DISCLAIMER:
Rath: (Suddenly finds herself surrounded by reporters) W-What's going on here?
Reporter #1: (Shoves microphone into Rath's face and clears throat) Uh hmm! Miss Rath, please tell us: WHY exactly DON'T you own DBZ?
Reporter #2: (Shoves another BIGGER microphone in Rath's face) Yes! Do tell! And where is your wonderful assistant, Vetyga? And why does she NOT own DBZ either?
Reporter #3: (Shoves an even BIGGER BETTER and FASTER (Faster?) Digital TX-949 Supreme XL Multi-Compatible Microphone in Rath's face) Yes, and how exactly did you feel when your loyal assistant betrayed you and took over the world? Why is she STILL your assistant? Do you ever call her "Your Highness" or "The DontownDee BeeZee Queen?
Reporter #4: (Isn't even given the CHANCE to pull out an even BIGGER microphone and ask more questions before Rath kicks him off the screen!)
Rath: (Screams in frustration) I DON'T KNOOOOOOOOOOW! I just DON'T own it! All due credit goes to the brilliant Akira Toriyama! Go ask HIM! (Proceeds to kick all the other Reporters off the screen as well) And now back to the story!
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WITHIN THE PAST WORLD:
Goku and the others stared wordlessly as they watched Frieza's ship disintegrate into the nothingness of space. If Vegeta understood what was going on, he gave no sign of it as his entire body shivered uncontrollably and his eyes were glazed over…... 'It's a shame really,' Goku thought to himself. 'I'm sure Vegeta would have LOVED to see the end of that hell he had once called 'home'!'
Meanwhile, Goten sat down beside Trunks who was looking rather down at the moment. "They'll be fine, Trunks!" Goten tried to cheer him up.
"It's not like YOU could ever understand," Trunks replied sharply.
Choosing to ignore the obvious jibe at his intelligence, Goten replied, "You're not the ONLY one who is affected by all this, you know!"
"Like I said, Goten," Trunks shrugged. "You're clueless!"
"At least I know that YOU'RE the reason this all happened in the first place, not me!" Goten shot back.
Trunks narrowed his eyes as he declared, "You don't know a damn thing, Goten! So just shut up!"
"Stop being such a jerk, Trunks! This is all your fault, anyways!" Goten exclaimed. "So stop blaming everyone else!"
By now Goku had had enough of their arguing. "Enough is enough, you two! For now, the only thing that matters is caring for the injured and finding a way back to our own world! The rest we'll deal with when the time comes!"
"Well, there's two rooms in back," Trunks mumbled. "And a bathroom, but that's it…. I suppose you guys can stay in one room and my family can stay in the other…."
"We'll have to see how Vegeta reacts to it," Goku replied. "We don't want to stress him out too much….. I doubt he'll like the idea of sharing such close quarters….."
"Just as long as me and him are in the same room," Trunks replied.
Goten looked a little hurt that his best friend had excluded HIM…. "What about me?" Goten asked.
Trunks shrugged. "You can stay wherever…."
"I wanna stay with you and Vegeta, too!" Goten declared, not wanting to be left out. "That way Vegeta can have TWO new friends!" he added.
"Whatever," Trunks shrugged, even though he had REALLY wanted to get to know his father's younger self one-on-one….
"I guess that leaves you and Mrs. Bulma in the other room, Dad!" Goten stated.
Trunks couldn't help but laugh. "Ha ha! Good luck explaining THAT to my father!" he joked. "My OLDER father that is….! That outta be good! Ha ha haa!"
Goku sweat-dropped nervously as he said hopefully, "Uh, I think we have more important things to worry about first, like actually GETTING home….! Then I'm sure if we explain the whole situation, he'll be very understanding…"
"Ha ha!" Trunks replied. "Yeah right! This is MY dad we're talking about here!"
Goku laughed, accidentally causing the barely conscious child in his arms to utter a slight gasp of pain as he was shifted into a painful position. Goku immediately became more serious as he said, "We're going to have to find a nearby planet and get him some help, but until then, let's get him cleaned up. Trunks, go ahead and put your mother in the back room….. Try to make her as comfortable as possible…."
While Trunks was doing that, Goku had Goten search the ship for any sort of cloth or rag in which they could use to clean Vegeta's broken form. Meanwhile Goku took Vegeta into the bathroom where he carefully undressed him so that he could check the total extent of his injuries…..
"Man….." Goku whispered to himself as he saw the markings of severe long term abuse covering Vegeta's thin body, "….Someone's DEFINITELY had a rough life…." Vegeta's right shoulder was badly twisted out of place and a couple of his ribs were actually protruding from his skin. Several particularly nasty gashes freshly formed in Vegeta's skull ESPECIALLY worried Goku. And that was only the tip of the iceberg of the number of serious injuries that Vegeta had sustained... Goku was somewhat nervous to move him around; he didn't want to cause the child any more unnecessary trauma.
"Dad…." Goten stood in the doorway holding up a long blue cloth. "I couldn't find any rags or anything so I hope this will do…" It was one of the sleeves from his own long-sleeve shirt…..!
"That's very thoughtful of you, Goten," Goku commented as he accepted the torn sleeve from his son's hand. "I'm sure this will do just fine!"
As Goten watched his father soak the sleeve in running water and wipe it ever so carefully across Vegeta's bleeding form, he asked, "How can anyone treat someone like that?"
"I often wonder that myself," Goku muttered. "I was hoping it wouldn't be this bad…."
Unfortunately there was nothing he could do for the moment to treat the broken bones or even the gashes in the child's skull…, so he could only hope that Vegeta would be able to hang on until they found some nearby planet… Vegeta's clothes were completely torn and soaked red, so Goku decided to dress him in HIS own shirt, instead. It was kind of awkward at first, but Goku was finally able to tie the oversized shirt in such a way that it wouldn't fall off of Vegeta's small frame. He even tore a tiny hole in the back to make room for Vegeta's tail…..
"It's amazing he's still conscious, although barely…," Goku commented as he carried Vegeta into the other bedroom, followed by both Goten AND Trunks.
"She still hasn't awakened yet….." Trunks replied to Goku's questioning glance, as if by way of explanation. "And Vegeta….?"
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you are here anyways," Goku responded. "His shoulder is pretty messed up right now, but I think I can twist it back in place. I don't think he's going to move, but it might be better if you and Goten hold him still for me, just in case….. Is this okay with you…?"
When Trunks nodded, Goku laid Vegeta upon the bed and motioned for Trunks and Goten to hold down his left arm and both of his legs, taking care not to put any pressure on any broken bones… Goku kneeled down to look into Vegeta's unfocused eyes as he softly explained to the child what he was going to do. He didn't think Vegeta understood, but he had said it anyways in an attempt to convince him that he meant no harm….. Goku carefully grabbed a firm hold of the child's right arm, preparing to twist it quickly back in place…
Of course all Vegeta's eyes saw was FRIEZA preparing to do even more harm to him….. But he was too weak to struggle….. And too afraid….. He just wanted Frieza to get it over with and allow him to seek out the only refuge he had left: his own unconsciousness… … He subconsciously swore to himself that he would NEVER EVER disobey Frieza again… It just wasn't worth it. Frieza must have been feeling fairly lenient at that moment, for he only felt one more surge of intense pain before finally fading into darkness…
WITHIN THE PRESENT WORLD:
Vegeta was furious as he flew blindly towards Krillin's house. 'How could they do this!?' he thought angrily. 'HOW DARE THEY DO THIS!' The ground below him shuddered as he flew by with tremendous force, but it only served to fuel his rage. But as angry as he was, he couldn't help but feel disappointment. He never would have thought that Bulma would have had the nerve to double-cross him like that…. He had specifically told her "NO!" when she had asked him the other day to talk about it. "Damn it!" he yelled in frustration. He had had his reasons for not telling them! Why couldn't they accept that!? Now they might be trapped in his Hell for all eternity, and there was not a damn thing he could do about it!
At last he could spot Krillin's mansion in the distance. After the tournament a few years back (during the era of Buu) #18 had mysteriously earned 10 million zenie! And to top it off, Hercule had given them an extra 10 million zenie just for kicks. Added to the 5 million zenie she had already earned for coming in 2nd place at the tournament, they were living pretty comfortably! Of course it still wasn't even close in size compared to Bulma's home, but Vegeta supposed it beat living with that old hermit, Roshi. (Vegeta refused to refer to him as 'MASTER' Roshi as all the other Z Warriors did for reasons only HE could comprehend….)
When he rang the doorbell, it was Krillin who ended up answering the door.
"Oh…. H-hey, Vegeta!" Krillin greeted. "How have you been?"
It still amazed Vegeta that most of the Z Warriors still feared him, even after all these years. It seemed only a select few fully trusted him…
"Where's Bra?" Vegeta demanded.
"Oh, uh, she's in the back with Marron," Krillin replied. "I'll go get her! Uh….y-you can come in if you want…"
Vegeta smirked as he stepped into the living room and sat on the sofa awaiting Krillin's return.
"Hey, Krillin," a calm feminine voice called from one of the back rooms. "I need a hand with something. Krillin?" #18 shook her head as she headed towards the living room. 'Men,' she thought. 'Never around when you need them!' Her eyes narrowed, however, as she saw her former rival sitting there on the couch.
"Vegeta," she acknowledged.
"#18," Vegeta replied with a slight hint of resentment. "Long time…."
"Yes, it has," #18 responded coolly. An awkward silence followed as they both seemed to size each other up within glares. It seemed they still had a bit of a silent rivalry with one another. Vegeta resented ANYONE who had ever been stronger than him….. Of course, it didn't help that she had kicked his ass… And THAT'S putting it LIGHTLY!
Luckily the tension in the room was broken as he heard his baby girl shout, "Daddy!"
He turned to see Krillin's daughter smile as she said, "Bra was a very good girl today! She even used the potty all by herself! Isn't that right, Bra!"
Bra crunched up her little face as she said, "Potty bad!"
Vegeta raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Well, of course she can do that by herself! You can't do it FOR her!"
#18 placed her hand to her forehead in annoyance. "Imbecile," she muttered, causing Krillin to laugh. One glare from Vegeta, however, shut him up immediately!
"Ah, come on, Vegeta!" Krillin said. "Loosen up a little! It was only a joke!"
"Hmphf!" Vegeta replied as he took Bra from Krillin's brat and prepared to leave.
"Hey, uh, Vegeta?" Krillin asked nervously.
"WHAT, Krillin?!" Vegeta turned around impatiently.
"Oh, uh…." Krillin stuttered for a moment, surprised that Vegeta actually called him by his name, instead of "Baldy" or something… Although he actually had hair now, so that name didn't really count anymore, but that's besides the point…..! He continued, "Vegeta, has anything bad been going on…? Because there's been a lot of strange stuff's been happening lately….."
"Like?" Vegeta prompted.
"Well, the weather's been crazy with all this weird red lightning and eerie bright clouds," Krillin explained. "And it's like I can feel some strange force hovering throughout the air….. It's hard to describe, but it's kinda creepin' me out!"
"Hmphf!" Vegeta replied. "I'm sure Kakarrot will explain EVERYTHING if he returns!" With that, he took off- at a slightly slower rate and a lower altitude, since he now had Bra with him… Even so, he was gone before anyone could question him any further.
"IF he returns…..?" Marron whispered quietly. "What was THAT supposed to mean?"
WITHIN THE PAST WORLD:
Trunks sighed as he stared at the still form of his younger father. Vegeta still showed no signs of improving. Several hours had passed and STILL Vegeta had not even so much as flinched. As he kneeled beside the bed, he placed his face down into his hands and sighed again. This is just how Goten found Trunks as he entered the room.
"Trunks?" he asked in concern. "Are you alright?"
"What do YOU think!" Trunks snapped angrily.
"Yesh! It was just a question," Goten mumbled.
"What do you want, Goten?" Trunks rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"My dad just wanted me to tell you that we were going to be landing on a nearby planet within the next few hours," Goten replied. "He says we can get help for your dad and Mrs. Bulma there…. I thought maybe that would make you happy again…."
There was only silence between the two young teens as they both listened to Vegeta's ragged breathing.
"Trunks…..?" Goten asked hesitantly after a while. "Are you mad at me?"
"What a stupid question!" Trunks replied without even glancing at his best friend.
"Does that mean you ARE?" Goten questioned; however, Trunks continued to ignore him.
"Trunks?" Goten started again, but when Trunks didn't respond, he just shook his head and said quietly, "Never mind, Trunks….. I get the point… I'll go…"
When Trunks still paid him no attention, Goten turned away from him and headed for the doorway, only pausing long enough to say, "Trunks, whatever I did to make you mad at me….. I'm sorry….. I'm really sorry….." But Trunks didn't even bother to turn around. Trunks never took his eyes off of his younger father, so he never saw the tears that began to freely flow down his best friend's cheeks as Goten heavy-heartedly left the room…
Rath: Fhyuuu! I am so glad to be rid of all those annoying reporters! They were REALLY starting to get on my nerves! Anyways…..
To Clarobell: Thanks! I'm trying my best to make this somewhat of a unique experience for the readers! I have a big twist planned for one of the future chapters, but I'm trying not to rush into it, so as not to ruin its effect!
To Erica: Yeah, it was pretty terrible of Frieza, wasn't it?! I was almost hesitant about how far I would take it…. But I think it worked out just fine!
To Lil Shady: Hey! Long time no see! I was concerned that maybe you had lost interest in this story or something! Good to see you again! Yeah, I must admit, I DID use it as a quick way of creating some angst! As for Trunks, Vegeta has DEFINITELY had a negative effect on him…. I suppose that WAS rather predictable! But, of course, there'll be more to it….!
To Shasti: I am SOOOOOO glad that you are feeling very enthusiastic about this story! It really makes me feel good!
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully, I will have the next chapter out relatively soon! Please continue to R/R! Until Next Time! Sawatdee!