Author's Notes: I just want to say real quick that this is my third and final draft of this story. I wrote the original version about 12-13 years ago, and obviously my writing has improved so much since then. This story has always been special to me, perhaps because it was the first full-length story I ever wrote and I still feel proud of it to this day. Yes, it's a bit mary sue-ish, yes it's alternate universe, yes to all these things that typically people overlook in fanfiction, but people will enjoy it or not enjoy it either way. I can only hope that you bear in mind that I have worked hard on this story and the characters and to see it all with an open mind. That said, any criticism is welcomed, even revered! And without further adieu...
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Dragonball Z or anything from the DBZ Universe presented and described in my story. I do, however, own certain original characters and the idea for this story.
With an unearthly groan, the exit hatch of the ship opened, revealing what appeared to be a lush, benevolent world beyond. A blast of warm, crisp air brushed across me and I inhaled deeply. It was like looking through a portal into.. well.. another world. It seemed strange to me that while I had spent so much time in the darkness of space, of battle, and of my own mind, that the sun should be shining cheerily on some blue and green planet somewhere.
I hesitantly took a step off the ramp and stood upon the Earth for the first time. I'll never forget how I felt in those moments, so unsure of the future, and even more unsure of myself given everything that had happened, but also feeling an ounce of excitement. I turned and thanked the few members of the crew, who had gathered around to take a look at the new land as well, and then after a few moments the hatch closed and the ship's engines roared with the effort it took to fight the planet's gravity and become airborne again. I watched it as it became a small indiscernible dot in the sky, until it eventually vanished from sight forever. Another chapter of my life had come to a close.
As suddenly as I had arrived, I was on my own. I had no idea of where to begin my search for my brother. Unfortunately, I had no scouter, so I didn't even have a direction in which to start. I felt exhausted on the inside, and yet, the thought of seeing my brother again and hearing all about how he had defeated the monster responsible not only for our father's death, but for the suffering of so many others, lent me energy and impetus. I felt, somehow, that I was close to reaching the end of this tiring path I had been unwillingly set upon. As if reaching Vegeta and connecting with him would make everything right. I couldn't explain it, but amid the feelings of guilt and longing, I felt a glimmer of hope and it all depended on my finding my brother.
But who knew how he might have come to settle with the species of this planet? Perhaps he hadn't annihilated all of them since he was no longer following Frieza's tyrannical orders. Or maybe he had destroyed them anyway. I couldn't be too sure unless I looked around. If Vegeta was still into defeating those weaker than himself despite Frieza's permanent absence, then… I guess I would confront him about that if the time came. I knew that I myself had changed, but in what ways might my brother have changed? Maybe I'd try to convince him how pointless it was to kill so many harmless people, even if our Saiyan instincts drove us towards war and conquering. We could surely change the name our race had made for itself, if only one of us was willing to break the cycle and seek peace…
My thoughts went back to what I had heard about Frieza's downfall. It hadn't just been that a Saiyan had bested him during a battle on a distant planet, it had been that Frieza had somehow survived the destruction of the planet that had taken place during the fight, and that Frieza had subsequently gone to Earth to seek revenge for his defeat. But why had he gone to Earth? It had to be because of my brother. There were no other Saiyans left, except for myself, my brother, and Nappa and Radditz, but those two bozos didn't count. In my mind, there was no way either of those two could have defeated the most feared monster in the universe, but I truly believed that my brother could have and that he did, and that for some reason he had gone to Earth and that a vindictive Frieza had followed him there.
The unanswered questions on my mind at that point were why Vegeta had gone to Earth, of all places, what was here for him, and had he survived Frieza's vengeful wrath? Or could everything be wrong? I could have come all this way for no reason. I only hoped that it was all true, that he had really settled here, no matter the reason. Regardless of the results, I was determined to find him, or at least find out what had happened to him.
Also, the last time I had saw him had been right before… Well, seeing as I had fled without telling him, or anyone else for that matter, he had to think I was dead. There was a part of me that nagged at me and told me that he probably didn't care if I was dead or alive, but I still wanted him to know. We were the two royal children, all which remained of our proud, fallen race. Unless Nappa and Radditz had also survived this long—which I wished so badly against that I didn't even stop to think about what would happen if they were still alive and with Vegeta once I found him—he and I were the last. And how perfect that would be – the Prince and Princess of Saiyans, still alive after the downfall of the tyrant who had destroyed their race. I had no idea what would happen after that, but I didn't care.
"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?!"
The sound of another person's voice was so sudden and so harsh, I gasped and looked around for the source, my tail bristling in alarm. I was immediately on the defensive. I wasn't sure how long I had been wandering around in this planet's wilderness, lost in thought and following this obscured path towards my brother, and I certainly wasn't sure of how long anyone else might have been there.
Oh, please not this, I don't want to fight… I'm not here to hurt anybody… Please let me explain myself…
I turned around and my eyes fell upon several strangers, though I wasn't sure which one had shouted at me. There was a short man with a messy mop of hair atop his head; a green man with antennae, who appeared to be a Namekian warrior; and a black-haired youth, whose age couldn't have been much beyond his teens. All three seemed a little tense, though not exactly afraid. Perhaps they didn't see me as a threat. But then, why had they confronted me in such a rude manner, and why were they eyeing me so closely?
"I'll ask again," the Namek said gruffly. So he had been the one who had addressed me a moment ago. "Who are you and what is your business here?"
My eyes darted from one alien to the other. Without a scouter, I had no way of knowing precisely how strong they were. Of course, I also didn't know what their intentions were, but perhaps they just wanted to make sure I wasn't there to hurt anyone. Maybe they were a patrol of sorts.
"I… I'm not here to cause any trouble," I said. I decided to cut straight to the chase and to sound as disarming as possible. "I'm looking for someone, actually. I'm sorry if I caused you any alarm. It was not my intention to do so."
The three of them looked slightly taken aback by my response, but they did not look altogether convinced by it either. The hairs on my tail still stood on end and the tip of it twitched slightly. This unconscious action did not go unnoticed.
"A tail?" the Namek said, surprised. He then murmured something to the other two that I was unable to hear, but they were all obviously taken aback by the presence of my tail. I shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. I wasn't sure what to make of all of this. I didn't want to be rude, but I certainly didn't feel comfortable with how suspicious of me they were acting and all the questions. I hadn't done anything wrong.
Or maybe… Vegeta had done something to this planet after all. If they were concerned about my tail, maybe it was because they were linking it to Vegeta having a tail.
I didn't get a chance to think further on this, as the green man continued, "Why don't you tell us who you are and we'll decide whether or not you're here to cause any trouble."
I eyed his muscles. He definitely looked strong; so did the other two with him. But I didn't feel afraid of them either. It didn't matter. Either way, I didn't want to fight with them, and I wouldn't, unless I had to. The other two didn't look like they wanted to fight either, but rather looked like they were prepared if it was necessary. The dark-haired boy to the Namek's right blinked curiously at me – it gave me the impression that he wasn't convinced that I was there to hurt anyone.
"My name is Aqua. It's short for Aquamarine. I'm… it's a long story," I sighed, knowing this would be hard to explain and not even feeling certain that they would understand or believe me. "But for the sake of this meeting, I will tell you that I'm here looking for my brother."
They continued to stare at me, measuring my every word.
"This planet is so large; I don't expect any of you to actually know him."
"Try us." That was the Namek again. He was obviously the leader of the bunch here, so I continued speaking directly to him.
"Well.. he's a Saiyan. I guess maybe you know that since you seem familiar with a tail such as mine." While the Namek continued his hard stare at me, the other two's expressions began to gradually shift into a look of incredulousness. "Like I said," I continued, "it's a long story, but I heard he came here some time ago. Maybe he's not even here anymore. His name is Vegeta, and if you know him or know where he is, I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me where I might find him."
"What?!" the three of them blurted simultaneously.
Now it was my turn to stare. Their reaction had been strange to me. They were acting as though they knew him personally. I felt hope deep inside of me rise up.
"Do you know him?" I asked, my breath quickening. "Could you tell me where he is? I must find him!"
"Now just wait a minute. Did you say that Vegeta is your brother? He's never mentioned having a sister!" the short man piped up, his hands on his hips. The spark of hope dimmed a little. If these folks knew him, and judging by the fact that they were here at all, I assumed they were somehow in alliance with one another, why had he not mentioned me to them? My best guess was that he did think I had perished some time ago.
I decided to ignore that curious fact for the moment and pressed on. "Yes, he's my brother. I've been looking for him for a long time, and.. I was hoping I'd find him here. Now it seems that I have. Please," I implored, "I need to see him."
"Piccolo, I'm sorry, but she just doesn't seem to be all that threatening to me," the short man laughed as his defensive stature appeared to diminish. I felt a little relaxed, too, when he did this.
The Namek—Piccolo—still didn't look completely assured that I was not up to any mischief. That was when the youngest-looking of the three finally spoke up with, "Yeah, I can sense it. I know we just met you, but I definitely don't get the impression that you're here to harm anyone." He offered me a smile, which I wasn't sure what to do with, so I just gave him a small nod and a grateful look in return.
"Thank you..." I said quietly, finally letting go of my breath. "You know my brother, then?"
"Well, yes," the young man answered tentatively, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "It's… a long story too, I'm afraid. But I don't see any harm in taking you to see him."
"Forgive me for being direct, but it's very hard to believe that you two are related," the Namek said. I frowned a little and looked back to him. "For one, you two don't look very much alike. And for another, you seem to have completely different personalities."
"Yeah, really," chimed the short man and the younger man.
I couldn't help but show a small, sad smile at that. It would seem that at least this bit of my brother had not changed. I also couldn't think of anything to say back to that, so I just stayed quiet, hoping my silence wouldn't make him feel even more suspicious.
"Come on, Piccolo, there's no point in drilling her with further questions. It looks like we'll be standing here all day if we do, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to get back home to my family in time for dinner," said the short man.
"Yeah, and remember when we met Trunks? We weren't sure what to think of him at first either, and he turned out okay," said the young man.
Finally, the Namek relaxed a little and stood up straighter. "Very well. We'll take you to Vegeta. But once we get there, you have to explain everything to us."
I offered the Namek a tight smile and a nod of agreement. "Very well." As deceptive as it was, I knew damn well that I had no intention of telling him anything aside from what was essential, and I would get to decide what was essential.
"Come on," the Namek beckoned, pushing himself off the ground and flying in what I assumed was the direction of where Vegeta was. Although I had to trust that he wasn't going to lead me astray, I remained keen of my surroundings in case escape became necessary.
I flew after him. The other two followed closely behind. I was actually surprised that they could fly. During my travels, I hadn't come across many species that could fly, and yet these three did it with ease, as if they did it every day. It impressed me, but I decided not to make anything of it. It was not the most pressing matter at hand.
"I must say, it's nice to have an alien show up who isn't hell-bent on blowing us all up," the short man said with a chuckle.
The Namek gritted his teeth in annoyance. The young man looked like he wanted to also laugh at first, but then he must have realized what I had also realized. It was now clear that my brother was (or once had been) included on that list. I went on to wonder what had gone on during the gap of time since I had last seen my brother. I hoped all would be answered soon.
"None of you look blown up to me," I retorted dryly. Whether or not I was considered a threat, I didn't appreciate having come all this way only to be interrogated about things that was none of their business and then to hear these same people insulting my brother. I wouldn't have it. If he really had done any terrorizing as the short man had insinuated, I would think about it later. For now, all I wanted as to see my brother.
"Hey, sorry," he said, putting his hands up disarmingly. "I meant nothing by it… Not to you, anyway. Erm, I mean—…"
"I think what Krillin means to say," the young boy cut in to save his friend as the reproachful look on my face grew, "is that… it's a long story."
The one named Krillin gave the young man an appreciative look for his quick response.
"I guess it's a long story all around," I said back, more calmly. I didn't really want to get on anyone's bad side, but I certainly wasn't in the mood for jokes. Nevertheless, I resolved to keep my mouth closed the next time. I had no way of knowing, after all, what they had been through, just as they had no way of knowing what I had been through. I had to remember to try to not jump straight to being defensive. I had done that often enough with Jacinth, and now he was gone…
"I'm sorry…" I said flatly, not looking at any of them.
There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence after that, until the young man again spoke up.
"I'm Gohan, by the way. You know, my dad was a S—"
"Gohan," the Namek interrupted, "you are not to tell our guest anything until we meet with Vegeta and find out if she is really telling the truth or not. Understand?"
With my eyes narrowed slightly, I couldn't help but feel that this guy was being a bit hypocritical. Here they were, making it painfully obvious that however familiar they were of my brother, they didn't think much of him, and yet this stoic Namek was exhibiting traits similar to the very person about whom they were making jokes. However much I understood his tactics, I still didn't find that I cared much for him just yet.
"Right. Sorry." He turned his head to me and muttered, "I don't think you're lying."
"I can hear you, kid," the Namek warned.
Gohan's face turned bright red at that and he promptly closed his mouth. I felt some small bit of gratitude that at least one of them wasn't treating me like a prisoner. On the other hand, I supposed I understood the Namek's caution. It's not like I had been heavy on the details myself.
"It's okay," I said, feeling that I should say something to help him out since he had voiced some trust in me, even if I didn't understand it either. Fleetingly, I thought of Jacinth, and how he had trusted me so quickly and easily too, and how it had taken me so long to warm up to him, despite his unconditional efforts to help me.
I forced those thoughts aside. I didn't want to think about Jacinth, especially not at that moment. Everything was still fresh in my mind, as was the pain in my heart; I didn't want to give my vulnerabilities away to these prying strangers. Best to let them believe I had nothing to hide, for the time being.
"I understand the need for security."
"Good," replied the Namek. "Now, I think there has been more than enough talking."
After that, there was silence, which I wasn't exactly in disagreement with. It meant fewer questions for me to have to answer, dodge, or lie about. The only feeling that outweighed the uneasiness brought about by the strangers was the excitement that was building in my stomach. I was going to be reunited with my brother soon. Everything would finally come together.
A long time, made longer by my growing anxiousness, passed in silence with Gohan and Krillin exchanging glances every now and then. Until, suddenly—
"There it is," said the short man, pointing to a large, dome-shaped building with the words CAPSULE CORP. imprinted on the side.
The building was also in the middle of an area that was quite populated. I was surprised to see that my brother had made his home in such a busy place. I knew how much he preferred his solitude to the company of others, so how had he come to live in this strange building? And what was Capsule Corp.? Was he the head of this organization? It raised so many more questions. There had been, after all, at least ten years of mystery between us.
Needless to say, it was a struggle for me to not start blurting out questions right then and there. As hard as it was, I resisted and decided on saving all of my questions for Vegeta.
The four of us landed in the same order in which we had taken off. Everything around here was new and fascinating to me. The trees, the air, the birds, the sounds surrounding me. Despite the situation I had somehow landed myself in, I was secretly enjoying all the new experiences. After traveling through the vast darkness of space for a long period of time, one comes to appreciate anything new, especially where it involves sunlight and life.
"Ohh, Gohan! Krillin! Piccolo! Over here, boys!"
My eyes followed to where the three boys were waving at a blond woman who was waving back from where she stood in the middle of a garden that was tactfully nestled next to the big building.
"Hey there, Mrs. Briefs!" Gohan and Krillin greeted, walking over to where she was. Piccolo brought up the rear, making sure I was always in the middle of them.
"Would you like some cookies? I just made some! Fresh out of the oven!"
I was stunned by this woman's kindness, generosity, and general lack of uneasiness as I stood there quietly. At that point, the only people I had met on this planet had been the three who had escorted me here, and they had all been on their guard at first. This one seemed a lot less uptight.
"Oh, yeah! That sounds great! I'll take some!" Krillin exclaimed excitedly. He visibly shrunk back when Piccolo frowned in disapproval and shook his head at him from behind folded arms.
"Er, on second thought, I don't want to spoil my dinner." I could almost see a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. "Thank you, though."
"Oh, well, how about your lovely guest then?" she said as turned to me.
I could feel my face growing warm at her comment. No one had ever referred to me so kindly before. In fact, Nappa had once delighted in calling me the ugliest Saiyan bitch he had ever seen, which I found hilarious, because he was just about the ugliest creature I've ever seen, dead or alive.
Not that I would have said yes to her offer, but her positive attitude had rubbed off in such a way that I was at least mildly aggravated when Krillin turned her down on my behalf. Her hospitality made me feel more relaxed. Of course, it also made me wonder who she was and why my brother was living in the same house as she. Maybe they were married. Then again, how could this union have ever taken place? She didn't seem like the type of woman my brother would have been interested in. On second thought, my brother didn't seem like the type who would have ever gotten married unless it had been arranged by our father.
I didn't get a chance to say thank you to her, because Krillin began speaking again.
"She's kind of why we're here, actually," he said. "It's a long story, but.. Is Vegeta and or Bulma around? We need to talk to them."
"Vegeta or Bulma? Why yes, Vegeta's in the gravity chamber with Trunks, and Bulma's in the lab with her father, working on a new project. Is everything okay?"
Krillin laughed nervously and put a hand on the back of his head. "Well, yeah, mostly. Don't worry – there's nothing to worry about, Mrs. Briefs. We just need to tell Vegeta that his sister is here to see him, that's all." He jumped slightly when he saw that Piccolo had cut him a look of warning. "I mean, we just have something important to discuss with him. With Vegeta. Could you get Bulma for us? You know we aren't going to be able to get Vegeta out of there without her help."
"Oh, okay. Wait here a minute."
The blond woman set down her watering canister and disappeared into the building, presumably to fetch this Bulma person. She returned moments later, after another round of uncomfortable silence between the four of us, with a blue-haired, well-dressed woman at her side. The blue-haired woman set her hands on her hips and strode over to where the four of us stood, an annoyed look on her face.
"What is so important that you have to interrupt my project, you guys? I hope you realize that working on a solution for worldwide perpetual energy is really heavy stuff," she scolded.
"Of course, of course, Bulma, that's pretty amazing, but—" Krillin stammered, putting his hands up in defense.
"My mom said that you guys needed to see Vegeta about something. What's the deal? Is something wrong? I don't know if I like the idea of you three here together, wanting to see Vegeta, with some strange girl you appear to be escorting around the place. Who is she and what does she want with Vegeta?" Bulma ranted, her gaze meeting mine. I forced my eyes to keep looking back at hers as long as she was referring to me. There was something inside of me that told me I was wrong about who Vegeta's wife was, if he even had one, that is. Something in the way she spoke about my brother. This woman had to be involved with him somehow.
Krillin either couldn't seem to keep up with all the woman's questions or didn't like her tone of voice—or both—because he took a step back and let Gohan do the talking, who definitely seemed to be more comfortable with speaking to the blue-haired woman.
"It's a long story, but I'll summarize what we know so far, okay?" he explained. "I was actually at home studying at the time. I don't know what the other two were up to, but I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, we all sensed some strange power approaching. It wasn't exactly a small power either, you see, so I decided to check it out, and what do you know, I ran into Krillin and Piccolo, who were also on their way to see what was up. When we got there, we found Aqua here."
"Aqua?" Bulma questioned, raising an eyebrow and looking nonplussed. "And just who is she? What does she want?" Now Bulma looked mildly uncomfortable, presumably because now she knew I wasn't from this planet.
"That's just it, Bulma. She's a Saiyan, and she says she's here to find Vegeta. She.." Gohan side-glanced me, looking a little uncertain now that he was hearing himself say it all out loud, and then looked back to Bulma. "She says she's Vegeta's sister. Imagine that, huh? Who knew he had a sister?" His attempt to top off the tale with a bit of humor was appreciated only by Krillin, whose flash of a smile at the attempt quickly faded when he noticed that no one else was smiling.
"I don't understand. How can Vegeta have a sister? I mean, didn't he say that he and Goku were the last?" Bulma said.
She was looking at me again, her blue eyes moving from head to toe and back up again, as though she were measuring me up or searching for something that might tip her off as to my resemblance or relationship to Vegeta. Her eyes stopped their search when they found my tail, wrapped around my waist. I shifted a tiny bit in my self-consciousness.
"Wait a minute, she has a tail? That's just like Goku's tail!" she exclaimed.
I had no idea who his "Goku" character was that she had mentioned twice now, but I briefly wondered who he was and why, if he had a tail like mine—which seemed to confirm my being a Saiyan—he had been here on this planet at all. The significance of all of this was more unclear than it had ever been.
"Wow, there's no mistaking that. Unless there's another species out there with a tail like that, I'd say she isn't lying about being a Saiyan, guys. But the part about being Vegeta's sister… I don't know if I can believe that myself. You say you're here just to see him? Can you tell us a little more than that?"
"I'm sorry, but there isn't much to tell you," I replied, beginning to feel very perturbed by all the probing questions and general lack of respect for my word that was being displayed. I understood that they didn't know who I was or what my true intentions were, but still I felt my frustration at the absurdity of the situation growing. I just wanted to see my damn brother, and they were treating it like I was asking to see God himself. I hadn't come all this way only to be treated like a criminal lowlife when I hadn't even shown one ounce of aggression.
"Look, no offense, but it's just that we've had too many strangers come here in the past looking for someone, only to find that they're here to kill them or blow the place up. We don't want to take that risk again. Now, I'm willing to settle with the fact that you are a Saiyan and that you aren't much of a threat, since these guys don't look too worried themselves. I can also settle with the fact that we aren't going to get anywhere if we don't show at least a little trust in each other. So," she paused only long enough to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "Let me be the first to extend that trust."
Everyone present was surprised when she held out a hand to me. I blinked at it, stunned, not sure what she was getting it. I didn't move.
"B-Bulma? What are you..?" Krillin spluttered.
"Cool it, Krillin. How exactly do you expect her to open up and tell us anything if the three of you keep treating her like a prisoner? Have some tact, will you?" She looked back to me expectantly. Still surprised by her actions, but unable to think of a good reason to not comply, I slowly reached out my hand and took hers.
"Okay," she breathed out. "I'll take you to see Vegeta on the condition that afterwards, you tell us everything. That's my only stipulation. Do we have a deal?"
I wasn't sure about this woman just yet, but I at least felt like her word was worth more than the words of the others, especially the Namek's. She definitely was the most political and articulate of the bunch, which I found respectable enough.
"Okay," I replied. "I understand your situation. And I accept your deal."
"All right," she said, and we each released the other's hand.
"Thank you…" I said quietly.
"No problem," she said and then she winked once at me. I blinked back at her. "Don't let these stupid boys worry you. And if you do turn out to be Vegeta's sister as you say you are, then I'm sure we're all in for some interesting stories. I'm sure you can tell us all about what he was like as a child, so we can blackmail him later," she said with a grin.
A small smile crept up on my lips despite my effort to hold it back. Two could play that game. Faintly, I heard two of the others, presumably Gohan and Krillin, snickering in our wake.
"I'm sure you all have much to tell me as well. If you are all his friends, then you are all friends of mine," I said in response. They didn't need to know that I had never been friends with anyone Vegeta had been even remotely friendly to, nor that Vegeta had never really considered anyone his friend. Their weary looks told me that that was something they had figured out on their own, though.
"Well, since I'm putting some faith in you, I'll go ahead and tell you that Vegeta is actually my husband," she advised with a faint smile.
"Really?" I said, astonished.
So he was married to this woman. I had to admit that I was impressed. She was very pretty, and also seemed highly intelligent and quite friendly. The only thing that I didn't understand about their union was that she was… well, for lack of a better way of putting it, she wasn't a Saiyan or from good blood. I never thought Vegeta would have considered someone of her breed to be wife material, not the Vegeta I knew anyway. Once upon a time, I myself would have been disgusted with the thought, though now I don't care so much. If there was anything my ventures had taught me, it was that it didn't matter where you came from or who you were… we were all essentially the same on the inside.
But perhaps he had changed. I grew warm with the notion that my brother had grown in such a positive way. Maybe he had had the same realizations I had, and had more respect for those he might have once considered "below" himself.
"Really," she confirmed with a nod as we headed in the direction of where Vegeta must have been.
Excitement began to spread within me like wildfire. I wanted to know everything about all of them. I realized that they would probably want to know everything about me as well, but I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. There wasn't a lot about myself to tell them, anyway. Vegeta and I had grown up similarly, after all. Mostly.
"And," she went on, "We have a son. His name is Trunks."
That nearly caused me to fall over. Not only had my brother married, but he was also a father. I couldn't even picture it; it was so far from my expectations.
"I never would have thought…"
I had last seen my brother while he was in his early twenties. It was hard so imagine him with a child that I almost didn't believe it – I would have to actually see the child for myself to make sure I hadn't misunderstood her.
"Bulma," Krillin cut in timidly, with a timid look back at our green friend for added affect, "Are you sure it's a good idea to be sharing all of this?"
Bulma rolled her eyes and snorted. "Honestly, you would think that being one of the strongest men in the universe would mean you have some guts. It's not like this information is going to hurt anyone. She told you guys some things about herself, so what's wrong with tell her a little bit about ourselves?"
Yes, I decided that I liked this woman and that I could trust her enough, at least for temporary purposes. She seemed to make the most sense out of any of them, at least.
"And besides, remember when we first met Trunks? None of you believed him either, even after he took care of Frieza for us and warned us about the Androids. So, not everyone you meet is up to no good."
"That's what I said," Gohan added.
"Wait," I blurted. "You mean… my brother didn't defeat Frieza?"
And here I thought I had been surprised enough for one day. I was so surprised by that thought alone, that I didn't even pay any mind to how they had just introduced Trunks to me as Bulma's son, and yet he had then been referred to as though they had met him beforehand somehow. What can of worms had I opened?
"Well, no," Bulma said, blinking. "It's a long story, but no, he didn't. Why did you think that he had?"
"It was a rumor I heard. It's… why I came here looking for him in the first place. The rumor went that a Saiyan defeated Frieza on the planet Namek, but Frieza then somehow survived the attack and then went to Earth to get his revenge and was subsequently never heard from again. I just assumed it was Vegeta because… well… there are no other Saiyans left. I'm sure he's told you of our homeland's unfortunate destruction."
Bulma nodded and said, "I hate to bring down your expectations, but no, Vegeta didn't defeat Frieza, either on Namek or here. To explain it all in detail would take some time, so would it be okay if we add that to the list of things we need to tell each other later? Although, I'm sure it would inflate Vegeta's ego to know that you thought that."
"Okay," I agreed. "I can't wait to hear this one. It's a relief to know he's gone at all, regardless of who dealt the final blow."
I felt relief as I realized that there was no longer any question about whether or not Frieza was still out there – Bulma had just confirmed what I had been hoping, that his deadly reign had truly come to an end. I only wished that Vegeta really had been the one to put an end to that monster's reign of terror. He had killed our father, after all.
"I agree," she said, wrinkling her nose. "He was truly disgusting."
She then stopped walking once we were in the vicinity of a large, spherical structure. My eyes moved from her to the structure, wondering what in the world it was.
"All right," she said with a resigned sigh. "Here we go."
We all stood back and watched as Bulma strode by herself up to the door and knocked forcefully on it.
"Hey, Vegeta!" she shouted.
When a minute went by without an answer, she knocked even harder. I ignored the muttering from the others as they stood on either side of me and one directly behind me.
"Vegeta, come on! You've been in there all day!"
After ten or so minutes of her tireless efforts, the hydraulics of the door let loose a high-pitched whine as it slowly lowered. The tip of my tail was twitching in anticipation, but I remained as calm as I could.
And then he was there. My brother. He looked just as I remembered him, albeit older than I expected. He looked so much like our father, it was almost like he was back from the dead. He furthermore looked as though he was about to start yelling, but then his eyes fell on me and his mouth slowly closed. He was just as shocked as I was. We were both so stunned that we were completely speechless.
There was a long bout of silence between us before he finally spoke up.
"I thought you were dead," he simply stated, almost as though he was just talking about the weather.
My hands hung even more limply at my sides.
"No," I said, my voice faint, but I forced it to come back and stood up straighter in his presence despite how weak I actually felt. Vegeta always had a way of making me feel like I needed to straighten up around him.
"No, I'm—I'm here, brother," I said, trying not to let my voice break. "I'm sorry I left. I—"
"What are you doing here?" he demanded harshly.
"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted.
"Stay out of this, woman! Let her answer for herself!"
I'm not sure, looking back, exactly what sort of welcome I had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Getting the words out was like pulling teeth. I also couldn't believe how he was speaking to his wife.
"I came here to find you. I wanted to see you. I thought you would want to see me, considering—"
"Well why would I care if you were alive or not? It makes no difference to me."
It was a real effort on my part to keep my mouth from falling all the way to the ground and to not shrink away from him. I knew he would have viewed that as weakness and would have scoffed at me for it. I concentrated instead on tightening my tail around my waist.
But I ultimately failed myself. The only word I managed was, "Okay…" as though I didn't believe him.
"Look at you. You're even weaker than the last time I saw you. How exactly did you pull that off, I wonder? Have you been living some cushy life somewhere while the rest of us have been hard at work, training?!"
His words cut me so deeply that it hardly even hurt. Now he had touched something inside of me that was so sensitive, so raw, I felt the raging need to defend it and I felt anger burning inside. How dare he insinuate that I had left him to live a "cushy" life somewhere? He had no idea what I had been through, of the pain I had endured and of the friends I had lost. I had not been living comfortably. I had never lived comfortably, not nearly as comfortably as he appeared to have been living for some time on this blasted planet.
In spite of my hard efforts at keeping my emotions to myself, I felt my jaw working as I formed the words to fire back at him. But before I could say anything, a young, purple-haired boy poked his head out from inside the chamber.
"Dad? What's going on?" he asked curiously.
"I thought I told you to stay put!" Vegeta roared, rounding on the small boy and shoving him back into the pod. I could only assume that that had been Trunks, the son Bulma had mentioned not moments before.
"Don't you dare treat him like that, you jerk!" Bulma shrieked, coming at him with her fists clenched at her sides. She looked menacing, even though I knew her strength was nothing compared to Vegeta's.
"Vegeta, leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!" I said.
"I'll do whatever I like with my son!" he yelled back at the two of us. "And you!" he turned to me, his eyes blazing. "How dare you barge in on my life and tell me what to do!"
He spun around and went back into the chamber, slamming the door shut behind him. Almost as quickly as he had appeared, my brother was gone again. Just like that.
