still fighting them. As they found themselves losing grip of him, they both powered up to
Super Saiyajin.
* * *
Gohan tensed up, sensing something he hadn't in a very long time. He looked in the
direction of Capsule Corp, squinting as though he could see what was going on.
"Otousan?"
* * *
Yamucha lurched up from the table he was sitting at, gasping. That rise in power... it
couldn't be...
"Gokou?"
* * *
Kulilin looked up from the magazine he was looking at. ~What was that?~ he wondered.
There was something in the air that didn't seem quite right.
"Gokou?"
* * *
Piccolo's eyes snapped open from his meditation. What could have possibly disturbed
him? There was something of a tremor... and a presence nearby that was oddly familiar.
"Gokou."
* * *
Four souls began quickly flying towards Capsule Corp.
* * *
Vegiita, determined to escape from Trunks and Gokou, continued shouting in a
language foreign to his captors' ears.
Out of the corner of Gokou's eyes, he saw four familiar faces.
"Otousan!!" Trunks yelled above Vegiita's ranting. "Please!"
Vegiita snarled, and suddenly twisted around, surprising both of them and managing to
get out of their grasp. He panted, and looked from one to the other repeatedly before his eyes
finally came to rest of Gokou.
A strange expression came over Vegiita face then, one that only Gokou could see.
"K... Kakarotto?" Vegiita whispered.
And he fainted.
His eyes rolled back in his head, the golden glow of the Super Saiyajin faded, and he
simply fell out of the air. He landed on the ground below him with a thump, and he didn't move.
Trunks and Gokou were too shocked to even try and catch him.
"Tousan!" came a small voice. Bra began cautiously walking up to her father.
"VEGIITA!!"
All eyes turned to the open back door and the figure standing in it. Bulma let out a
sound and began sprinting towards her husband's prone form. "Damn you, Vegiita... you
couldn't admit something was wrong with you, could you!?!? You and your damn pride!!"
Gokou and Trunks landed, followed by the new arrivals.
"What happened?" Yamucha asked.
"Did he crack?" Kulilin questioned in a small voice.
Gohan looked at his father. "Otousan..."
Gokou paid no attention to the others - he was staring at Vegiita. "I've never seen..." He
paused and shook his head. "Never seen Vegiita look... SCARED."
Piccolo glanced at Gokou and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything,
Bulma spoke up with a pleading voice.
"He's barely breathing... can you help me take him to the med room?" She looked at the
people surrounding her.
Everyone quickly ushered him inside.
* * *
*Vegiita, please, just LOOK at me.*
I can't see anything... how am I supposed to look at you?
*You will see.*
Who are you? Tell me!
*My dear prince... how much you've changed.*
Answer me!
*Vegiita...*
* * *
As everyone crowded in the small room outside the med room, Yamucha turned to
Gokou.
"I know this isn't exactly the time to be discussing this, Gokou," Yamucha said. "But
what-"
"Am I doing here?" Gokou finished, smiling slightly.
"Well, yeah. Are you done training Uub?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Gokou found himself glancing at Goten, who had an unreadable expression on his face.
"Just visiting."
* * *
Bulma sat curled up in a chair next to the bed Vegiita was lying on, watching his face.
When his eyes suddenly opened, she nearly tumbled off of it in surprise.
"Vegiita?" she whispered.
He sat up and turned his head towards. "Why am I in here?"
Bulma squinted at her husband. "What do you remember?"
"Trunks and I were training in the backyard." With a bit of a smirk, he added, "Did he
get a punch in to my head?"
"You don't remember anything, do you?"
"What am I not remembering?"
*Me, Vegiita.*
Vegiita squinted. What was that?
Must have been his imagination...
*You're forgetting me.*
"Nani?" he whispered.
*Vegiita.*
"Who..."
"Vegiita?" The Saiyajin snapped his head towards Bulma. "Who are you talking to?"
Vegiita blinked. "I don't know."
*Come back to me.*
"Where are you?" he said in a louder voice.
*Your home.*
~Home?~ he thought to himself. Then his eyes widened.
"Vegiitasei is gone..."
*Come back.*
* * *
Bulma watched as her husband abruptly stood up and began marching towards the
door. "Vegiita!" she chased after him and grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"
Vegiita continued walking, half-dragging her with him, ignoring her. He walked through
the doors and ran straight into Gokou. Blinking, he stopped.
"Kakarotto."
Gokou looked at Vegiita and didn't say anything, seeming to be searching for words.
"What are you doing here?"
"Uh..."
"Visiting," Gohan quickly filled in.
Vegiita narrowed his eyes. "Oh." Then he continued walking.
"Tousan!"
Vegiita gave a slight growl and turned towards his son. "What?"
"Are you all right?"
"I'M FINE!!" Vegiita shouted. He turned on his heel and began stalking out, muttering
something inaudible to the others.
"Vegiita!" Bulma ran forward, grabbing his arm again. He looked at her with steely eyes.
"Do you have any idea what just happened?"
Vegiita looked over her head at the others standing behind her, looking at him with
barely hidden shock.
"No... what _did_ happen?"
"You don't remember... ?" Trunks said, almost sputtering.
"Remember what?" Vegiita growled.
"You tried to fly off of Chikyuu," Gokou offered.
Vegiita stared at him, hiking an eyebrow. "I what?"
"You kept flying upwards and wouldn't stop." Gokou paused. "And what does 'khev t'lik'
mean?"
Vegiita blinked. "That's Saiyago," he said in a flat voice. "The language of the Saiyajin."
"You said it. What does it mean?"
Vegiita's eyes narrowed. "It means home."
*Vegiita!*
Vegiita flinched. That damned voice kept getting louder.
*VEGIITA!*
Vegiita suddenly began feeling dizzy. That voice was pounding into his brain...
Bulma noticed Vegiita's state. "Vegiita... you're not well."
"I'm fine, woman," Vegiita said, his voice barely above a whisper.
*VEGIITA! COME!*
"Damn it, who are you!" Vegiita shouted at the voice. The others stared at him. None of
them had ever seen Vegiita in something even remotely CLOSE to the state of mind he was in
now.
*Come back home.*
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Vegiita demanded.
*Come home.*
"What... home?"
*Your home. Your birthplace.*
"Vegiitasei?"
*Yes.*
"Vegiitasei is gone."
*Come.*
Vegiita looked around at the others staring at him. "I... I need to leave." With that, he
turned and ran out of the building, surprising them all enough not to chase after him.
* * *
"He's lost his mind," Kulilin said. "It finally happened." Yamucha silently agreed.
Piccolo remained silent, brooding to himself.
Gokou was trying to pick up Vegiita's ki, rather unsuccessfully. Vegiita wasn't in a
normal state of mind, which made him harder to track.
Bulma sat, thinking about what Vegiita exactly had meant besides "I need to leave."
What had he been talking about to that voice of his?
"Vegiitasei is gone..." Bulma whispered, repeating the words she had heard Vegiita say.
Gohan looked at her. "What was that, Bulma?"
"Vegiitasei," Bulma said in a louder voice. "He wants to go back."
"But he knows Vegiitasei is gone," Yamucha said. "Better then anyone."
"He was having dreams about Vegiitasei," Bulma said. "He told me. And you heard him
talking about Vegiitasei."
"Hai," Gohan agreed. "And it would also explain why he tried to fly off the planet."
"How would he get to Vegiitasei?" Piccolo said, finally speaking up. "He's thinking more
rationally now, so he's obviously not going to try to fly out into space on his own power again."
Bulma scratched her head. "All the ships on this planet capable of flying that far aren't
working... and he knows he's not smart enough to fix one of them himself."
Almost everyone suddenly sat up straighter. "Speak of the devil," Yamucha muttered.
Vegiita came back in, looking almost normal - a look of eternal pride on his face, back
straight, a frown that looked like it never turned up... he looked like himself again.
He faced the group in silence, as they faced him.
"Um... well... what do you say in this situation?" Gokou said sheepishly.
Vegiita tilted his head back. "I'm going to say something that I will never say again, so
listen good."
Everyone seemed to perk up at that.
Vegiita closed his eyes and bowed his head down. "I... need your help."
Bulma stared at her husband. ~Did Vegiita really just ask for help?~
Vegiita glared at her, as if reading her mind.
"How do you need our help?" Bulma asked.
"I need to leave."
"You said that before," Bulma said, knowing what was coming next.
"I need to leave Chikyuu."
"To go to Vegiitasei."
"Which is nonexistent," Piccolo put in. Vegiita shot a murderous look at the
Namekseijin.
"Vegiita..." Gohan finally spoke up. "We'll help you... but what exactly do you want us to
do?"
"Figure out a way to get me to where Vegiitasei once was."
Everyone drew a blank.
"Why don't we just use the Dragon Balls?"
All eyes in the room turned to Goten. Trunks grinned. "Although you don't show it most
of the time," he began, "You're pretty smart."
"Uh, thanks," Goten said, scratching the back of his head. "I think."
Bulma was already tearing through her lab. "Where the hell did I put it?" she was
shouting... her way of talking to herself.
Gokou smiled and looked around the room. "With this many of us, it shouldn't take too
long to find them all."
A shout of joy erupted from Bulma's lab. "Found it!" She ran back in, turning the Dragon
Radar on. "Hey, there's one only about 200 km south of here!" she exclaimed.
Vegiita suddenly grunted, attracting some obviously wanted attention. "What exactly
would we be wishing for?"
Gokou opened his mouth and shut it again. "I didn't think that far ahead," he admitted
sheepishly.
Vegiita glared, then lowered his gaze, muttering something inaudible.
"A ship, of course," Bulma said. "Something to take us out there and back.
Trunks blinked. "You're not even going to try to build one, kaasan?"
Bulma smiled at her son. "I could try, but it would probably take months, even if my dad
helped."
"I want to leave as soon as possible," Vegiita spoke up.
"You do realise," Yamucha, finally saying something after several minutes, "That we're
all coming with you?"
Vegiita automatically shot him a nasty look. "Why-" he began in a hiss.
"You're not exactly in the best of mental states right now," Kulilin said. "We don't want
you to accidentally blow yourself up."
"And life has been getting rather boring," Piccolo said, flashing something resembling a
smile.
Vegiita opened his mouth, but shut it again after receiving a glare from Bulma. "Fine."
He turned his back on the group and stood in his seemingly natural pose (arms crossed, legs
shoulder-width apart, head tilted slightly down, eyes closed).
Trunks smirked, despite himself.
* * *
The seven Dragon Balls before them flashed. The sky turned black. Lightning seemed
to crackle. A great roar raced to everyone's ears.
"I'll never get tired of this," Bulma said, smiling.
Shenlon was, as usual, huge.
"What is your wish?"
There was a silence as Gohan stepped forward. "We need a fast ship capable of long
range space travel."
"That's big enough to fit all of us - with lots of elbow room," Yamucha put in.
"And a bathroom," Bulma muttered, half-jokingly, half-serious.
There were a few more moments of silence as Shenlon waited to make sure that was
all the requirements. His eyes flashed. "It is done."
A ship literally dropped out of the sky and landed on the ground.
"Your wish has been granted. Farewell." The dragon reverted into lightning that spun
up, and split seven different ways.
One more period of silence.
"Well," Gohan said, taking a step towards the ship.
Vegiita looked at the group of people staring at the ship, and snuck away seemingly
unnoticed.
* * *
*Vegiita.*
"Why are you doing this?"
*I need you back. You need to know.*
"Know what? Why can't you tell me who you are?"
*That's what you need to know.*
"And why can't you just TELL me, instead of having me go all the way out to NOTHING in
space?"
*Because then you will believe me. If I simply tell you now, you would not believe.*
Vegiita's eyes narrowed. "What could possibly be so important?"
* * *
Trunks shook his head. "Tousan," he muttered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
He had known his father all his life. Here and there, he had picked up stories of his
father being a murderous villain - the prince of a race of killers. Trunks could see his father
killing in his mind's eye, more clearly then he would have wished. His first memories of his
father were a cold, cruel man. Now he was still cold, not quite as cruel - but still cruel... and a
little caring, even. And always, ALWAYS his father had always seemed like a level-headed man.
He had never pictured his father in the state of mind he was in now.
Vegiita was talking to the air.
No, Vegiita was fighting the air, albeight verbally. Trunks sighed and turned away.
If a simple nonexistent voice could command Vegiita...
What force were they up against?
* * *
"Are we all ready?"
Kulilin scratched his head and looked at Juuhachigou. She had been filled in on what
was going on, and the Jinzounigen kept sneaking glances at Vegiita, who had decided to
ignore her and everyone else.
Until Bulma mentioned something that made Vegiita intervene.
"Bra is not coming." Vegiita's voice was unusually quiet, yet extremely stern.
"Vegiita, who is she going to stay with?" Bulma said. "Everyone we know is coming -
even Pan is coming. This can't be that dangerous - Vegiitasei is GONE, for Kami's sake! What
the hell could happen?"
Vegiita opened his mouth and closed it again. "Bra is not coming," he repeated after a
moment of silence.
"Why?"
Vegiita glanced around at the group, who were trying to look like they weren't listening
and being rather unsuccessful. He snarled silently and dragged Bulma away and out of
hearing distance.
"Vegiita, what-" Bulma started, cut off by Vegiita's look.
"Bra is not coming. And I don't want you coming either."
"Vegiita-"
"But I'm smart enough to know I can't control you or your actions, as much as I'd like to
sometimes."
Bulma stopped and stared at her husband. Vegiita never spoke to her like this in the
open, although they were out earshot. He just didn't talk like this.
"I've lost control one time. Who's to say I won't do it again?" Vegiita said harshly. "I don't
want to hurt you or my daughter."
Bulma smiled. "Vegiita, if you even begin to look a TAD bit insane, every single fighter
will be on their guard. Face it - even you can't fight four Saiyajin and one Namekseijin." Vegiita
opened his mouth again, but Bulma quickly shushed him. "We're going out there to find out
what's wrong with you - and Bra is worried about you, too. And nothing will stop her from
coming - she's just as clever as me."
Vegiita raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "And you say I'm egotistical."
Bulma grinned. "Let's get back. They're almost done loading the ship." She turned and
headed towards the shining spacecraft.
Vegiita sighed. ~Hard to believe that these idiots are piling onto a ship and flying out to
nothing in space for the sake of my sanity.~ He shook his head and started headed towards
the ship. ~I never would have thought it possible.~
* * *
Everyone was seated, Bulma in the driver's seat.
"So how long will this thing take to get us to the non-existent Vegiitasei?"
Bulma glanced back at the Namekseijin nervously. "Just under a day's time."
Kulilin grinned. "Really? Great! Better then that ship that took us to Nameksei, eh?"
"I guess." Bulma was charging up the ship. "Everybody hold on tight."
The ship started off, and was out of the solar system in seconds.
* * *
"Only a few more minutes," Bulma said, watching Vegiita pace back and forth.
Gokou was being unusually quiet, even after all the pleasant "welcome backs" he had
gotten from everyone. Bulma glanced at him, and then turned back to Vegiita.
"Can you tell the voice we're almost there or something?" she said impatiently. "Maybe
it can tell us what to do once we get there."
Vegiita stopped pacing and glared at her. "We're almost there," he said out loud.
*I know.*
"Did it say anything?" Bulma asked.
"She said she knows," Vegiita said in an annoyed tone.
Bulma made a noise. "You never said it was a girl!"
Vegiita snarled. "I didn't think it was important."
"Well, ask HER-" Bulma started.
*I can hear her, Vegiita.*
"-if she knows what to do-"
*Tell her-*
"-once we arrive."
*-to wait.*
Vegiita growled loudly. "You're both talking at once!" he shouted, attracting the
attention of everyone in the ship. He turned to Bulma. "She said that we wait once we get
there."
"NANI?!" Bulma exclaimed. "We travel all this way to w-" she was cut off by the buzzer
sounding, marking their arrival at their destination. "This is it." Everyone paused, glancing
around the ship in silence.
Gokou finally spoke up. "Why is it so cold all of a sudden?"
Yamucha stared at Gokou. "I think it's warm as toast in here..."
"Kakarotto's right. It's colder," Vegiita said. "Significantly." He walked over to the window
and looked out.
Bulma was silent for a moment. "What do you see?"
Vegiita turned away. "Nothing." He closed his eyes. "It's where Vegiitasei once was -
that's for sure. Two suns and one moon." He opened his eyes and looked straight at Bulma.
"But no Vegiitasei." Gokou walked over to the window and looked out.
"What did you expect?" Juuhachigou said. "You know Vegiitasei was destroyed years
ago... why WOULD it be here?"
"I don't know!" Vegiita snapped. "Why am I hearing a voice in my head? I can't answer
that question, either!"
"Guys..." Everyone turned towards Gokou. "Look."
Vegiita pushed through the crowd that had now gathered around the small window. He
stared out in part shock, part horror.
"Tousan?" Trunks questioned. "What is it?"
Vegiita backed away from the window, shaking his head in denial. He whispered one
word that sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"Vegiitasei..."
TO BE CONTINUED....
----------------------------------------
Redemption, Part II - COMING SOON
The voice Vegiita keeps hearing is finally revealed to be a part of his own past that he
chose to forget. And there's also a surprise for Gokou in store...
by Kristina Evelina Brannan
kbrannan@raex.com
krystiana@geocities.com
---------------------------------------------
Dragon Ball and all related characters are owned by a whole bunch of people who aren't me.
Don't sue, as I am not making any money off of this.
---------------------------------------------
Nothing strange was going when the voices started.
Nobody was attacking anybody, nobody was pregnant, nobody was having serious
problems with his or her lives... as least that he knew of.
In fact, everything was just as about normal as it could possibly be.
The voices started just by tauntingly calling his name. He ignored them at first, thinking
he had imagined them. It could have been the wind rustling the leaves. It could have been
some kids playing nearby, their voices carrying over in terribly distorted ways. After all, the
voices were only sounding as whispers.
But they got louder. He couldn't ignore them anymore as they began shouting his
name, almost frantically. Over and over, louder and louder... they were in his mind... they
weren't real. He was NOT going insane.
But they were there... shouting, yelling, screaming his name...
"Vegiita!!!"
He turned his head towards his wife, the voices suddenly disappearing. He gasped
silently, his eyes widening.
"Vegiita?" Bulma asked again, with a more uncertain voice. "What's wrong?"
Vegiita's pride conquered him again, and his eyes narrowed, his mouth quickly turning
downward into a frown. "Nothing's wrong!" he snarled. "Now quit bothering me!"
"But Vegiita-" Bulma broke off, not finishing her sentence.
"What do you want, woman?" Vegiita spat out, turning his back towards her. He took
his usual pose that told everything around him to stay away - arms crossed, head down, eyes
closed, feet spread slightly apart.
"I was just.. worried about you."
Vegiita opened one eye, though he didn't turn back towards his wife. "Why?"
"I was looking out the window, and the expression on your face-"
"Nothing is wrong, woman," Vegiita growled, closing his eyes again. "Now leave."
Bulma shot one more look at him before going inside.
As she as she left, the voices started again, at a whisper again.
"Trouble..." they whispered. "Vegiita... trouble." They whispered this over and over
again... but Vegiita just stood there, keeping his expression straight. The voices faded again.
~I must be going funny in the head,~ he thought. But just as he was about to resume
his training, one, single, female, voice, shouted at him.
"VEGIITA!! Please, my little prince... DON'T FORGET ME!!"
Vegiita's eyes snapped open. "Nani?!" he said out loud.
The voice... that one voice... it sounded so familiar. But as he thought of all the females
he knew and had ever met, none of them matched it.
Then who was it?
~"Don't forget me?"~ Vegiita thought. ~Who are you?~
* * *
Vegiita finally returned to inside his house, only to find Bulma gone. He remembered
she was supposed to go over to the Son household to discuss something with Chi-Chi. Trunks
was out at a movie with Goten, and Bra was somewhere with Pan and her father, Gohan.
He needed to rest. It was a strange thing for him to do, but he felt wiped out - not
physically, but mentally... a very odd feeling to him. He rarely ever felt like that. In fact...
He had NEVER felt like that.
He got to the living room, closed the blinds, and sat on the couch. As he rubbed his
eyes with one hand, he found that even the tiny stream of light pouring in through the closed
blinds was bothering him. Lying down to try and get out of the glare, he put his arm over his
eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep.
And that was how Bulma found him when she got home nearly five hours later.
* * *
She walked in the front door, expecting to see anything but her husband, much less
lying on the couch.
"Vegiita?" she called to him. She closed the door and crossed the room. She saw he
was asleep, and this worried her. He had NEVER slept during the day. He rarely even slept at
night.
She put her hand to his forehead, and found it was hot. She didn't know what a normal
temperature for a Saiyajin was, but chances were it wasn't burning to the touch, like he was.
Bulma stifled an uncalled for laugh as she got the sudden picture of Vegiita with the flu
- an ice pack on his head, his feet stuck in a bucket of warm water, wrapped up in a quilt.
Bulma grinned and put the vision away.
She shook his arm, attempting to wake him up without making him angry. "Vegiita?" He
didn't even stir. She shook his arm again, a little harder. "Vegiita!" He still didn't move. He was
barely breathing.
Bulma quickly began thinking. ~Should I call a doctor?~ After looking at her husband's
face, she decided against it. If he turned out to be all right, he would be furious with her. But if
he wasn't fine...
She turned towards the phone. Chi-Chi might not know what to do, but she would offer
some comfort. Just as Bulma touched the phone, a sound erupted from her husband.
Bulma turned back towards Vegiita just in time to see him snap his eyes open. He sat
up and looked at Bulma. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were at
Kakarotto's house."
"I was," Bulma said. "I was there for five hours, Vegiita."
Vegiita stared at her. "I couldn't of been training for that long... it was maybe fifteen
minutes after you left that I came inside."
"You were asleep when I got back. I couldn't wake you up, and you were burning up... I
think." Bulma looked at Vegiita's face, which looked unusually pale. "Are you... all right?"
Vegiita snarled and stood up. "I'm fine, woman. Don't be concerned."
"But-"
"I _said_ I was fine!" Vegiita shouted. He stormed towards the kitchen, muttering
something under his breath.
Bulma watched his retreating back carefully. When he crossed the doorway and was
out of site, she walked over to the couch he had been lying on and sat down. ~Something is
wrong with him...~ she thought. ~He's his usual touchy self... but something is off.~
The rest of the week went by, and Vegiita's strange behavior increased. Four more
times Bulma found him sleeping, each time becoming harder and harder to wake him up.
Vegiita had out of the ordinary mood swings - for him, at least. Sometimes he would be still
and silent - brooding, really, others he would be his usual "cheery" self. When he was silent, it
was for hours on end. He gave no sign of moving an inch, and then he would abruptly get up
and stalk out of the room. When Bulma would say anything about it, he would either ignore her
completely or tell her nothing was wrong. Trunks began noticing his father's behavior, but said
nothing of it. But when little Bra spoke to her mother about it, Bulma decided it had gone too
far.
* * *
Vegiita woke up one day to Bulma shaking his shoulder. He opened one eye to see
Bulma with a strange expression on her face... concern? And... someone else that looked
familiar...
Vegiita sat up with a snarl. "I told you no doctors, woman. Nothing is wrong with me."
"For once, put your pride behind you," Bulma said. "I won't tell anyone you're getting a
check up." She expected Vegiita to still give protest, but he instead looked over Bulma's
shoulder at the head Capsule Corp medtech.
"And what about _her?"_ he asked venomously.
Bulma almost laughed. "Taya-chan won't tell anyone," she said. "We grew up together.
We may have fought a lot, but we always kept each other's secrets."
Vegiita gave something of a grunt. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.
Bulma snarled almost as savagely as he usually did, making his eyebrows rise slightly.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm worried about you, veggie-brain."
Vegiita's eyebrows raised even more. "May I ask what for?"
"I-" Bulma paused, catching her breath. "I'm scared I might come home one day and I
won't be able to wake you up." Vegiita only blinked at this, his expression not changing.
Vegiita crossed his arms as he sat up, thinking.
Tayasi bent down beside Bulma and whispered in her ear. Vegiita heard what she said,
and couldn't help but smirk.
Bulma looked at her husband. "You won't shoot her or anything if she examines you, will
you?"
"I'm not guaranteeing anything."
* * *
Vegiita passed the exam with flying colors.
"He's quite possibly one of the finest pictures of health I've ever seen," Tayasi told
Bulma.
Vegiita shot a look at Bulma that quite obviously said "told ya so."
Bulma sighed and thanked Tayasi, and then showed her to the door. After the door
shut, Bulma looked back at Vegiita.
"What's wrong with you, then?" Bulma said, more to herself then her husband.
"I told you - nothing."
"I don't believe that." She walked up to Vegiita and sat down next to him. "You don't
have any reason to lie to me, do you?" Vegiita's lip curled in annoyance, but Bulma continued
before he could say anything. "Is something bothering you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me, woman!" Vegiita said, standing up and turning to leave.
Bulma caught his hand as he turned away. "Please, Vegiita," she said. "Why won't you
tell me?"
"Because I have nothing to tell."
"You're not telling me the truth, Vegiita," Bulma said, shaking her head. "Why can't you
trust me?"
Vegiita looked at her and frowned. "I... trust you," he said quietly.
"Then tell me what's wrong!"
Vegiita was silent for a long time before he sat down. "I keep having a dream," he said,
not meeting her eyes. "That's why I sleep so much - so I CAN dream."
"What is the dream about?" Bulma asked.
"Vegiitasei."
Bulma gasped. "Do you think it means anything?"
"I think something is still out there." Vegiita looked straight at her now. "Something
wants me to go back."
"But there's nothing there, Vegiita!" Bulma said. "There might be... dust... but there's
nothing there!"
Vegiita's eyes flickered.
Bulma realized her words and gasped. "Oh, Vegiita... I'm sorry."
Vegiita blinked. Bulma rarely apologized for anything or to anyone. He wasn't disturbed
that she had spoken of his home planet with such disrespect... he had just sensed a familiar ki.
The front door slammed, startling Bulma. Bra came screeching in the room and
attached herself to her father's leg. Trunks walked in calmly behind her.
Vegiita looked at his son with a familiar expression. Trunks rolled his eyes and nodded
at the unspoken question. He crossed the room and exited. Vegiita followed him, glancing back
at Bulma. "We'll continue this discussion later."
"Papa!" Vegiita looked down and realized Bra was still latched onto his leg. "Can I watch
you an' niichan train?"
Vegiita managed to hold back a smirk. Bulma didn't want her daughter to fight, but she
had promised that if Bra ever showed an interest, she wouldn't interfere.
"Hai," Vegiita said. Bra let out a cry of joy and ran outside.
Bulma frowned. "Don't get too close to her."
Vegiita did smirk this time, and he nodded, walking outside.
* * *
Trunks ducked away from a half-hearted kick from his father. Bra was sitting the
ground, looking up at them with interest.
As Vegiita threw two more punches that Trunks easily blocked, Trunks backed away
and looked closely at his father's face. It had the usual sense of determination, but underneath
it all, his father looked tired, worn-out...
"Tousan?"
"Why have you stopped fighting, boy?" It was Vegiita's usual response when Trunks did
something like this, but this time he sounded like he didn't know what he was saying - just
speaking out of habit.
"What's wrong with you?"
Vegiita's expression turned slightly nasty. "As I've been saying, I am fine."
"No, you're not. It's obvious."
Vegiita's eyes narrowed at his son. "You do not know me as well as you would think."
"Papa..."
"I will here no more of this."
"Damn it, tousan, listen to me!" Trunks snarled, finding his upper lip curling. He knew he
must of looked like a twin to his father at that moment, but he didn't care.
Vegiita tensed and glared at his son. He crossed his arms, tilted his head back and
looked his son in the eye - a sign that he was, indeed, listening.
"Just because you're too proud to admit something is wrong doesn't mean we can't
see it," Trunks said softly. "Believe it or not, your _family_ is worried."
Vegiita didn't move, but his eyes became thoughtful. "I -" He stopped, his eyes widening.
He suddenly moaned, and put his head in his hands.
"Otousan?" Trunks questioned. He had NEVER seen his father in that position. He
never let himself show any form of weakness. "Papa?"
Vegiita was slowly lowering to the ground, his head still in his hands. He landed and
sunk to his knees. Trunks flew down beside him. "Papa..." He touched his father's shoulder.
THAT got a response. Vegiita suddenly snapped his head up and, with a wild look in his
eyes, knocked Trunks away. He then powered up to Super Saiyajin and shot straight up into
the air.
* * *
Gokou looked up, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. "What-"
Uub peered at his teacher. "Sensei?" he asked. "What is it?"
"I need to return home. Something's wrong."
Uub nodded. "I understand."
Gokou nodded back a goodbye and raised his hand, then paused. Gohan would be busy
with Videl and Pan, and he didn't want to intrude Bulma's family with Vegiita's less than warm
idea of welcome, and Chi Chi wouldn't let him leave if he showed up on the doorstep...
Goten.
In a flash, Gokou was gone.
* * *
Gokou appeared in front of his younger son and blinked at the resemblence he saw.
Goten stared for a moment before yelling something unintelligible and stumbling
backwards into a tree.
"Ah... gomen," Gokou said sheepishly. He offered his son a hand.
Goten stared at him some more. "Otousan... you're here."
"Yes... but only to check on something."
Goten's face fell. "Oh."
"Did you sense a burst in a power a few minutes ago?" Gokou questioned, missing
Goten's expression.
"Yeah, but it's probably just Vegiita-san-"
"Something is wrong."
Goten blinked. "Papa, what-"
"Come on!" Gokou leapt into the air and fired towards Capsule Corp, Goten following
confusedly.
When they arrived, the two found Trunks sitting up on the ground and looking dazed,
Bra standing next to her brother and staring straight up... and no Vegiita in sight.
"Trunks-kun?" Goten questioned, landing next to his friend. "You okay?"
Trunks blinked, shook his head, and looked up as well. "Otousan..." He flew up into the
air, ignoring Goten.
Gokou looked up in the direction the lavender-haired Saiyajin flew, a sign of
concentration overtaking his face. "Vegiita?" With that, he shot up after Trunks.
* * *
Trunks found his father still flying upwards, but not very fast. "Otousan!" he shouted,
only to be ignored.
"Vegiita!" came another voice from just below. Trunks looked down to see...
"GOKOU-SAN?!?!?!"
Gokou flew up beside Trunks. "What's going on?"
"I don't know... if he goes any higher, he'll be out of the atmosphere!" Trunks doubled
his speed, as did Gokou.
Trunks flew in front of his father, desperately trying to stop him. Vegiita did stop, and
then he looked below at Gokou.
Gokou eyed Vegiita in the face, watching as the Saiyajin Prince's eyes darted up again,
and then he flew up around and past Trunks.
Without thinking, Gokou and Trunks flew after him, each grabbing one of his arms and
trying to drag him back to the ground.
"KHEV T'LIK!!" Vegiita shouted, struggling against their grip.
Trunks blinked. "What?"
Vegiita began hissing and sputtering words that made no sense to ears of Trunks or
Gokou, still fighting them. As they found themselves losing grip of him, they both powered up to
Super Saiyajin.
* * *
Gohan tensed up, sensing something he hadn't in a very long time. He looked in the
direction of Capsule Corp, squinting as though he could see what was going on.
"Otousan?"
* * *
Yamucha lurched up from the table he was sitting at, gasping. That rise in power... it
couldn't be...
"Gokou?"
* * *
Kulilin looked up from the magazine he was looking at. ~What was that?~ he wondered.
There was something in the air that didn't seem quite right.
"Gokou?"
* * *
Piccolo's eyes snapped open from his meditation. What could have possibly disturbed
him? There was something of a tremor... and a presence nearby that was oddly familiar.
"Gokou."
* * *
Four souls began quickly flying towards Capsule Corp.
* * *
Vegiita, determined to escape from Trunks and Gokou, continued shouting in a
language foreign to his captors' ears.
Out of the corner of Gokou's eyes, he saw four familiar faces.
"Otousan!!" Trunks yelled above Vegiita's ranting. "Please!"
Vegiita snarled, and suddenly twisted around, surprising both of them and managing to
get out of their grasp. He panted, and looked from one to the other repeatedly before his eyes
finally came to rest of Gokou.
A strange expression came over Vegiita face then, one that only Gokou could see.
"K... Kakarotto?" Vegiita whispered.
And he fainted.
His eyes rolled back in his head, the golden glow of the Super Saiyajin faded, and he
simply fell out of the air. He landed on the ground below him with a thump, and he didn't move.
Trunks and Gokou were too shocked to even try and catch him.
"Tousan!" came a small voice. Bra began cautiously walking up to her father.
"VEGIITA!!"
All eyes turned to the open back door and the figure standing in it. Bulma let out a
sound and began sprinting towards her husband's prone form. "Damn you, Vegiita... you
couldn't admit something was wrong with you, could you!?!? You and your damn pride!!"
Gokou and Trunks landed, followed by the new arrivals.
"What happened?" Yamucha asked.
"Did he crack?" Kulilin questioned in a small voice.
Gohan looked at his father. "Otousan..."
Gokou paid no attention to the others - he was staring at Vegiita. "I've never seen..." He
paused and shook his head. "Never seen Vegiita look... SCARED."
Piccolo glanced at Gokou and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything,
Bulma spoke up with a pleading voice.
"He's barely breathing... can you help me take him to the med room?" She looked at the
people surrounding her.
Everyone quickly ushered him inside.
* * *
*Vegiita, please, just LOOK at me.*
I can't see anything... how am I supposed to look at you?
*You will see.*
Who are you? Tell me!
*My dear prince... how much you've changed.*
Answer me!
*Vegiita...*
* * *
As everyone crowded in the small room outside the med room, Yamucha turned to
Gokou.
"I know this isn't exactly the time to be discussing this, Gokou," Yamucha said. "But
what-"
"Am I doing here?" Gokou finished, smiling slightly.
"Well, yeah. Are you done training Uub?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Gokou found himself glancing at Goten, who had an unreadable expression on his face.
"Just visiting."
* * *
Bulma sat curled up in a chair next to the bed Vegiita was lying on, watching his face.
When his eyes suddenly opened, she nearly tumbled off of it in surprise.
"Vegiita?" she whispered.
He sat up and turned his head towards. "Why am I in here?"
Bulma squinted at her husband. "What do you remember?"
"Trunks and I were training in the backyard." With a bit of a smirk, he added, "Did he
get a punch in to my head?"
"You don't remember anything, do you?"
"What am I not remembering?"
*Me, Vegiita.*
Vegiita squinted. What was that?
Must have been his imagination...
*You're forgetting me.*
"Nani?" he whispered.
*Vegiita.*
"Who..."
"Vegiita?" The Saiyajin snapped his head towards Bulma. "Who are you talking to?"
Vegiita blinked. "I don't know."
*Come back to me.*
"Where are you?" he said in a louder voice.
*Your home.*
~Home?~ he thought to himself. Then his eyes widened.
"Vegiitasei is gone..."
*Come back.*
* * *
Bulma watched as her husband abruptly stood up and began marching towards the
door. "Vegiita!" she chased after him and grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"
Vegiita continued walking, half-dragging her with him, ignoring her. He walked through
the doors and ran straight into Gokou. Blinking, he stopped.
"Kakarotto."
Gokou looked at Vegiita and didn't say anything, seeming to be searching for words.
"What are you doing here?"
"Uh..."
"Visiting," Gohan quickly filled in.
Vegiita narrowed his eyes. "Oh." Then he continued walking.
"Tousan!"
Vegiita gave a slight growl and turned towards his son. "What?"
"Are you all right?"
"I'M FINE!!" Vegiita shouted. He turned on his heel and began stalking out, muttering
something inaudible to the others.
"Vegiita!" Bulma ran forward, grabbing his arm again. He looked at her with steely eyes.
"Do you have any idea what just happened?"
Vegiita looked over her head at the others standing behind her, looking at him with
barely hidden shock.
"No... what _did_ happen?"
"You don't remember... ?" Trunks said, almost sputtering.
"Remember what?" Vegiita growled.
"You tried to fly off of Chikyuu," Gokou offered.
Vegiita stared at him, hiking an eyebrow. "I what?"
"You kept flying upwards and wouldn't stop." Gokou paused. "And what does 'khev t'lik'
mean?"
Vegiita blinked. "That's Saiyago," he said in a flat voice. "The language of the Saiyajin."
"You said it. What does it mean?"
Vegiita's eyes narrowed. "It means home."
*Vegiita!*
Vegiita flinched. That damned voice kept getting louder.
*VEGIITA!*
Vegiita suddenly began feeling dizzy. That voice was pounding into his brain...
Bulma noticed Vegiita's state. "Vegiita... you're not well."
"I'm fine, woman," Vegiita said, his voice barely above a whisper.
*VEGIITA! COME!*
"Damn it, who are you!" Vegiita shouted at the voice. The others stared at him. None of
them had ever seen Vegiita in something even remotely CLOSE to the state of mind he was in
now.
*Come back home.*
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Vegiita demanded.
*Come home.*
"What... home?"
*Your home. Your birthplace.*
"Vegiitasei?"
*Yes.*
"Vegiitasei is gone."
*Come.*
Vegiita looked around at the others staring at him. "I... I need to leave." With that, he
turned and ran out of the building, surprising them all enough not to chase after him.
* * *
"He's lost his mind," Kulilin said. "It finally happened." Yamucha silently agreed.
Piccolo remained silent, brooding to himself.
Gokou was trying to pick up Vegiita's ki, rather unsuccessfully. Vegiita wasn't in a
normal state of mind, which made him harder to track.
Bulma sat, thinking about what Vegiita exactly had meant besides "I need to leave."
What had he been talking about to that voice of his?
"Vegiitasei is gone..." Bulma whispered, repeating the words she had heard Vegiita say.
Gohan looked at her. "What was that, Bulma?"
"Vegiitasei," Bulma said in a louder voice. "He wants to go back."
"But he knows Vegiitasei is gone," Yamucha said. "Better then anyone."
"He was having dreams about Vegiitasei," Bulma said. "He told me. And you heard him
talking about Vegiitasei."
"Hai," Gohan agreed. "And it would also explain why he tried to fly off the planet."
"How would he get to Vegiitasei?" Piccolo said, finally speaking up. "He's thinking more
rationally now, so he's obviously not going to try to fly out into space on his own power again."
Bulma scratched her head. "All the ships on this planet capable of flying that far aren't
working... and he knows he's not smart enough to fix one of them himself."
Almost everyone suddenly sat up straighter. "Speak of the devil," Yamucha muttered.
Vegiita came back in, looking almost normal - a look of eternal pride on his face, back
straight, a frown that looked like it never turned up... he looked like himself again.
He faced the group in silence, as they faced him.
"Um... well... what do you say in this situation?" Gokou said sheepishly.
Vegiita tilted his head back. "I'm going to say something that I will never say again, so
listen good."
Everyone seemed to perk up at that.
Vegiita closed his eyes and bowed his head down. "I... need your help."
Bulma stared at her husband. ~Did Vegiita really just ask for help?~
Vegiita glared at her, as if reading her mind.
"How do you need our help?" Bulma asked.
"I need to leave."
"You said that before," Bulma said, knowing what was coming next.
"I need to leave Chikyuu."
"To go to Vegiitasei."
"Which is nonexistent," Piccolo put in. Vegiita shot a murderous look at the
Namekseijin.
"Vegiita..." Gohan finally spoke up. "We'll help you... but what exactly do you want us to
do?"
"Figure out a way to get me to where Vegiitasei once was."
Everyone drew a blank.
"Why don't we just use the Dragon Balls?"
All eyes in the room turned to Goten. Trunks grinned. "Although you don't show it most
of the time," he began, "You're pretty smart."
"Uh, thanks," Goten said, scratching the back of his head. "I think."
Bulma was already tearing through her lab. "Where the hell did I put it?" she was
shouting... her way of talking to herself.
Gokou smiled and looked around the room. "With this many of us, it shouldn't take too
long to find them all."
A shout of joy erupted from Bulma's lab. "Found it!" She ran back in, turning the Dragon
Radar on. "Hey, there's one only about 200 km south of here!" she exclaimed.
Vegiita suddenly grunted, attracting some obviously wanted attention. "What exactly
would we be wishing for?"
Gokou opened his mouth and shut it again. "I didn't think that far ahead," he admitted
sheepishly.
Vegiita glared, then lowered his gaze, muttering something inaudible.
"A ship, of course," Bulma said. "Something to take us out there and back.
Trunks blinked. "You're not even going to try to build one, kaasan?"
Bulma smiled at her son. "I could try, but it would probably take months, even if my dad
helped."
"I want to leave as soon as possible," Vegiita spoke up.
"You do realise," Yamucha, finally saying something after several minutes, "That we're
all coming with you?"
Vegiita automatically shot him a nasty look. "Why-" he began in a hiss.
"You're not exactly in the best of mental states right now," Kulilin said. "We don't want
you to accidentally blow yourself up."
"And life has been getting rather boring," Piccolo said, flashing something resembling a
smile.
Vegiita opened his mouth, but shut it again after receiving a glare from Bulma. "Fine."
He turned his back on the group and stood in his seemingly natural pose (arms crossed, legs
shoulder-width apart, head tilted slightly down, eyes closed).
Trunks smirked, despite himself.
* * *
The seven Dragon Balls before them flashed. The sky turned black. Lightning seemed
to crackle. A great roar raced to everyone's ears.
"I'll never get tired of this," Bulma said, smiling.
Shenlon was, as usual, huge.
"What is your wish?"
There was a silence as Gohan stepped forward. "We need a fast ship capable of long
range space travel."
"That's big enough to fit all of us - with lots of elbow room," Yamucha put in.
"And a bathroom," Bulma muttered, half-jokingly, half-serious.
There were a few more moments of silence as Shenlon waited to make sure that was
all the requirements. His eyes flashed. "It is done."
A ship literally dropped out of the sky and landed on the ground.
"Your wish has been granted. Farewell." The dragon reverted into lightning that spun
up, and split seven different ways.
One more period of silence.
"Well," Gohan said, taking a step towards the ship.
Vegiita looked at the group of people staring at the ship, and snuck away seemingly
unnoticed.
* * *
*Vegiita.*
"Why are you doing this?"
*I need you back. You need to know.*
"Know what? Why can't you tell me who you are?"
*That's what you need to know.*
"And why can't you just TELL me, instead of having me go all the way out to NOTHING in
space?"
*Because then you will believe me. If I simply tell you now, you would not believe.*
Vegiita's eyes narrowed. "What could possibly be so important?"
* * *
Trunks shook his head. "Tousan," he muttered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
He had known his father all his life. Here and there, he had picked up stories of his
father being a murderous villain - the prince of a race of killers. Trunks could see his father
killing in his mind's eye, more clearly then he would have wished. His first memories of his
father were a cold, cruel man. Now he was still cold, not quite as cruel - but still cruel... and a
little caring, even. And always, ALWAYS his father had always seemed like a level-headed man.
He had never pictured his father in the state of mind he was in now.
Vegiita was talking to the air.
No, Vegiita was fighting the air, albeight verbally. Trunks sighed and turned away.
If a simple nonexistent voice could command Vegiita...
What force were they up against?
* * *
"Are we all ready?"
Kulilin scratched his head and looked at Juuhachigou. She had been filled in on what
was going on, and the Jinzounigen kept sneaking glances at Vegiita, who had decided to
ignore her and everyone else.
Until Bulma mentioned something that made Vegiita intervene.
"Bra is not coming." Vegiita's voice was unusually quiet, yet extremely stern.
"Vegiita, who is she going to stay with?" Bulma said. "Everyone we know is coming -
even Pan is coming. This can't be that dangerous - Vegiitasei is GONE, for Kami's sake! What
the hell could happen?"
Vegiita opened his mouth and closed it again. "Bra is not coming," he repeated after a
moment of silence.
"Why?"
Vegiita glanced around at the group, who were trying to look like they weren't listening
and being rather unsuccessful. He snarled silently and dragged Bulma away and out of
hearing distance.
"Vegiita, what-" Bulma started, cut off by Vegiita's look.
"Bra is not coming. And I don't want you coming either."
"Vegiita-"
"But I'm smart enough to know I can't control you or your actions, as much as I'd like to
sometimes."
Bulma stopped and stared at her husband. Vegiita never spoke to her like this in the
open, although they were out earshot. He just didn't talk like this.
"I've lost control one time. Who's to say I won't do it again?" Vegiita said harshly. "I don't
want to hurt you or my daughter."
Bulma smiled. "Vegiita, if you even begin to look a TAD bit insane, every single fighter
will be on their guard. Face it - even you can't fight four Saiyajin and one Namekseijin." Vegiita
opened his mouth again, but Bulma quickly shushed him. "We're going out there to find out
what's wrong with you - and Bra is worried about you, too. And nothing will stop her from
coming - she's just as clever as me."
Vegiita raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "And you say I'm egotistical."
Bulma grinned. "Let's get back. They're almost done loading the ship." She turned and
headed towards the shining spacecraft.
Vegiita sighed. ~Hard to believe that these idiots are piling onto a ship and flying out to
nothing in space for the sake of my sanity.~ He shook his head and started headed towards
the ship. ~I never would have thought it possible.~
* * *
Everyone was seated, Bulma in the driver's seat.
"So how long will this thing take to get us to the non-existent Vegiitasei?"
Bulma glanced back at the Namekseijin nervously. "Just under a day's time."
Kulilin grinned. "Really? Great! Better then that ship that took us to Nameksei, eh?"
"I guess." Bulma was charging up the ship. "Everybody hold on tight."
The ship started off, and was out of the solar system in seconds.
* * *
"Only a few more minutes," Bulma said, watching Vegiita pace back and forth.
Gokou was being unusually quiet, even after all the pleasant "welcome backs" he had
gotten from everyone. Bulma glanced at him, and then turned back to Vegiita.
"Can you tell the voice we're almost there or something?" she said impatiently. "Maybe
it can tell us what to do once we get there."
Vegiita stopped pacing and glared at her. "We're almost there," he said out loud.
*I know.*
"Did it say anything?" Bulma asked.
"She said she knows," Vegiita said in an annoyed tone.
Bulma made a noise. "You never said it was a girl!"
Vegiita snarled. "I didn't think it was important."
"Well, ask HER-" Bulma started.
*I can hear her, Vegiita.*
"-if she knows what to do-"
*Tell her-*
"-once we arrive."
*-to wait.*
Vegiita growled loudly. "You're both talking at once!" he shouted, attracting the
attention of everyone in the ship. He turned to Bulma. "She said that we wait once we get
there."
"NANI?!" Bulma exclaimed. "We travel all this way to w-" she was cut off by the buzzer
sounding, marking their arrival at their destination. "This is it." Everyone paused, glancing
around the ship in silence.
Gokou finally spoke up. "Why is it so cold all of a sudden?"
Yamucha stared at Gokou. "I think it's warm as toast in here..."
"Kakarotto's right. It's colder," Vegiita said. "Significantly." He walked over to the window
and looked out.
Bulma was silent for a moment. "What do you see?"
Vegiita turned away. "Nothing." He closed his eyes. "It's where Vegiitasei once was -
that's for sure. Two suns and one moon." He opened his eyes and looked straight at Bulma.
"But no Vegiitasei." Gokou walked over to the window and looked out.
"What did you expect?" Juuhachigou said. "You know Vegiitasei was destroyed years
ago... why WOULD it be here?"
"I don't know!" Vegiita snapped. "Why am I hearing a voice in my head? I can't answer
that question, either!"
"Guys..." Everyone turned towards Gokou. "Look."
Vegiita pushed through the crowd that had now gathered around the small window. He
stared out in part shock, part horror.
"Tousan?" Trunks questioned. "What is it?"
Vegiita backed away from the window, shaking his head in denial. He whispered one
word that sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"Vegiitasei..."
TO BE CONTINUED....
----------------------------------------
Redemption, Part II - COMING SOON
The voice Vegiita keeps hearing is finally revealed to be a part of his own past that he
chose to forget. And there's also a surprise for Gokou in store...