Vegito spent the next week nonchalantly asking Bulma details about the time machine. He knew he needed to have a good understanding of how it worked to use it safely, but he figured that bombarding her with questions all in that first day would seem too suspicious. Over the week, he had learned that the time machine was powered from Ki. This was a large difference from the original time machine from the future. Bulma had given the machine a large reservoir of Ki with Vegeta's help for an initial trip. Vegito felt he finally knew enough to use it, but he still had one significant problem; determining the coordinates for the Saiyan planet. Vegeta had been present during some of Vegito's conversations with Bulma about the time machine, so outright asking him for coordinates would be far too obvious. Vegito knew he needed to find a way to ask, and a time, that would be ideal. The next evening, that opportunity came.
Bulma was having another one of her get togethers, and had invited most of the Z warriors and their families over. She convinced Vegeta to have a few drinks, and his flushed cheeks gave Vegito just the confirmation he needed; now was the time to try.
"Hey, grandad. I have a few questions..." Vegito sat next to his grandfather at a table away from the rest of the crowd.
Vegeta had a comical tendency to raise his voice in normal conversation while drunk. "SURE GRANDSON. WHAT QUESTIONS?"
"Uh… It's about the Saiyans. I know you were once the prince, but how did you get here? Wasn't the planet pretty far away?" Vegeta's inebriated yelling calmed slightly at the question. Vegito hoped he hadn't asked too much, too soon.
"I had been sent here in a spaceship by a tyrant who enslaved us all. Our planet had been destroyed about three years prior. You've heard of my time on Namek. The Saiyan planet was not much further than the Namekian planet." Vegeta paused and looked up to the night sky. "As a matter of fact, see that large star?" He pointed to the right of a well-known constellation. "That is where the planet was."
Vegito's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he had needed from his grandfather. He could pin point the location of that star, and use the coordinates to set into the time machine and go back to the planet before it was destroyed.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
The next night, Vegito had decided he would be leaving in the time machine. Because the security was so tight around the Briefs' compound, Bulma never made much effort to protect her lab other than locking the doorknob. Breaking down the feeble lock was nothing for Vegito. He made it into the lab as quietly as possible, and walked to the time machine, which was still covered by a black curtain. His fingers felt the smooth fabric. His heart began to race. 'Why am I so nervous?' He thought. He pulled away the curtain, revealing the machine. He leapt up into the time machine and entered the coordinates for the Saiyan planet, and the date and time that he had decided upon.
The date was approximately two weeks before Freeza was going to blow up the planet. Vegito felt this would be enough time to possibly convince the Saiyans of the impending doom, and defeat Freeza himself to gain their trust. After all, a warrior race probably wouldn't take kindly to a random teenager "from the future" in their midst without some show of partnership. Vegito double checked his entries and the machine's energy. He should have no problem getting there.
Thinking he heard something, he turned his head toward the door. His breath was caught in his chest for a moment, awaiting one of his grandparents to walk into the lab. Minutes passed by, and still no one entered. Vegito decided he must have been hearing things. He thought about his parents for a moment. 'They'll be angry…' He wondered just how angry, before finally pushing the button that would bring him to the past.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Bardock had been hiding behind the door to Bulma's lab, sensing that his older brother was inside. Grandma had always told him not to go in without her, so he didn't dare enter. But, as he heard a loud wooshing sound, he decided that making sure his older brother was okay was more important than breaking his grandmother's rules. He pushed the door open slowly and caught a last glimpse of his brother in the time machine before they vanished.
Bardock ran to Bulma and Vegeta's room, which was closer than Gotu and Trunks'. Bursting in the door, he began frantically yelling.
"GRANDMA, GRANDPA, VEGITO IS GONE HE LEFT IN THE YELLOW THING AND I KNOW I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN THERE BUT I HEARD SOMETHING AND I THOUGHT HE WAS IN TROUBLE AND HE DISAPPEARED"
Bulma shot up and screamed, while Vegeta fell off of the bed and began attempting to blast his night stand. It took a minute of sleepy confusion before either realized what was going on.
"Bardock, honey, slow down. What are you saying happened to Vegito?" Bulma asked.
"Grandma, I know I'm not supposed to go in your lab, but I heard something and felt Vegito in there, so I went to check. He was sitting in the big yellow thing and pressed a button and then he and the thing just disappeared! Is he gonna come back?!" Bulma's face became stony as she turned to Vegeta.
"He took the time machine…"
"What?! You just let that thing sit out, unguarded and unattended for anyone to take?!" Vegeta yelled.
"The only ones who can get in my lab are friends and family we've allowed in our home, Vegeta. I didn't know our own grandson was planning some great escape. Where could he have gone?" The three fell silent to try to think of where, and when, he may have gone.
"I don't understand…" Bulma continued. "Vegito has been here all of his life. What could he possibly think to gain from time travel? He has everything he needs right here. I mean, did he want to go back and watch some of the battles you and Goku fought? Maybe he wanted to be a part of Cell or Buu?"
Vegeta was barely listening to what Bulma was saying. He was reaching into his mind for every conversation he and Vegito had had recently. When Bulma mentioned the previous battles they had with Cell and Buu, Vegeta remembered their conversation from the party.
"Bulma… Vegito said to me that he wanted to be surrounded by people who were more his equals… He also asked me many questions about the Saiyan planet…"
"WHAT!? AND WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU TELL HIM?!"
Vegeta's facial expression became extremely nervous. His eyes grew wide and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as his wife glared at him, waiting for a response.
"WELL?" She pushed.
"Perhaps… I gave him an idea of where the planet used to be…"
"Oh? How good of an idea?"
"The exact coordinates….." He mumbled. Bulma began to laugh in a way that made her sound insane. "B… Bulma?"
"YOU MUST LITERALLY BE INSANE! How irresponsible can you Saiyan men possibly be?! I understand that raising children isn't exactly your forte, but you actually felt the need to tell our grandchild, who you KNEW wanted to be able to visit the Saiyan planet, where EXACTLY it was, when you ALSO knew that he had taken a sudden interested in my time machine. Do you even THINK?!"
"Damnit, Bulma, how was I supposed to assume the boy was plotting this the whole time?"
"You are going to go tell Gotu and Trunks where their son is and how he got there." Bulma said with finality as she walked out into the hallway and toward her lab.
Vegeta sighed with irritation as he looked at his other grandson, a slight look of concern on his face.
"What's wrong, grandson?" Vegeta asked him.
"Is Vegito going to come back, grandpa? I know I fight with him a lot but… I don't want him to be gone forever." Vegeta put his hand on Bardock's shoulder.
"I don't know. It's all up to Vegito now." He walked out of the room to find Gotu and Trunks, leaving Bardock to wonder if he would ever see his brother again.
