Notes: Inspired by "Wanderer's Lullaby", Being Human, and all the DBZ and DBS I've been watching lately. I cried while writing it. I don't think this is exactly all cannon - I may have gotten some details wrong, but this is just my take on the situation.
I've heard that he actually dies before she does, but these images wouldn't leave my head, so here we are.
He refers to his daughter as Echalotte and Trunks calls her Bulla (blame subtitles) - I am aware she is Bra.
I really hope you enjoy the story - sad as it is. The ending I think makes it better.
The Fate of the Last Saiyan Prince
He landed on earth it had been years since he'd been home…home? He shook his head, when did this backwater, mud-ball become home? He could feign ignorance and pretend that he didn't know when that had happened, but he wasn't one to disillusion himself.
Hey Homeboy, loosen up!
He could still hear her clear as the moment she teased him to get his attention.
You need a shower.
He could still feel that finger pressing against his armor and remembered following her like some kind of lost puppy.
He landed at her grave, entombed with her parents, where it was proper. Her smiling image marking the vault, a moment frozen in time from shortly after their daughter was born. Trunks had picked out the photograph, he hadn't been able to speak and Echalotte never left his side.
"Trunks – it's a family name. I don't really care what you think! You won't even claim him you asshole!"
"Bulla – cutest name for the cutest girl. Like it? We can give her a Saiyan middle name if you want, Hun."
His son had grown up and into his own after many years of being far too obnoxious. Trunks had taken an interest in the inner working of the technological empire he was heir too, learning alongside his grandfather and mother. He'd married Mai, and she was a good choice, they took over the company with ease. Trunks had a family of his own now, two kids and they all lived on the compound that had been Vegeta's home for so many years. He was proud of Trunks, but his son took after his mother in so many ways.
His daughter was far more like him then he'd like to admit. He first saw it when she was six and was determined to be the best ballet dancer in her class, demanding to stay up past her bedtime to practice with a singular determination to reach her goal. When she was ten, her birthday party was in full swing and he observed her sneaking off by herself. He confronted her and she shrugged explaining that she didn't really want all of the fuss, but it made Mamma happy so she'd acquiesced. His Echalotte…Bulla's selflessness was from her mother, even if she displayed it more like him.
He could feel all of them in the house tonight, some kind of celebration was being prepared for, he could see all of the telltale signs. He focused until he found Echalotte's ki and landed on the balcony outside the room. She was sitting in a zip-up shirt and lounge pants as she applied her make-up. She was the very image of her mother with her shortened blue hair.
"Hello, Father." She smiled at him softly through the mirror's reflection, then continued her task. "You missed all the excitement. The twins were born two months ago. I think you need to have a conversation with Trunks, before he and Mai repopulate the Saiyan race all on their own."
He smirked and stepped into the room that had been Echalotte's when she was growing up. "She survived having twins? I wouldn't have given Mai that much credit."
"Shenron may have been involved." She flashed an identical smirk back at him. "Don't tell her."
He gave an agreeable sound and glanced around the room, before asking, "How is your son?"
"Reign is good. It's been two years here since you've been home. He's five and stronger than I originally expected. My experiment worked, I knew I could find a DNA combination in a human that would amplify the Saiyan and not delude it."
She had a mind like her mother sometimes, and her way of having a child had been a fight between them. He hadn't approved of her DNA examination and artificial insemination. It was the first real fight he'd ever had with his daughter. It didn't help that she'd started her research right after they lost...
"I'm glad you're pleased."
"No, you aren't. You wanted me to be wrong and you still want to know who his father is." She put in her earrings and stood up, but kept some space between them. She was two inches taller than he was and she wasn't trying to challenge him right now.
He waved his hand dismissively, "I want you to be happy. However it happened, it happened."
There was a knock on the door followed by "mother" in Saiyan royal tongue.
"Enter." Echalotte answered and a boy who was no less his own spitting image stepped into the room, his eyes lighting up.
"Grandfather! You're here!" Reign started excitedly before remembering himself. "I'm excited to see you. I can't sense your power-level." He inclined his head to one side.
"I'm camouflaging it. Something you should have started training on." Vegeta informed his grandson without any real malice in his tone.
The boy bowed his head, then looked to his mother as he tugged on his undone tie, "I need help."
She motioned to the chair and the boy climbed up on it. "Watch me so you learn." The boy's eyes followed Echalotte's slow even motions as she knotted the tie carefully. "There. Do not get dirty. The party is starting soon. Tell your Uncle that Grandfather is here."
The boy nodded and dashed out of the room.
"You taught him?"
"Both tongues, of course, and I made an archive. The language will live on and anything else I can find. I'm going to be traveling after tonight's announcement."
"Announcement?"
"The party is to honor Mother, but I'm turning over my ownership of the company to Trunks. He's always been like her then I was and he loves Caps Corp, even if he won't admit it." She slipped into the bathroom and he stepped back out onto the balcony.
He stared up at the stars and sighed heavily as he stretched out to feel all of the chaos on the grounds. Trunks was with Mai and all of their children and he was happy. Both of his children were happy and his grandchildren were powerful and had potential. She would have been so proud of them, no, she would have been vibrantly and obnoxiously elated to see how they'd grown up. She would have thrown a thousand 'I-told-you-so's about her parenting triumphs at him and he would have endured every one with hidden joy. What he wouldn't give to hear her voice, smell her, just be in her presence again…
There was an ache that he'd never been able to shake since her death ten years ago. He just needed to see his family again, before he…
"Have you decided which star already?" If she hadn't been the image of her mother before she certainly was now in the red dress she was wearing.
He felt a pain in his chest, he hadn't wanted either of his children to know what he was planning, but he didn't lie to them. He silently pointed.
His daughter let a low laugh pass through her painted lips, "It's in the constellation for her zodiac. I can hear her now: I musta been too hot for ya, Babe."
He allowed himself to chuckle, because she would have laughed and she would have said something like that. "Are you going to tell your brother?"
"No. It's your choice. He'd try to stop you, it would be a fight, and then there would be nothing in these last memories but regrets." She laid her hand on his arm. "Go change. Come with me to the party tonight. See your children and grandchildren shine. Hear her be honored. Then when you say goodbye no one will even flinch."
He agreed and stepped into the room that he shared with her or so, so many years. He normally avoided it, but this was more like a goodbye than a visit. He found a suit that she'd forced him to wear and it still fit, slightly looser – he didn't eat as well as he used to. He glanced at the pictures on the wall, no dust, but it looked as if nothing was touched like she could sweep in at any moment and tease him about his crooked tie. He straightened it as he noticed the pair of dark eyes watching him from the doorway.
"Come here, Reign." He beckoned the boy. When his grandson got to him, Vegeta laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Make sure you always good take care of your mother. Be true to your clan."
The boy nodded.
"Good. Now I should meet your new cousins."
The party was everything he would have hated and he would have grumbled to her all night about being miserable. Tonight he simply and quietly watched everything unfold. He saw his son as a strong and capable business owner, but still sharp physically as Trunks had no trouble wrangling all four of his children and kept a close eye on Mai. They were happy, properly bonded mates: supportive but still challenging each other. His grandchildren: four boys and one girl, who had Trunks wrapped around her tiny finger already…He wished she could have seen them. She would have loved them. Could she see them? Maybe she could where she was on the other side.
He stayed until the party was over and the family was left alone on the lawn under the tent. Mai looked tired as she rocked the youngest boy, while Trunks held the little girl. The other children were starting to get sleepy when Reign asked Echalotte to sing to them. The song was low and sad about wanderer looking for his place in the world. He simply sat in the space with them, relishing the last moments he would ever get with them. There would be no reunions for him in the afterlife. There were too many dark stains in his past.
"Okay, well, we should get the rugrats to bed. Guys, say goodnight to your Aunt Bulla and your Grandfather." Trunks rustled up the kids and they bid their 'goodnights.'
"I can take them. Sit." Mai waved him off and their oldest took the little girl from Trunks. "Always nice to see you, Vegeta."
He nodded as she passed him with her children in tow. The three sat in silence for a long spell as Reign snored in the chair he'd fallen unconscious in.
"When did you fall in love with her?" Echalotte asked barely above a whisper.
"Bulla." Trunk snipped, no doubt agitated that she was going to ruin the good mood they were all in with that question.
Normally, he would have reacted badly, even scoffed at the idea of rehashing the past, but not tonight. "It was after Cell."
"There goes my fairytale backstory." Trunk dared to joke.
"Quiet boy, you already knew I didn't love her when you were conceived. It was weakness on my part and stupidity on hers. Why she ever…" His voice held none of his normal bite, but he folded his arms over his chest. "You were not a mistake. But she knew that long before I did. I was foolish and selfish when she told me. We were too stubborn and had no intention of changing for each other. After Cell was defeated; I was lost, but I wanted better for you then what that boy from the future had. She allowed me to be near you. You were the reason that I stayed and ultimately why I saw her as something other than a distraction, but…" He closed his eyes.
"You don't…" Trunk started to interrupt.
"I'll continue if I wish. Hold your tongue."
His daughter chuckled.
"I realized I cared for you both and it was unnerving, unsettling, and I thought it made me weak. That's why I surrendered myself to evil again. It was a mistake. One that I couldn't believe that your mother ever forgave me for…she shouldn't have."
"She knew what you sacrificed for her and for me." His son reminded him.
"It was pointless."
"Not to us."
Vegeta made an agreeable sound. "I didn't show it often, but I did love her."
"We know that." His daughter assured him. "She never doubted it."
A pair of cries rang out from the quiet of the house. "That's my cue, if I want to sleep in my own bed." Trunk scrambled up and started towards the house.
As Trunks passed by him, Vegeta caught his eye, "I am proud of you, my son. Know that."
The lavender haired man looked surprised but managed to respond evenly. "Thanks, Dad. That means a lot."
Vegeta snorted and looked away, he couldn't say anything more without it seeming suspicious.
Echalotte stood up and scooped up her son. "Walk with me, please." He nodded and followed her up the stairs, watching her tuck in her sleeping child.
They walked back onto the balcony of her room and he caught the scent of tears in the air. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat. "I'm trying to grieve like you'd want, but I think my human side is going to get the better of me. It's all I can do to control my ki so Trunks doesn't figure it out." She leaned her shoulder against his for a moment, before moving away quickly.
He stepped back into her space and caught her face in his hands, "You are a good daughter. A blessing."
She nodded and allowed him to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "No matter where you are sent in the beyond… I love you and that…That love travels with you. You are a warrior of the greatest strength and nobility."
He kissed her forehead and left her on the balcony, hearing her controlled her sobs. He changed into the armor, the armor she'd made for him. He would die a warrior, not let age take him. He took off from the compound and glanced back and caught sight of Trunks on his balcony with one of the babies and heard Echalotte shakily singing a ballad that he'd taught her. He raised his fist and took off towards his destination.
.:.
The heat and the pain were long forgotten by the time he stood in front of the desk to learn what his fate would be.
The King shook his head. "You just can't die without destroying yourself can you?"
Vegeta shrugged.
"I had a special place in Hell set-up for you." The glorified paper pusher held up a small book, "All the crimes you committed…I made a separate book for you. I looked forward to reading it to you. All of the lives you took, the planets you destroyed, the cultures you ended, and the people you hurt…But it appears as though someone changed your fate."
"What?" He was genuinely confused.
A mirror appeared to the left of the King and he explained. "Someone wished another fate for you."
The image in the mirror was the dragon Shenron looming over his daughter. "What you ask is no easy feat and I'm inclined not to grant it."
"It is my wish and you will…"
"Foolish daughter of a fallen, bloodstained prince of a lost people, you dare question me?! Why should I bestow any grace to that warmonger?" The dragon snarled his voice booming, lightning illuminating the sky.
Echalotte narrowed her eyes, daring to rebuke the Eternal Dragon, instead of cowering. "Because he was not that man when he died. He was hero to the earth, to the universe, and to me! He was a good father and loving husband. He deserves to rest in peace with my mother. I want you to wipe the sins away from his soul so that he can be with my mother again. It's the only place he ever found peace. It's what he deserves! And you will grant this wish!"
Vegeta clenched his fists. What was that crazy girl doing? Was this happening now? Had it already happened?
The dragon growled, its tail lashing furiously, "Arrogant child! You are unwise to make such a wish then speak to me this way. If I so choose I could grant your wish by painting those sins on your soul. Condemn you to his true fate."
She smiled fearlessly, "So do it. I would gladly bear it."
That stupid girl! NO! You idiotic half-human whelp, too much pride like her…like her Saiyan father. Vegeta dropped to his knees. He could bear his sins, not... His fate should not befall her. NO! How…How could she….
The dragon was quiet for a long moment, "I will grant this wish without staining your soul, but I best not see you again haughty girl."
"You will not."
Vegeta pulled himself up onto his feet, drawing in nonexistent air that he no longer needed. She was safe. Too much like him and too much like her mother. It was a wonder that she hadn't caused his death instead of that star.
"Your wish has been granted." The orange light permeated the area and the dragon balls zipped away as the sky cleared.
"Did we save grandfather?" A younger Reign asked his mother as he looked up from where he'd been sitting at her feet.
She gathered him up in her arms."We did, but that's our secret."
"Grandfather was a prince?"
"He was a king, my son. Your grandfather was the last great king of the Saiyan race. And I will tell you all the stories about how he saved the world."
"All abridged versions where he's the hero instead of Goku?" Trunks called out as he approached. "Bulla, I can't believe how reckless…I mean, I didn't gather the dragon balls with you just to watch you condemn yours…"
"Quiet Princess Trunks, no whining when celebrating victory!" Echalotte barked, but her smile was her mother's delighted and triumphant grin and Reigned giggled.
"Not funny, Sis, really not funny."
The imaged melted from the mirror and the mirror vanished.
They had…his children had saved him...He didn't know how to feel about the situation. How to fathom it. They had known somehow that he was planning his death. They had prepared for it, but surely it couldn't be that simple. Those sins couldn't just vanish.
The King held up the small black book, black ink dripping out and pooling on the floor. "You see, you have a different fate awaiting you." A door appeared to his left where the mirror had been, "Go."
Vegeta had never been one to fear, but this…He gripped the handle his hand shaking. The white light on the other side blinded him for a moment as he dared to take that first step…
.
.
.
"You jerk, you kept me waiting….Oh, I'm just kidding, shesh. Welcome home, my brave Prince."
"Bulma...