Chapter Eleven: Pain
A/N: I know, I know...I took another long time to update. Thank you to those of you that are nice to me and send me lovely reviews to continue. The writer's block with this fic has just been a struggle, more than I ever expected. Please forgive me ;_;
Also, just as a reminder, I stated in chapter six that Bulma was three months pregnant, so at this point in time she is now around 4 months.
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters.
Izo watched with disgust as Bulma and Vegeta embraced, turning his nose up. It made him sick to see how the Saiyan Prince who bragged so much about his pride could be reduced to mush at the sight of this blue-haired woman. She was indeed beautiful, which repulsed him even more. How could a woman with that kind of beauty, and such intelligence as well, fall for such a monster? The Prince's evil deeds throughout the universe were legendary; there was no way she couldn't know about all of that. He could excuse her for getting knocked up by Vegeta the first time around; everybody makes mistakes, some more grave than others. But he just couldn't believe she was having another one of that bastard's children. He just couldn't wrap his head around it!
"Remember what I told you to do," he leaned over and whispered into Suko's ear.
The younger male nodded, his eyes cold as he glanced over at the couple.
"MOM!"
A blur of purple passed by them as Trunks raced over to his parents, a wide smile on his face. Bulma looked up and smiled at her son, welcoming him into her arms. It was the first hug they had shared in quite a while, since in Trunks' mind teenagers were 'too cool' to hug their mothers. But in that moment he quickly dismissed such a shallow concept as he wrapped his arms tightly around his mother, her belly slightly suffocating him, but he didn't care. He was so worried that Izo had harmed her so he was happy to see her completely unscathed.
"I'm glad that asshole didn't do anything to you or the baby," Trunks murmured, releasing her from his hold.
"Yeah, your sister and I are just fine," she replied with a small smile, ruffling his hair.
"Sister. . .?" he repeated, his eyes growing in size. He looked back at his father to see his reaction, but Vegeta only nodded, a hint of a smirk appearing on his face.
While he wasn't exactly thrilled in the first place about having a sibling, he had grown fond of the idea after imagining what it would be like to have someone to look up to him and teach things to. But he was hoping for a brother; he hadn't even entertained the idea of what it would be like to have a little sister. His azure eyes darted over to his mother, who looked slightly anxious as she awaited his response. He watched as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly, his mind trying to decipher on a proper response.
Finally, after letting out a breath, the teenager spoke. "Yeah. . .so, not gonna lie to ya, Mom. I was hoping for a brother. I've always somewhat envied Goten's relationship with Gohan. But I guess a sister won't be too bad," he said, tossing her a playful smile.
A sigh of relief escaped Bulma's lips, having feared she was about to experience another one of his foul attitude-ridden rants. She silently thanked every god she knew of and then glanced at her son and husband as they stood close together. She wanted nothing more than to go back home with them and leave this wretched place behind forever. But as she looked over at Izo, she knew that was not yet possible.
"Bulma!"
The family looked over and saw the rest of the Saiyans enter the room, looking visibly relieved to see Bulma out of harm's way. And while Mirai Trunks appeared to be the most relieved of the group, a sick feeling began to creep up in his stomach. He didn't like how calm Izo appeared; something wasn't right about it. A nudge in his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked beside him at Goku.
"You have that same feeling too?" the older Saiyan asked quietly, trying to keep Izo from overhearing.
Mirai Trunks nodded, his eyes focusing back on the evil man who had caused him so much turmoil.
"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him," Goku whisphered, gesturing to Gohan.
Again, he nodded. He knew he could trust Goku and Gohan; he had fought with them during the arrival of the Androids and Cell and saw with his own eyes just how powerful the two of them were, but he knew how Izo was. He was one sick bastard, who had nothing to lose, and he was capable of anything. That was what truly frightened the half-Saiyan.
Trunks then raced over to his best friend, smiling ever so slightly. "Goten, guess what? I'm gonna have a little sister!"
"Wow, really! Gohan and Videl are having a girl, too! Maybe they'll be best friends like us since they're gonna be close in age!" Goten exclaimed, smiling wide.
"Awwww, Vegeta's gonna have a little girl!" Goku chuckled, his usual good-natured smile on his face.
Vegeta merely rolled his eyes at his fellow-full blooded Saiyan, while looking at his wife out of the corner of his eye, watching as she grinned wide at Goku's comment.
"I'm so glad that all of you are laughing and smiling, because this is such a happy circumstance you're all in," Izo snipped, a smarmy smirk on his face.
"Oh, would you shut up!" Trunks glared, crossing his arms. "I've had about enough of you. Just let us go home already!"
"Trust me when I say each and every single one of you have annoyed me more than I ever thought possible, but I'm afraid I can't let you go home. Not yet."
"At least let her go home," Mirai Trunks pleaded, pointing at Bulma.
"That would be a wise choice on your part," Vegeta threatened Izo, glaring viciously at him.
Izo watched as Bulma stepped closer to Vegeta, her hand resting on his back. To watch her gently touch him made him want to vomit. What was it that she saw in him!?
"I brought her here for a specific purpose," Izo said darkly.
"A purpose that you will NOT fulfill," Vegeta roared, ready to turn Super Saiyan.
Mirai Trunks kept his eye on Izo the whole time, bracing himself for an attack. But Izo didn't move or speak. The room became eerily quiet, causing all of the Saiyans to exchange glances.
A cough sounded from Izo, and Suko immediately tensed up. He glanced at his master out of the corner of his eye and saw him nod slightly.
"Now?" he mouthed to Izo.
Izo nodded again.
Suko bit down on his lip, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face. He could feel Izo's eyes burning a hole into him, letting him know he was tired of his stalling. Suko's eyes then met with Vegeta's, who looked puzzled.
Why am I the one that has to do this?
With a lift of his hand, he fired a ki blast and directed it at Bulma. But Vegeta quickly stepped in front of her and deflected the energy blast with ease, his nostils flaring. "If try to do anything like that again I will not hesitate to fucking kill you!" Vegeta screamed at the top of his lungs.
Mirai Trunks then attempted to tackle Suko to the ground, but Izo immediately stepped in and punched him in the gut, sending him flying back a few feet, though Gohan reacted swiftly and grabbed him to keep him from hitting the wall.
"None of you are going to interfere with this!" Izo screeched. He then lunged at Vegeta and punched him just as hard as had Mirai Trunks. Vegeta was in a gruesome amount of pain, but he did his best to remain on his feet, refusing to leave Bulma unattended.
"I must say, your resilience is truly commendable," Izo noted, an evil smirk on his face as Vegeta coughed up some blood, his knees bending slightly. "But eventually your strength is gonna fail you, and no one will be here to protect her."
Goten and Trunks flew towards Izo, but an energy blast from the bastard stopped them, knocking them into Goku as they landed backwards. Without warning, Izo then kicked Vegeta in the back with all his might, watching in satisfaction as the Saiyan Prince landed to the ground, gasping for air before losing consciousness.
"Vegeta!" Bulma cried, attempting to reach out for her husband, but before she could get ahold of him, an intense pain flowed throughout her leg as Suko shot her with a ki blast, and she looked down to see a good amount of blood running down her leg. She hunched over, clutching her leg, her eye sight going blurry as tears of pain she couldn't suppress began to fall down her cheeks.
"You fucking idiot!" Izo barked at Suko. "I told you to aim for her stomach!"
Suko shook his head. "I couldn't do it. . .you've taken this too far. You've already killed her future counterpart, and now you want to take her own life and her innocent unborn child's too? I couldn't live with myself if I did anything like that. . .that's why I aimed at her leg. I still inflicted pain on her like you wanted, that should be enough for you."
"Well," Izo began in a low voice, "because of your goddamn sympathetic decision, you won't be living much longer!"
Before Suko could react, Izo sped forward and took ahold of both of his arms, twisting them behind his back until the disturbing sound of his bones breaking sounded throughout the room. Suko's cry of pain was ear-piercing as he fell to the cold tile floor, nearly breaking his neck as well from the awkward angle he landed at.
"If you won't kill her and that disgusting unborn brat then I will!"
Goku then fired a Kamehameha into Izo's back before he could get to Bulma, catching him off guard. Izo released a gasp of pain as the searing energy wave struck his skin, falling with his arms out in front of him.
"Gohan! Help me fend him off! Goten, Trunks, go help Bulma and Vegeta!" Goku ordered to the three half-Saiyans, taking on his Super Saiyan 3 form.
Gohan nodded and raced over to his father, lurking over Izo as he began to sit up. Goten and Trunks slowly recovered from the blast Izo had shot at them earlier and made their way over to Bulma and Vegeta. Trunks looked especially frantic as he stared at his parents. Vegeta was on the floor, completely unconscious, while blood continued to spill from Bulma's leg, her eyes hollow as she stared down at her injury.
"Mom! We've got to get you to a hospital!" Trunks cried, feeling nauseous from the pool of blood that was forming on the floor.
The pain she felt was unbearable, so bad that she could barely speak. "Vegeta. . ." was all that she could manage to get out, placing a shaky hand on her husband's cold cheek.
"Trunks, we got to wake your dad up!" Goten said to his best friend, glancing over at his own father who was beside Gohan as they were locked in a heated battle with Izo. They were able to hold their own against him for the time being, but Goten knew they were going to eventually need more help.
"Dad, please wake up, we need you!" Trunks begged, shaking his father, feeling an eerie since of deja vu; it reminded him too much of trying to bring his father back to consciousness during his fight with Majin Buu, right before he sacrificed himself.
"Vegeta," Bulma kept repeating like a mantra, feeling her strength draining with every breath she took.
The distinct desperation and fear in Bulma's usually peppy voice sounded in Vegeta's ears and slowly brought him back into consciousness, his black eyes opening gradually. When he became aware of what was going on around him, his stomach churned at the smell of blood.
No. . .no, it can't be. . .
A rage he hadn't felt in some time built up inside of him as he saw his wife's leg covered in blood, her face nearly drained of any color. It made him feel unbelievably ill to see her in such a fragile state. It made him feel even worse that he didn't protect her; he did everything in his power to ignore the pain of Izo's attacks, but his body had failed him. And in turn, he had failed her. "Bulma. . ."
"Dad, we have to get her treatment!" Trunks cried, watching as Bulma leaned against Vegeta's chest for support.
Vegeta stared down at his wife, unable to even speak, his arms wrapping around her, his eyes glued on her leg dripping with blood. That bastard, that fucking bastard!
Across the room, Mirai Trunks slowly got to his feet, after finally recovering from Izo's cheap shot. He was running towards the past counterparts of his parents when a voice stopped him. He looked down at Suko on the floor, who barely able to stay conscious.
"What do you want?" Mirai Trunks sneered.
"I know I hurt her, but he wanted me to kill her and the baby. I did the best I could to inflict the least amount of damage."
Mirai Trunks' eyes softened slightly.
"In my pocket is your time machine," Suko continued. "I'd get it for you, but I'm unable to with these damn broke arms of mine. Someone needs to take her back to her timeline and get her medical attention, quick."
"You're being awfully generous," Mirai Trunks said cautiously, unsure if he could trust him.
"And you're wasting time," Suko snapped, feeling his energy leaving his body with every word he spoke. "I don't care for Vegeta. . .he is a brute. But his wife didn't deserve to get dragged into this. So that's why I'm asking you to retrieve your time machine. Now, take the fucking thing and get her help!"
As quickly as he could, Mirai Trunks reached in to Suko's pocket and seized the time machine capsule. He sprinted over to Bulma and Vegeta, his eyes wide as he saw how up close how her injury was even more grave than it originally appeared. Vegeta's eyes never left Bulma as she rested in his arms, biting down on her lip as the pain continued.
"Here is the time machine. . .someone take her back," Mirai Trunks spoke softly, displaying the capsule to the others.
"I will," Trunks answered without hesitation, taking possession of the capsule from his future self.
Bulma let out a cry as Vegeta shifted her in his arms. "Woman. . .Bulma, I won't let him get away with this. You have my word," Vegeta whispered into her ear as Trunks opened up the capsule. Bulma didn't have it in her to speak, but she brushed her fingertips over Vegeta's, squeezing his hand tightly.
Trunks hopped into the time capsule, telling Goten to kick as much ass as he could for him, to which the younger half-Saiyan replied to with a wide grin, powering up to Super Saiyan before joining his father and brother in the fight with Izo. Mirai Trunks wished his younger counterpart well before he too powered up and took off to engage in the fight. Vegeta then slowly lifted Bulma into the time machine, sitting her down delicately in the seat next to Trunks.
"Son. . .please, take care of your mother," Vegeta said hoarsely, unable to take his eyes off his wife.
"I will, I promise," Trunks responded in his most serious voice, barely catching a glimpse of Vegeta running a hand across Bulma's cheek.
The Saiyan Prince nodded and then moved back, though it pained him to do so as he watched Bulma's eyes close. In a flash, the time machine disappeared, leaving Vegeta levitating in the air as he caught a glimpse of the fight going on beneath him. Izo easily had the upper hand, even though all the Saiyans were in their ascended forms. They should have the advantage; Izo was just one man, but he was just so unbelievably strong. It looked impossible to beat him; he had so much strength, more than any of them ever deemed possible.
But Vegeta refused to give up. This bastard had inflicted too much pain on the people he cared about, especially his wife, endangering both her and their unborn daughter. He made a silent vow to Bulma in that moment that he would be the one to end Izo's life.
He would make damn sure of it.
A bright fluorescent light from overhead was the first thing that Bulma's eyes came into contact with as she woke up two hours later. She took in her surroundings, realizing she was in the hospital wing of Capsule Corp. A wince of pain escaped her lips as she barely shifted her leg, feeling bandages wrapped around it.
"Mom, you're awake!"
She looked beside her and saw Trunks, who was sitting in a chair that he had pushed all the way up against the side of the bed. He had brought her to the medical wing of Capsule Corp. as fast as he could when he arrived in his timeline, and his grandparents soon came as well after he called them to let them know what had happened. They were out in the waiting room, and had told Trunks to sit with them while they all waited for Bulma to wake up, but Trunks refused. He just couldn't leave her. He had treated her so poorly over the last few months, and seeing her in pain had really made him regret him actions. The thought of something happening to her or his little sister made him sick, and he just couldn't bring himself to leave her side.
"Is the baby okay?" Bulma asked, her voice slightly on edge as she looked down at her stomach.
Trunks nodded. "Yeah, the doctor said you and the baby will be just fine. You did lose some blood obviously, but the doctor said your wound is not going to be life-threatening."
"It still hurts like a motherfuc-" Bulma cut herself off before realizing she was about to say that in front of her son. But Trunks just laughed, the sweet sound making her smile. She hadn't heard him laugh in so long.
"I'm just glad you're gonna be alright. We were all so worried. . ."
Taking ahold of her son's hand, Bulma sat up slightly and blue met with blue as she looked at him. "Trunks, go back and help the others now."
"Mom. . .I don't want to leave you. Even though you're gonna be okay you're still in pain, you said so yourself."
"Yes, but I have your grandparents to take care of me. And Chi-Chi too. I'll be fine. But. . .your father needs you. I want you and him to come back home safe and sound after defeating that psycho. Please. . .go back, we'll be here when you get back," she said, gesturing to her stomach.
The sound of Trunks exhaling deeply echoed throughout the room as he nodded, feeling around inside his pocket for the capsule. As he opened it up, he looked back at his mother.
"I love you, Mom."
Bulma beamed. "I love you too, baby, so much."
After giving her one last grin, Trunks stepped into the time machine and then disappeared in a flash. Bulma let out a sigh as she watched him go. She had to believe that her husband and son would both come back to her soon, safe and sound. She couldn't give up hope, not now. She felt a kick in her stomach, surprising her. Looking down at her large belly, she couldn't help but smile. Her baby girl was letting her know everything would be alright in the end. She then leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes, deciding to get some sleep.
Everything will be okay. . .I just know it.
A/N: The next chapter is going to be nothing but action and fighting so I'm going to do my best to make it good. I'll probably go and watch some of my DBZ boxsets to get me all pumped up for it lol. Also, how do you guys feel about Vegeta going Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan? Yes, no, maybe? Let me know ;)
