Chapter 2: Fuel for the Mystery
By: senzubean
I do not own Dragon Ball Z in any way. I make no profit from this story. I just wrote it for fun.
"It just doesn't make sense." The doctor stated.
"I already know that!" Vegeta snapped impatiently. "That's what I told you when we first got here!"
"Vegeta, please." Bulma sighed. She understood how helpless he was feeling, she was feeling the same way. "Doctor, is there anything else you can do, maybe some more tests?" Suggested Bulma.
The doctor shook his head in regret. "I'm sorry I can't think of anything that I may have missed. Your daughter is perfectly healthy, aside from the fact that she is comatose."
Vegeta grunted, unimpressed. "But the boy, he regained consciousness almost immediately! Bra's been unconscious for an entire day and you're trying to tell me that there's no reason? What was wrong with that other kid?" Vegeta demanded as only Vegeta could. Angry, yet still extremely concerned, but mostly angry.
"The boy wasn't brought in for examination.. How your daughter entered this state I don't know. As you are aware, the investigation of the arena resulted in nothing. I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait and see what transpires. Try to be patient." The doctor smiled reassuringly.. "Now, if you would excuse me?"
"Certainly," Bulma replied and thanked him.
"I'll show you patient!" Vegeta spat after the doctor disappeared.
"Vegeta, stop it!" Bulma ordered. "I can't deal with you right now." She walked back over to her chair at the head of Bra's hospital bed and stroked her hair.
"Hmph!" Vegeta spat at her and leaned against the window ledge with his arms crossed over his chest. He observed his silent daughter. He never thought he'd actually want to hear her incessant gabbing again. He'd give anything to be able to listen to whatever she had to say. He also wanted to tell his mate that he was afraid for their little girl. He alone could feel her ki. He felt it fluctuate at uneven intervals. Surging, as if she were waking up then plummeting as if she were perishing. It was driving him insane to have to deal with that information alone, but he couldn't frighten his mate anymore than she already was.
"Hey." Trunks said gently as he walked in. "How's she doing?"
Bulma shook her head. "The same."
Trunks walked over to his sister and examined her in intense concern. He pulled a stuffed rabbit from behind his back and placed it next to her head.
Bulma smiled warmly at Trunks, he spoiled her almost as much as his father. She turned her attention to Bra. "Your brother brought you another bunny for your collection, Bra." Bulma said in as cheerful a voice as she could feign. "Why don't you open your eyes and take a look. It's really cute."
Nor response. Bulma could barely stifle her tears. "Bra, sweetie, please wake up!"
Trunks put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mom. You know how tough we saiyans are. She'll be up and around in no time."
Bulma nodded and wiped her tears on her sleeve.
"Why don't you go to the cafeteria for some coffee? You need to get away from here for awhile. Dad and I will stay with Bra."
Bulma nodded again in agreement, picked up her purse and left silently.
Trunks turned to his father. His worry was unmistakable.
"Has her ki been that erratic all day?" Trunks asked.
Vegeta mumbled an affirmative. His scowl softened as he looked at his daughter. Then he sighed with remorse and looked at the floor.
Trunks knew that that was uncharacteristic of his father, and was surprised he was even permitted to witness it. Obviously, Vegeta felt that he was to blame for the "accident".
"Don't blame yourself, Dad. This isn't your fault." Trunks reassured him.
"Isn't it?" Vegeta demanded to know. "She had no interest in fighting yesterday and I forced her! If I hadn't this wouldn't have happened!" He growled in self-hate.
"We don't know what happened to her in that arena, Dad." Trunks replied and extended a video camera out to him. Vegeta hadn't even noticed that he was carrying it. "But, I may have the beginnings of an explanation. Pan brought this to our house just before I left. I watched Bra's match and I think you should take another look at it."
"I've witnessed it first hand, I don't need to see it again!" Vegeta stated stubbornly, not wanting to see his daughter in that state again.
Trunks thrust the video camera against Vegeta's chest "Look at it!" he insisted.
Vegeta snatched the machine away from his son and hesitantly put his eye to the viewing piece and switched it on.
Trunks switched a button on the top of the camera as he watched the playback.
"If you watch it in slow motion, you can see it in greater detail."
Vegeta watched as Bra's punch missed its target and how the boy grabbed her arm, lifted her over his head. Then as she was in a perfect arc over him, it happened. A spark emanated from within the boys palm.
No. It emanated from Bra's wrist. It had to. For a string of energy encircled her arm all the way up to her torso. As this happened the boy started to crumple as if he were being drained. Then the blinding flash engulfed them and whited out half the ring.
Vegeta shut his eye as the light hurt him. When he opened it, there they were, both unconscious.
"So, that energy did come from Bra. I couldn't tell at the arena. I couldn't even tell whose ki had been flaring up. They felt exactly the same."
"Really?" Trunks asked. Vegeta nodded, he had been almost as disturbed by that as he had been at Bra not waking up. Everyone had a unique ki signature, and Vegeta could pick up those of his children effortlessly, even subconsciously. When Bra's disappeared for that fleeting moment, it terrified him.
"Strange," Trunks stated. "But at least we know that it was Bra that caused it. And, if anything, you should be glad. If you hadn't made her fight we may never have found out she could do such a thing. She needs to learn how to control that power."
Vegeta mumbled an agreement and went about replaying the video.
Just then, Bulma returned. "The cafeteria is closed." She stated in a tired voice. "And I refuse to drink coffee from a vending machine."
Trunks was about to offer to get his parents take-out but was interrupted by Vegeta.
"Take your mother home." He ordered. "I'll stay with Bra."
"No, I don't want to leave!" Bulma protested.
"Don't be ridiculous." Vegeta mumbled as he watched the video. "You can't do anything for her, and your incessant worrying is getting on my nerves."
"What is that you're watching?" Bulma demanded accusingly. Vegeta ignored her and rewound the video yet again. Bulma turned to Trunks.
"It's the match. Pan gave it to me." Trunks replied while avoiding his mother's gaze. He couldn't lie to her but he didn't want to tell her the truth either. It wasn't a good idea to get Vegeta in trouble.
"Damn it, Vegeta! Can't you think of anything besides training? Your Daughter is in a coma! Don't you care?!" Bulma yelled.
Vegeta sighed in exasperation at his wife's yelling. "Get her out of here, Trunks." He stated and watched the video again.
Trunks obediently began to lead his mother out of the room. "Come on, Mom. Dad's right, we can't help now. But Bra will need you to take care of her when she wakes up. You won't do her any good if you're exhausted."
"I guess so." Bulma admitted defeat and pulled on her coat. "But I can't believe he's watching the match! Of all the inappropriate things to do…." Bulma's voice eventually died as she was lead down the hall by her son.
When he was sure he was alone, Vegeta took his wife's place by the bed.
Vegeta examined his daughter's face, white as a sheet. He reached out and brushed a single turquoise hair away from her forehead.
"You've got some radical power in you , Princess."
"Daddy?"
Vegeta blinked his eyes trying to shake off sleep. He'd dozed off. Was he hearing correctly, was Bra awake.
Finally his eyes focused on his daughters face, still pale. Her big blue eyes halfway open and tired looking, like her mothers had appeared hours before.
"Daddy, what's going on?"
"I was hoping you could tell me, Bra." Vegeta stammered so relieved he didn't really know what he was saying.
Bra was at the brink of tears. "What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with me, Daddy? Tell me, I'm scared!" She reached out to her father. Vegeta instinctively took hold of her hand. As soon as their palms met a yellow coil of energy raced from the middle of their hands and up Bra's arm. Bra started to hyperventilate as the energy encircled her body.
Vegeta was frozen, he couldn't move . All he could concentrate on was his energy slowly being drained from his body. As he realized this was happening he tried to let go of Bra's hand, but she had tightened her grip.
"Let me go Bra." He said urgently as his daughter started to thrash around the bed in agony, her hyperventilation giving way to screams of pain.
"LET GO!" He panicked and tried to pull himself away from her but she grabbed on tighter. He was too weak to fight her, she was stronger than him.
"PLEASE, BRA, LET GO!" He screamed as loud as he could. She just didn't hear him. Her ki was growing too fast and his was decreasing. He crumpled to the floor, hanging in his daughter's grasp. He was drained, he couldn't even yell for help.
Then just as he was about to lose consciousness he saw a blinding flash.
"BRA!" Vegeta yelled and stood up, knocking over his chair as he rose. He was sweating and hyperventilating and confused. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms then blinked in attempts to focus them. There, laying on the bed, he saw Bra. Still unconscious.
Vegeta instinctively went to touch her but recoiled in horror inches away form her, afraid that his touch would kill her.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. The last time he had checked it was around 1 A.M. It was now 4. A.M.
"Idiot." Vegeta quietly chastised himself. "It was just a dream" Still, he could not bring himself to touch his daughter.
Heaving a sigh of relief, he sat back down in order to recommence his vigil. Suddenly he was made aware of the state of his stomach. It was empty. He listened to it growling angrily, wondering if he should leave his daughter unattended. What if she was to wake up while he was gone. An intense growl, accompanied by sharp little pains moving all through his torso answered that question for him.
Her Ki was somewhat steady before I fell asleep and it doesn't seem to have changed much over the past few hours.
He pondered, rising out of the chair subconsciously as he did so. His mind had made itself up. He crossed the room, stopping at the threshold and cast a glance over his shoulder. Surely he could stay and ignore his stomach's complaints. It would be a test of will power. His insides rumbled at the thought.Damn I'm hungry.
"Oh yeah, he's got a daughter all right." A young alien, of primate descent, stated gravely to his superior.
"A saiyan princess." Morlick stated. "A true saiyan princess." He walked over to the massive view screen and looked upon the earth. "To think, Prince Vegeta had been living here, peacefully." Morlick chuckled at the thought of the Saiyan Prince; Once one of the most feared beings in the entire universe, having a family and acting civilized on a foreign planet.
"Yeah, and if you ask me, we should just leave them the hell alone. All of them!"
Morlick eyed his scout in contempt. "Why is that, Lokus? Do you have reason to be afraid of her? Did you have a confrontation with her?"
"Yeah, in a tournament." The green skinned lizard alien morphed into the boy wearing the yellow gi. "I fought her. Polkrif's got good reason to be afraid, she's a power sucker!"
"A what?" Morlick asked in disbelief.
"A..a power sucker. She drained my power! To the point of unconsciousness!"
Morlick cocked his bushy eyebrow at him. "Lokus....."
"It's true! She's a power sucker! And if she can do it, then Vegeta can do it too! You wouldn't believe it! Everyone at the tournament was talking about him and this other guy named Goku. They said they were comrades and they were the two of the most powerful people on that planet. And they're all power suckers!"
"IDIOT!" Morlick yelled and swept a bunch of binders, filled with data off his desk at Lokus. Some hit him. Lokus yelped in pain and surprise. "She obviously beat you with her own power! What were you thinking by fighting any of them? You know you're a scout not a soldier!"
"I know, I know! It's just that the tournament was convenient and..."
"I pay for information. And I pay you well at that, lazy ass! I expected much more out of you!"
"I'm sorry." Lokus replied sheepishly and bowed his head in shame.
"No matter." Morlick replied and tossed a power blaster at him, which he caught. "Go back and kill her."
Lokus gaped at his master. "No way!"
"Lokus, do as you're told! It's part of your job!"
"No way! I'm not going anywhere near that Vegeta guy. He's crazy. He looks crazy and scary. You don't want to mess with him!"
"What about Polkrif? Shall we mess with him?"
Anything's better than messing with saiyans. We all know what they're like!" Lokus tossed the blaster back to Morlick. "A stupid blaster can't take a saiyan down, not even a weak one. And these aren't weak saiyans!"
Morlick smirked. "We'll see. But since you're afraid, you don't have to confront them."
Lokus sighed in relief. But it was short lived as Morlick raised the blaster at him. "You know what they say, if you want something done right..."
"N..No.."
"..You have to do it yourself."
Morlick blew Lokus' head off and without another word and tossed the blaster on the corpse.
Vegeta pressed the button of the vending machine's turn table restlessly. Nothing looked appealing to him. He now wished he'd ordered Trunks to return with some food when he made him leave hours before.
"Why in the hell do earthlings eat this crap?" He wondered. He scowled at the thought of a dozen or so bags of bland and most likely stale potato chips. A fierce rumble emanated from within. His stomach wanted him to hurry up. Vegeta was about to put his money into the machine when it hit him.
It was ki, Bra's ki. But there was another person's ki along with it. Seconds later the building began to tremble, then shake. The vending machine toppled over onto Vegeta's head. He threw it off as if it were a garment of some kind and bolted down the hall back towards Bra's room. Someone was attacking his daughter and Vegeta was going to kill whoever it was.
Hospital staff and patients gathered in the halls, holding on to the walls for support. Vegeta shoved past a few nurses, standing near the doorway afraid to enter. Vegeta soon found out why.
Bra was sitting up in bed, hyperventilating. Her eyes were fixated and staring off into space and yellow coils of energy were encircling her body. Vegeta ran up to the side of the bed, but being too much like his nightmare would not touch her out of fear.
"Bra!" Vegeta stated loudly in an attempt to get her attention. No such luck.
"BRA!" Vegeta yelled. Bra didn't respond. He didn't know what else to do, so casting off his fear he grabbed her by the shoulders in desperation.
"BRA!" He yelled a third time, slightly shaking her. Her skin stung to the touch, as if his hands were raw and he'd poured aftershave all over them and waves of power caused his hands and arms to throb.
Success!
"Daddy?!" Bra asked as if waking up form a deep sleep. Suddenly, she became aware of her present condition. She cried out in terror.
"What's wrong with you?" Vegeta demanded, trying his best to ignore his panic at her whimpering.
"Help me!" Bra choked out between gasps.
Vegeta thought for a moment. Then shot a ki blast at the window of the room, creating an exit. Immediately he flew outside, carrying Bra. Her Ki was a mixture of hers and the boy she'd crumpled. Somehow, she sucked the power out of him and retained it. She was expelling energy as if she were creating a ki blast. But instead of forming a missile the energy merely seethed in and out of her body. She had to release it in an attack. Or at least that's what Vegeta theorized.
Vegeta hovered in place in the air directly over the deserted hospital courtyard.
"Listen to me Bra!" Vegeta ordered his panicked child. "I want you to expel that energy in an attack."
"B..but…"
"Trust me. Do as I say."
"I..I can't.."
"NOW!" Vegeta screamed right in Bra's ear, scaring the daylights out of her and causing her to fire in reflex. The explosion from her ki blast caused the earth within a ten mile radius to tremble. The result of it was a fairly large crater where the courtyard had been.
Vegeta descended heaving a sigh of utter relief. His daughter's ki was now normal. When he landed, he noticed that his chest and arms were burned. They stung but he was unconcerned with his condition, he was worried about Bra.
As she got her bearings straight, she began to sniffle. She pressed her face into her father's burnt chest, causing Vegeta to wince. Then she began to bawl.
"It's all right now, Bra." Vegeta said reassuringly, but he himself wasn't reassured in the slightest.