Just One Confession

II.

Once we got Bra inside, or I guess I should say when Goten got Bra inside, I was surprised there weren't a million questions thrown at me. But everyone seemed to be in their own state of mind. Goten prepared a bag of ice for Bra and sat beside her on the couch as Pan paced in front of them constantly. I kept my place at the bottom of the stairs, my knees pulled up to my chest as though I was some child that was put in timeout.

I didn't know what drove me crazier: The fact that no one was asking me anything, or not knowing how Vegeta and Goku's fight was going. Would Goku be able to talk some sense into him like he had done in the past? Maybe, just maybe, Goku would be able to bring out the good in Vegeta again and he'll be happy living on Earth with us again…like how it was supposed to be.

The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that wouldn't work out as smoothly as it was supposed to. If Vegeta never left in the first place, him and I might still be together. But now that there's been a drastic change of events, I wasn't so sure.

I know I keep bringing this up, but I couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. Here I was, waiting around the house as I was kept in the dark about how the battle was going. I just wished that it wouldn't have the same ending as it did last time…

My wish didn't come true.

* * * * * * * *

It had been almost half a day since Goku and the others flew off to fight Vegeta and they still had yet to hear any word on how it was going. Pan hardly stopped pacing, even against Goten's persistence upon trying to get her to stop. It was getting the normally calm man to become agitated.

"Pan, for the last time…if you don't sit down and chill, I'm going to make you," Goten said quite persuasively, though it had no effect on her.

"Oh shut up! Aren't you the least bit worried?!" Pan yelled back finally, her eyes wide with anger, "This strange guy just shows up to fight Grandpa for Grandma! Who knows how powerful he could actually be! He tossed Trunks and I around like we were ragdolls!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Bulma finally stood up, shaking her hands in front of her face, "Pan, that's not why Vegeta came back to fight Goku…I have nothing to do with it."

Pan narrowed her eyes at Bulma, putting her hands on her hips, "You can't hide the truth from us any longer. If that guy is Trunks and Bra's father, then you had to have had an affair with him at some point while you were still with Grandpa!"

Before Bulma could explain, Goten popped to his feet, his eyes practically bulging out of his head.

"What?! Mom…is that true? What…the hell?" Goten tried to calm down for a moment, scratching the back of his head. He looked down at Bra, now knowing why she looked more distressed than usual. Out of all the reasons he thought everyone was on edge, this was the furthest from what he expected.

"N-no…" Bulma trailed off, not quite sure if Pan hit the nail on the head or not. It put her in an even harder position not knowing how to explain based off of Pan's accusation, "I mean, not exactly. It's complicated."

Pan gave a cruel, haughty chuckle, "Complicated? I heard—."

"Pan, stop!" Goten yelled, his eyes narrowed in concentration, "I feel someone returning…it's weak, but it's there." Without another word, Goten ran from the living room and into the front yard, his eyes shooting to the skies. He sensed Pan running up beside him, and Bulma and Bra behind him.

"Who…is it?" Pan asked, her fists clenched so tight from anticipation they were trembling in pain.

"I don't know, I can't tell yet," Goten replied, suddenly wishing that he had gone to help fight against Gohan's wishes. Sure, there might still be hope that Goku was the one returning...but what of the others? How come only one power level was coming to them?

Suddenly, a bright blast appeared right above them, causing all four of them to cover their eyes. The blast stopped in the sky and that's when they realized it was a person…

Pan looked up first, expecting to see her grandfather. He face faltered and her legs shook as she quickly came to the realization that it wasn't her grandfather at all. She swallowed hard, "Oh no…it's Vegeta."

As though that were an invitation, Vegeta began to lower himself to the ground. He was pretty beat up; half of his armor was missing, his left eye was glued shut, and there seemed to be enough blood pouring off him to donate to a whole village.

Although they were all shocked, Bulma was the one that got over it first. Leaving Bra's side, she walked in between Goten and Pan, leaving them behind her as she boldly stepped in front of Vegeta.

"Mom, don't!" Goten yelled, though didn't make any other attempt to try to stop her.

Vegeta didn't make a move. Bulma stared into his right eye, her face full of anger and wisdom. In all the time she spent with Vegeta, she never knew him to physically hurt her. Even when he had the chance when he first came to Earth, he didn't lay an evil finger on her. Whether he just thought she was no threat to even bother or if he did have some sort of weak spot for her, she wasn't sure, and wasn't about to question it. Either way, she was tired of everyone else fighting a battle they had no chance of winning when she might be able to talk to him.

"Vegeta…what happened to Goku, Gohan, Uub, and our son?"

He still didn't move. Aside from the harsh breaths that were coming in and out of his open mouth, he was silent. He grabbed his side roughly before standing straight, ignoring all of his broken ribs.

"Gohan and the dark one are fine; but they're knocked out. You might want to have someone go retrieve them before they bleed to death out there," Vegeta explained, making Goten and Pan raise an eyebrow. Why did he…sound like that?

Bulma waited for him to tell her the rest. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest, it knowing the answer her mind refused to accept until she heard it straight from his mouth.

"That…stupid brat of yours got in the way as I was about to make my final blow!" Vegeta yelled at Bulma as though it was her fault it happened, "You should have taught him that heroics are unnecessary if he knows he doesn't stand a chance!"

She blinked back her tears. No…she wouldn't cry. Not yet. Her body and soul were numb and sensing that Vegeta regretted killing their son was not helping the matter. Vegeta clenched his fists that only bore torn bits of his gloves now. Her not responding was getting him agitated.

"Oh, but don't worry! Your precious Goku is out for the count too!" he used Goku's Earth name to stress his point, and though it would have had the same blow on Bulma regardless what name Vegeta used, it somehow struck an even more powerful cord upon hearing him tell her he killed Goku.

Before Bulma could think of anything to say, Pan was flashing past her.

"How could you, you bastard!" the quarter Saiyan screamed as tears flew behind her. Her quickness took the injured Vegeta off guard. She made impact with his side, her foot crushing his ribs in a few more places. He grunted as he was thrown to the ground, drips of blood sliding down the side of his mouth. Pan wouldn't let him recover. She flew above him, clamping her hands together as she got ready for a blow to his chest.

Mustering up what little energy he had, Vegeta sent a small blast up at her as soon as she was close to him. It hit dead on, sending her flying up through a tree and back down with a loud thud.

"Pan!" Goten yelled as he powered up, his hair turning gold. He pushed off the ground, ready to give this guy what he had coming to him.

"Stop!"

Hearing the loud command, Goten stopped mere inches away from smashing Vegeta's face in. He looked over to see it was Bulma who yelled this, spotting the uncertainty in her eyes. He narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Mom, why!? He killed Dad…and Trunks! Do you really think I'm gonna let him get away with that?!"

Bulma was shaking; it had been so long since she saw this kind of violence, it was almost like the first time all over again. Her breathing slowed to almost nothing as she stepped forward, causing Goten to back away as though her energy was overpowering his own.

"Goten…" she began, looking down at Vegeta, "Hasn't your father taught you anything? He always said to not hit an opponent while they're down. Show mercy. What goes around comes around." Her eyes shifted to Goku's youngest son, "Sound familiar?"

"Y-yeah, but…this is different! Vegeta just killed Dad! Dad would want me to avenge his death!" Goten yelled, hating himself when he felt tears brim his eyes. Though he was full grown now, he didn't want to go back to those times when he didn't have a father…he swore when Goku came back when he was seven that he would never let him go again…

Bulma heard the pain in Goten's voice, making her scared of her own voice once she spoke again.

"Vegeta…I'm sure you know that I'm just going to collect the dragon balls to wish Goku back. Along with Trunks. I hope…I hope you realize what you did. You made the past happen again…during the fight with Cell…Trunks and Goku died during that battle, too." Bulma stopped, her voice cracking at the last words. She swallowed when Vegeta looked up at her, not putting a word in for himself.

"I'm going to let you go now…because I know it'll be what Goku would want. But once we bring him back, he will want to find you. You might have caught him off guard this time with your new strength or whatever you did to defeat him, but you know that Goku will have no mercy on you next time. It'll still be a fair fight…but next time…Goku will win."

Everyone got quiet. Bra cautiously took multiple steps forward the more Bulma's speech went on; Goten managed to find the will power inside to power down; Pan was finally recovering from the blow to her gut. Finally, Vegeta smirked.

"I have resided on the planet Eslia. I defeated the ruler many years ago and took the throne to be prince of my own planet once again. It is in the west galaxy…nowhere near Earth." Talking was obviously making Vegeta weaker, but he had to tell her this…the thought of defeating Kakarot again was too thrilling to pass up.

"I'll let him know," Bulma finalized, just then looking up to his ship, "I take it you have a rejuvenation chamber in there?"

Vegeta chuckled with pride, coughing hard when his ribs didn't agree with the gesture, "You know I do."

She turned to Goten and Pan, who got herself together and was standing beside him, "Go get Gohan and Uub and bring them back here. I'll get the chamber in Capsule Corp. prepared for them." She hoped they still worked; she didn't have to use those things in years, always hoping she would never have to resort to them again.

Goten looked down at Vegeta, "But what about—."

"GO!" Bulma yelled, not wanting to discuss it anymore. Suddenly realizing they had no place to defy her any longer, Goten and Pan nodded before taking off in the direction to recover the fallen warriors.

Watching them disappear before looking back down at Vegeta, Bulma stated the last thing she wanted to say to him, "I don't know why you felt the need to do this, Vegeta, but then again…I guess I never did understand the things you did."

From where Bra was standing, the scene before her almost made it look like it was her mother that defeated Vegeta. Her fists her clenched at her sides, her stance and voice even and confident. Vegeta stared up at her with no intention of hurting her in his eyes, the look of calm and understanding there instead.

"I'm not going to help you into your ship. If you can't get up, tough. Just lay there then. It'll be easier for Goku to find you when he comes back," and with that, she turned her back on the Saiyan Prince and walked toward Capsule Corp., her full focus on getting the rejuvenation chambers up and running.

Bra watched her disappear inside their house before turning back to Vegeta. It didn't seem like he noticed her standing there, his gaze to the sky. She half expected him to just get up and walk inside his ship and fly into the sky as fast as he appeared. She saw him holding his stomach and assumed he had broken ribs, which would make it almost impossible for him to move in his position.

Without another thought, she turned on her heel and ran inside.

* * * * * * * *

I didn't know how I handled that the way I did. I never handled anything like that before in my life. I was never so empty that I was calm. Hearing him say that he killed Trunks and Goku hurt…it hurt just as bad as it did when Vegeta delivered me the same news when Trunks was only one years old and crying in my arms. Even though I knew it was possible to bring them back…maybe that's what allowed me to keep my composure.

But I couldn't shake the sound of Vegeta's voice as he told me he killed Trunks. It let me know he still had some good in him…he had to, to sound so pained at the thought of his son's death. And although he never met Bra before, future or present, he let her go after I told him she was his. With all the things Vegeta ever did, I learned to never put anything past him. I was scared the first time he left me, but thinking about him leaving again very soon seemed just as bad. I wasn't sure why…

My mixed emotions didn't allow me to cry as I made a few adjustments on the rejuvenation chambers, working as hard and as fast as I could so Gohan and Uub could get well soon.

Gohan…how horrible it must have been for him to see violence like that all over again. Just when the poor boy thought all of that was behind us, Vegeta had to show his face again. I wished I could hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right like I did when he was younger…but such childish things were way past him, and besides, he had Videl for that now.

But shame on me…shame on me for thinking everything would be as easy as Vegeta getting in his ship and leaving and us wishing Trunks and Goku back with the dragon balls.

Shame on me…

* * * * * * * *

It had been a couple hours since Goten and Pan brought back Gohan and Uub. They placed them in the chambers, only relaxing when they saw that they appeared to be working properly. Pan, Bulma, and Videl when she arrived home, refused to leave the injured warrior's sides and stayed in the rejuvenation room together, though Pan refused to say even a single word to Bulma. Goten stayed in the living room with Bra, thinking that she shouldn't be alone during this time. He tried talking to her multiple times, but finally gave up when he realized that she wasn't in the mood for conversation.

Dark had long ago settled, and Goten fell into an uneasy sleep on the couch. He trusted that Bra would stay there also, having not moved an inch the whole time he was awake.

Bra hardly seemed to notice one way or the other, if Goten was awake or not, but startled herself when her body quickly stood up. Slowly, almost robotically, her feet lead her to the window, her blue eyes gazing through the dark to see that Vegeta had yet to lift himself from the ground. Not knowing why, she quietly exited the house, closing the door silently behind her. She felt the warm summer air on her skin, blowing her long hair over her shoulder.

She took many steps toward the fallen Saiyan, wondering where she got the courage to even be anywhere near him. When he had her by the throat, she literally felt the life being suffocated out of her. Thoughts were incoherent and the bright lights that were flashing behind her open eyes were a dead giveaway.

She stopped when she was a mere step away from him. She almost expected him to be asleep, but his right eye was still open just enough to let her know that he wasn't. He slowly turned his head to the side upon seeing her green boots out of the corner of his eye.

"Why didn't you get up yet?" she asked quietly, wincing at how small her voice seemed.

Vegeta chuckled and looked back to the sky, "All my ribs are broken. Even if I managed to get up right now, I wouldn't be able to walk onto my ship."

Bra didn't understand how these fighters could say something like that so lightly. They were practically on the verge of death and they were as calm as though they were about to fall into a peaceful sleep.

"If you don't think you can do it now, what makes you think you'll be able to do it later?" she questioned, reaching a delicate hand up to put her hair behind her ear when it kept blowing in her face.

Vegeta looked at her again. Though he studied her earlier, he still couldn't believe how much she resembled Bulma. Her hair was the same brilliant color, her eyes held the same stubbornness, and her lips were just as full. Looking at her made him wonder if any man had any part in creating her.

When she thought that he wasn't going to answer her, she looked around quickly, not believing she was about to do what she was thinking. She folded her knees so she was kneeling next to him, her hand outstretched to him, "Do you need help?"

Vegeta's good eye widened, just as surprised as she was at the offer. He practically killed this girl earlier and now she wanted to help him? He could definitely tell that she was raised by Goku…no one else would be that generous. He turned his head away, nonetheless.

"No. I don't need help from some weak female who couldn't even—."

He stopped abruptly when she groaned loudly, "Really, what is it with you men and not wanting to take help from a girl? Is it really that unappealing?" Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Vegeta's arm and wrapped it around her neck. She faltered a little at his weight, "All right, I'm not that strong, so…you're gonna have to help out a bit."

He thought about shoving her away. He thought about yelling at her to leave him be. But something about being touched by this girl stopped him from doing either. So as to not let the moment linger, he fastened his arm around her tighter and slowly pushed himself from the ground. As soon as he was on one knee, the pain in his abdomen was so powerful, it lurched his stomach as he puked up a lump of blood.

Bra looked away, thinking that that was just another reason she never liked fighting…the sight of blood just didn't sit well with her. Her first instinct was to let go of him and flinch away from the sight, but she forced herself to hold her ground and continue helping him into his ship. So, swallowing down her own stomach, she raised her shoulders a little more, "C'mon…it's only a couple feet away."

And with his left arm around his daughter's shoulders and his right arm wrapped around his torso, Vegeta and Bra made their way to the ship and up the ramp.

"Where is it?" Bra asked, but only got the answer when Vegeta began leading her to the left. When they stood in front of the control panel, Vegeta weakly entered in some data before the front of the rejuvenation chamber opened up to allow him to enter. Bra helped him inside, grimacing at the yelp of pain he emitted when he sat down, causing his ribs to shift uncomfortably.

"Sorry…" she whispered, thinking she could have put him down more gently. Though she had never personally witnessed one of these devices being used, she was Bulma's daughter, and it wasn't that hard for her to figure out. She grabbed the two top cords with a cushiony end and placed them on each of his temples.

As she took the time to hook him in properly, Vegeta watched her through his blurred vision. Could this girl really be his daughter? Though it was during a desperate time, he didn't think Bulma would lie about something like that. Not with so many other people around them. But then again, if it were true, she had been telling the lie to all of them for eighteen years when she told them she was Goku's daughter. So…how could he be so sure? And why did it even matter to him?

"There, I think that's the last one," Bra said, making his right eye roll toward her to see that accomplished grin that only Bulma possessed before her. He stared at her as she stepped back when the hatch began closing so the tank could fill up with water. Just as the water began to flow, he heard distant beeps from another control panel.

His eye widened. He had been so deep in his thoughts he didn't even think about telling her that his ship began on its own if the rejuvenation tank was activated! The breathing device that covered his mouth made it impossible for him to warn her and he was too weak to rip it off. The ship began shaking violently as it made preparations for takeoff. The last thing Vegeta saw before passing out was a horrified Bra as she got lifted from the ground and thrown roughly into the side of the ship from not having been strapped in.

They were off to the west galaxy.

**************

All right people. Bare with me here. I know much of all the galaxies besides the north were destroyed by Brolly (I think?), but I had to have Vegeta live in another galaxy to fit with the story. I'll explain the fight between Goku and Vegeta in the next chapter, so don't worry about yelling about why I had Goku get killed by Vegeta. I always have my reasons. Thanks for the reviews.