She set down her cold bowl of cereal when the doorbell rang throughout her house. This was puzzling for a number of reasons. The first being that no one lived anywhere near her except for Vegeta, and she knew he wasn't leaving the Ouji Mansion anytime soon. She hadn't ordered anything online that would need to be delivered. She didn't have a mailbox since every letter she received was email.
And…for various reasons, she had a restraining order with the local pizza place after an incident with the delivery boy.
Let's just say that when it came to crude and inappropriate behavior, Bulma didn't just file a complaint.
When she opened the door, she was tackled by a pair of arms and excited shouts. "Bulma!"
"Oh my Kami! Chichi!" The two women jumped up and down as they squealed. They hadn't seen each other since their last high school reunion the year before. Glancing over her friend's shoulder, she saw her best friend waving and laughing as he held a small kid. "Goku! You lug! It's so good to see you! Hey, Gohan! How've you been, kido?"
"Really good. What about you, Miss Bulma?"
She giggled. "Always the little gentleman, huh? I'm doing great, as you can see. What brings you guys way out over here?"
Chichi sat on the couch and smoothed her dress. "Are you joking, Bulma? I went to call you and the number didn't work. So I called Yamcha to ask about you, and he said that not only had you moved out into the middle of nowhere and changed your number like you were in hiding from the FBI or something, but that you had dumped him! Don't you tell me anything anymore?"
The inventor laughed lightly as she plopped down next to her and she caught up with her old friends. After about an hour, Krillin showed up with a big surprise.
Bulma, Chichi, Goku, and even little Gohan all shouted in unison, "YOU"RE MARRIED?!"
The short bald man scratched his cheek nervously. "Yup. You remember that hot blonde I told you about in my mechanics class at the university?"
"Her?!"
"Turns out we actually have a few things in common."
They just about fell over at that. Goku clapped his friend on the back heartily. Gohan stared up at them with mild confusion. The two women exchanged a wary glance. Bulma placed a hand on her hip. "So, have you actually…you know…"
Krillin blushed.
"Of course he has," Juu said as she stepped in through the door behind her husband.
They talked and laughed and grinned for hours. Soon though, it was approaching that time of day Bulma would never give up for anything. She glanced at the clock. Bulma jumped to her feet with a surprised look. "Oh, sorry guys! I just remembered I have to meet someone soon and I need to get ready."
They left after many goodbyes and promises to call. The scientist gathered all of the books, gadgets, and other things Vegeta had seemed interested in, and left the house in a light jog.
After two miles, she approached the familiar black gate. She rattled it three times, their secret code, so to speak, and was soon lifted over the wall. She giggled as she took his arm and they went to sit by the pond.
When they got there, she saw books she'd given him piled under the shade of a weeping willow. Obviously he'd been there for a while.
The fish swam with grace under the water. The tree provided the perfect amount of shade. The flowers swayed gently in the breeze. Clouds passed with delicacy overhead. She sat next to him and smiled. He looked good in his royal blue hoodie and jeans. His old clothes had pretty much been falling apart, and as much as she would have liked to, she couldn't let him run around naked, so she got him some more modern clothes. No more white dress shirts and slacks.
She'd brought him new foods, candies, and other things to taste test. For some reason, he was particularly fond of minty chocolate.
"What are you reading now?" She peered over his shoulder to scan the pages he held in his lap.
"Stephen Crane."
"The Red Badge of Courage, huh? That's a good one."
"His definition of bravery is interesting; lacking all selfishness."
"I thought so too."
They ate their lunch quietly, talking about the history he had missed and other things. She told him about her friends' visit, and how exciting it was that Krillin and Juu were married.
They were enjoying themselves by the pond. As she watched him, she knew that she would do everything to help him. She had been taking mental notes about every little quirk and habit he had. From his confidence and ego, to his lurking intelligence. The way his lips would twitch with a smirk or smile. How the sun danced over his bronzed skin. The way his dark eyes lit with curiosity, and how his hair shifted slightly in the spring breeze.
She had observed that he was developing more expression. Years of isolation had not been kind to him, as he had almost forgotten how to smile and show any kind of emotion all together. She saw his relief that he still could, and that it was becoming easier and more natural to do so.
She was also pleased to find, that they could argue. Sometimes for over an hour, their verbal spars made her mind quick, and her tongue quicker. He never backed down, and amazingly, they never brought personal insults to their banter. They were both aware that if that was what they were reduced to, unable to counter a valid piece of logic, then the argument was lost, and there was no point in continuing.
She was hard pressed to find any real flaw to him.
She hadn't told him about her research yet, but she'd reached a dead end, and unless he could provide her with more information, she was stuck. He was finishing the last chocolate cookie when she prompted, "So, Vegeta, I've been thinking…" His dark eyes contacted hers once to let her know he was listening. "About your immortality, I've been doing some research – a ton, actually. I've been trying to put something together that would stop it, and let you age regularly, but I've hit a wall. Are you certain you don't remember anything about how it happened?"
Vegeta had spent years, watching the days go by, without a trace of new happiness that hadn't come from old memories. It was more than refreshing to have someone to spunk up his day. Every day she came without fail, and his heart would beat just a little faster at the sight of her. He only wanted to be near her, to hear her voice and watch her crystalline blue eyes dance with delight.
She had opened his eyes to a new world he had never witnessed, allowing him to look through her lenses. She had shared her inventions, ideas, wonders… She had been nothing but kind to him and he desired nothing more than to give back. But he had nothing. He had nothing but the weary strain of a life lived too long, the tattered visions of his family, emotional baggage, and his thoughts.
Thoughts had always been an amazing thing to him. He'd often pondered how he could hear himself inside his head, review tons of information, think, calculate his emotions and respond accordingly… it had amazed him when he was younger.
And now here she was, offering more. Peace. The ability to die. To move on. He couldn't comprehend it, how amazing she was.
So why was he suddenly so angry?
He was familiar with this anger. It was disconnected. As if it belonged to someone else, this was true in a sense. No, he wasn't angry with her. It was the memory of Frieza that evaded his consciousness that this mysterious other half of his was aware of that had him tensing with rage. He didn't know what it was that had him so mad, but he could sense that familiar lapsing.
And it scared him. He wasn't that naïve. He knew what he may or may not have been up to during those holes in his memory where there was nothing more than an insatiable thirst for carnage and dominance to fill their voids.
There was nothing he could do to stop it.
And Bulma was right in the line of fire.
"Vegeta…?" she asked meekly. When she asked, his eyes seemed to glaze over a bit, but that wasn't what had her worried. Those deep onyx orbs were slowly molding into emerald green, cold as ice.
He couldn't let it happen. He couldn't be alone again.
No alone… No alone… NO ALONE!
It was the only thought he could muster as he grappled with his own aggression in the recesses of his mind. The effort brought physical pain as he clutched his temples and shut his eyes tightly. He hunkered into a ball, and flinched away when Bulma reached out to him.
"Vegeta? What's wrong? You're scaring me," her voice trembled slightly, though she remained relatively calm.
He moaned softly as his skull felt like it was being squashed by two blazing suns as a sweat broke out along his brow.
E=Mc2. It was an amazing equation.
He blacked out for a moment, and knew there was no time left. "Leave!" He commanded this with a pained grunt as another wave of pressure made him want to yank his hair out to numb his scalp.
"But –"
"NOW!" He roared, matching her gaze with a ferocity that nearly stopped her pulse for a moment. His eyes had fully adopted the vibrant color, and his canines seemed longer and sharper than what was human. Never, ever, had he raised his voice at her like that, and she knew it was serious. The first day they'd met…
"I…I can't leave for some reason. It's just that I think something bad will happen if I do. But…I black out, and when I wake up, I'm always lying on the side of the road. And I'm always covered in blood. I don't know."
Her eyes widened as they both stood up at the same time. He dashed off into the thicket of the grounds that merged into the forest, while she ran in a dead sprint for the gate.
He only made it behind the house before he collapsed. Through the pain within his skull, his senses sharpened. He could hear, smell, feel, see, and taste everything. Hear her rapid footsteps, smell her nervous perspiration, feel the trembling in her heart, see the wind shift as it parted for her, and taste her fear. Vegeta's eyes turned completely emerald in color. He remained for a moment, before a cold smirk stretched across his lips as he rose to his feet.
He tilted his head back, and grinned almost insanely.
"Welcome back, Prince," he rasped.
She was fighting hyperventilation as she ran towards the gate. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she knew enough to listen to him. Her pulse was racing and her heart had leaped to her throat in panic. She was almost there! Her hands grasped the cool metal and she shakily pulled herself up, only to be pulled roughly down by her ankle.
She hit the ground hard with a shriek, and her forearm grazed a rock, scraping her badly. There was laughing above her. It sounded so familiar, but at the same time, it couldn't be more opposite from that sweet baritone she loved. There was a tinge of insanity to that laugh, and it was dark, humorless.
Vegeta looked down at her with piercing green eyes.
No. Someone else stared at her with that morbid smirk.
That was not Vegeta.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Vegeta was still adjusting. He didn't speak that loudly or tauntingly. Except for that one time he took her stick of gum and dangled it above her head from a tree branch, just out of reach. But that was harmless teasing. This…this was different. It was frightening.
He circled her like a predator stalking its prey, his ebony hair never straying from its eternal flame shape. "For some reason, he likes you. I don't understand it, but I suppose it's not worth the bother of trying to." He frowned when she just watched him with fear in her eyes. Lunging, he grabbed her upper arms and hoisted her to her feet, pinning her to the gate. He looked her up and down, wondering about his next move. " No… I don't think I'll kill you yet. That might cause some trouble for me later on…" The way he spoke so casually of it…so mockingly… It was terrifying. "Come now. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
"You're not Vegeta," she whispered.
"No. No I'm not. I'm someone quite different. I don't care about being lonely. I don't keep living in the past. What I want is merely power. I could care less about the curses of living forever. In fact, I'm glad that lizard face injected him with that serum. I would never have been born if not for that. Call me, Prince."
He laughed again and flashed her a wink before climbing up the gate and running down the road. Give or take, he probably had about seven hours. Just enough time to have some fun in the city. Though, he couldn't understand why it had taken him so long to wake up in the first place, he wasn't complaining now.
As soon as the thudding of his footfalls no longer reached her ears, Bulma sank to her knees; the effort of holding her own weight had become too much. She stared at the mansion for a moment before a choked sob wracked her delicate frame, followed by several more.
Hot tears slid over her cheeks as she put her hands to her mouth in desperate attempt to silence her sobbing. Never had she been so scared in her life. Her beating heart had threatened to leap out of her chest.
But that wasn't the worst of it. No. The most horrible thing was that now she knew without a doubt. The murders had been his doing. Her Vegeta…
No! Not her Vegeta! That was someone else! She had seen his eyes! It wasn't him…
She looked up again.
Her Vegeta?
…
He sped down the road, the engine roaring. A few months ago, a biker had made the mistake of trying to break into the mansion when he was awake. He reached the city within an hour and a half. He parked in an alley and walked along the sidewalk, heading for the west side.
He'd planned it just right. Had he clawed for control so much as a day later, he wouldn't have this opportunity. He climbed the fire escape of an apartment building, and peered in slightly through one of the windows. In the coming heat of the summer, they'd cracked the window.
"He's gonna be pissed! It's been over a month and we've got nothing on him!"
Another man in the far corner waved him off. "Who cares? Frieza's gone off the deep end anyway. There's no way he knows this guy. And besides? Bastard hasn't shown his face for a while. Maybe he's dead. I don't think we got nothin' to worry about."
Another stood. He had skin so poorly tanned it was orange, and lengthy white hair. "So, what? We just tell 'im he's dead?"
"Don't see why not. It's believable enough. Car accident sounds nice. There're plenty of those. I'm sick of this goose chase."
His emerald eyes glistened with amusement. He lifted the window and stepped through, smirking at the stunned expressions the men wore. "A goose, am I? And here I thought I was more of the lion type."
"Cap'in Ginyu! It's him!"
"Well what the fuck are you waiting for than!? Give 'im a new asshole in his forehead!" The five pulled their guns from their hips and started shooting.
Prince spread his arms and let the bullets hit him, grinning all the way. People in the building heard the gun fire and called the police, fleeing the scene with screams of panic. After the men had expended at least half of their ammunition, they stopped, and watched the scene before them unfold in complete horror.
His flesh was mangled, bleeding, and twisted from the bullets. His head was tilted all the way back, and the light cinnamon carpet was quickly turning crimson with his pouring blood.
And then he started laughing. An orange glow encased his body as he slowly looked at them, the wounds disappearing. The aura faded, and he held out his hand, clenched in a fist. His calloused fingers uncurled, and more than thirty bullets collided with the floor.
The moon was full.
…
The dust billowed up heavily after the car as it sped by. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the wheel, and she could still feel the tear stains on her cheek.
But she wasn't crying anymore.
She was tuned to the radio, listening for police reports and such. In the seat next to her, there lay a gun, loaded with five tranquilizer darts. She'd never claimed to be a good shot, but Bulma possessed enough skill to hit a moving target if she tried.
She was approaching the city limits, and with each second that passed, the knot in her stomach grew tighter.
Bulma had regained a new resolve after Prince left her in the garden. She couldn't let Vegeta go on like that. It pained her too much. She couldn't allow Prince to get caught, and in turn, Vegeta. If anybody else ever found out about him, he'd be no better off than a lab rat. Besides, no one else could die because of him.
The static became louder and she glanced at the console with eagerness. "All available units to the Rainy Apartment Complex off of 6th street. There is a shooting underway! No further details available. I repeat: all available units to the Rainy Apartment Complex off of 6th street."
"Bingo!" She swerved a hard left, and accelerated towards the scene.
She needed him. Despite the grim situation, she felt hope. She had to get to Prince first.
Because he held the answers she was looking for.
A/N: Oh my! What will happen next?! Poor Vegeta. And that's not even the worst of what I have planned. A deep, dark, terrible secret! A memory of his so horrible it will –! Oh, sorry. Got ahead of myself there. Don't want to give it away now, do I?