Hollows

Chapter 2

"Like hell I'm not going!" The woman was yelling again, and I was getting a massive headache. And madder by the minute. She simply did not understand what I was telling her.

I made a tremendous effort and managed not to scream back at her. "Look, dammit, I'm not asking your permission. You are not going. Not until I say, anyway. It's too dangerous and too complicated and there is too much work to do-"

"And I'll get in the way, is that it?!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"It's how it sounded to me!"

"Well, I can't help what you hear," I said meanly. This was not going the way I'd hoped. Why in the world did she want to come with me, anyway? I'd told her precious little about my home, and what I had said wasn't exactly flattering.

"Don't get cute with me, Vegeta! I'm going and that's it!" And then she actually turned and walked away from me. I don't care who it is, no one does that.

I caught up with her and grabbed her arm, twisting her around to face me. "Fine, damn you, you can go. But when you end up dead in gutter in the Hollows, nobody'll blame me, because I warned you." She was pale and frightened, but at the moment, I didn't care. I let her go and stormed off down the stairs, intending to go out to the gravity room and work off my temper.

I heard footsteps behind me and Bulma called, in very different tone than before, "Hey…hey, wait a minute!"

What now? I spun around and spat out, "What?"

She stopped and swallowed hard. She was still white-faced, and if I looked closely I could see her trembling. Great, I'd scared the crap out of her. Been a while since I'd done that.

"Wh-what'd you mean, wind up dead?" She stammered.

I scowled, not quite following her. "Just that. You'll be dead in a minute if you wander off alone in the Hollows."

She swallowed again. "What's the Hollows?"

Somehow, I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before. "It's the area on my homeworld where I live," I replyed shortly. "Now, if you are done with the inquisition-"

"Why don't you want me to go? What're you so afraid of?" She asked softly.

I stared at her for a minute. She must really want to piss me off. First she walks off on me, now she calls me scared? "I am not afraid of anything. And you are a fool to think so," I said stiffly, and turned to go.

Apparently, she still hadn't had enough. "Then why don't you want me to come with you?" She asked, still in that soft tone. "You're not ashamed of them…or of me?" This last bit came out in an utterly pitiful way, and I felt somewhat like an ass. I knew I should just say no and walk away, but I couldn't. And anyway, maybe she'd let me alone once I explain it to her.

I turned back to her. "No, I am not ashamed of them, or you," I said gruffly.

I could tell she was confused. "Then what-"

"The Hollows is possibly the worst place in the universe for you to go. It is home to what we Saiyens call Inderlanders. You would call them either mutants or monsters. They are still Saiyen, but different. Some are psychic, some are vampires, others are Weres and spirits. All of them are much stronger than the average Saiyen, and all of them, to some extent, dislike non-Inderlanders.

"My family is pureblood Inderlander, something of a rarity. We are mostly of the psychic and vampric variety, though a few of my siblings came back as spirits. It is dangerous for non-Inderlanders to enter the Hollows, and many of them are injured or killed. For you, it would be instantly fatal if you for a moment wandered off alone, especially at night when the Inderlanders come out to feed."

"Feed?"

I smiled grimly. "I'm sure you can guess what that means."

She nodded, pale again. "And…and what are you?"

"Vampire."

She looked at me curiously. "Really? But I've never seen any fangs, and you've never, um, fed."

I smiled wide enough for her to my fangs. "Not that you know, anyway."

She nodded at that. "You don't kill anyone, do you?"

I blinked, surprised. "No. I haven't had blood in years, actually."

"Oh." She looked relieved, and I couldn't blame her. "I'm still going, though."

I scowled. I had almost forgotten about our argument. "You haven't heard a word I said, have you?"

"I heard," she smiled, "but I still want to go. I think I should meet your parents, and I'm sure they'll want to know we're married. Plus, Trunks ought to meet his grandparents."

"You have a point," I said reluctantly, "but you'll be disappointed."

She frowned slightly. "Why?"

I pressed my lips together. How could I say this without getting into the unpleasant details? "My parents and I haven't been on the best of terms. Before they died, we had not spoken in weeks."

"How come?"

There is no end to her nosy questions. "I don't talk about it."

"Vegeta-"

"No." I scowled at her. "I don't talk about it, and you don't need to know. Now do you still want to go with me or not?"

The woman hesitated. "Yes," she replied finally, "and Trunks should come, too…if you don't mind."

Now she asked my permission. "Fine, but you are not to leave my side, or the house, without an escort. Preferably two."

She let out a long sigh. "Reasonable enough. Thanks, Vegeta," she added almost shyly.

I grinned slightly. "Thank me when you see what you've gotten yourself into. Now, I need to go train."

She laughed and went back upstairs. I shook my head and headed for the GR. Damn woman.