Warning: Rape.

Chapter 21

Like the dead
I am on the other side
Their howling in my head
No remorse and no redemption

Bulma threw her socket wrench at the wall and yelled incoherently as her frustration skyrocketed. The repair she was trying to make on one of the older servant bots her mother had used for her monthly garden party was not going as well as she had hoped. She stomped her foot and glared at the broken robot. "You stupid piece of junk, why won't you just work?"

In actuality she had only been working on it for fifteen minutes, but her patience was thinner than usual. She had been more irascible than normal since her houseguest had abruptly taken his leave of the planet three months ago. Three months, two weeks, and four days, to be exact, but she wasn't counting. Really.

Bulma brushed some loose strands of hair from her face and rolled her shoulders back, trying to calm herself. She mentally counted to ten and forced herself to take a deep, soothing breath and exhaled slowly. But nothing was working. She was mad. Not just at the malfunctioning robot, but at everything. Her parents were avoiding her as much as possible since crossing her path had turned into a dangerous activity for their ears. Yamcha had not visited her in over two weeks and he never called anymore. Bulma knew that she had been treating everyone around her poorly, but she couldn't help herself. She had nothing to take her frustration and worry out on and she was beyond stressed.

'Damn Vegeta, if it weren't for him – no. I am not going to think about him anymore. He's gone and he's not coming back. Good riddance. He was rude and arrogant and scary. I'm glad he left and I hope he stays away from Earth forever.' Bulma began grinding her teeth, a new habit she was loathe to admit having, and sat down at the desk in her lab. 'I'm just irritable because I've been working too hard lately. Maybe I should take a break, go on vacation, or whatever. I haven't had much 'me' time for too long.'

She propped up her feet on the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's been about a year since that boy came from the future to warn us about the androids. And all the guys are busy training, but I don't have any way of helping them. They don't need me and don't have time to waste hanging out with me because I'm bored. And lonely." Bulma frowned when she said that out loud. By saying it she had finally admitted it to herself, and it wasn't comforting.

Bulma rubbed her temples and dropped her feet to the floor as she sat up. Self pity was not going to get her out of her funk, so she was just going to have to get over what had her so upset. The Prince of all Saiyans. He was more aggravating in his absence than he had ever been when he was following her around demanding repairs and upgrades for his training equipment.

"I just wish he would've said goodbye before he left."

Her words died as soon as they left her mouth and she slapped herself mentally for even thinking so foolishly. Vegeta was, above all else, not sentimental, and he would not feel any need to bid her farewell before journeying off into space to only Kami knows where and no one knew how long. She sighed and went upstairs. Her lab was just too bleak for her at the moment.

"Mom? Dad?" she called as she walked through the halls of the compound. She was met with silence and a cold wave of loneliness. They had gone off somewhere and left her behind. "Guess they don't want to be around me either," she said bitterly. Bulma went upstairs to go to her room and take a nap or at least relax, but her feet stopped when she was in front of the door to the vacant guest room. She hadn't been in there since Goku told her Vegeta left.

'Why not?' she asked herself as she pushed the door open and walked in. In the daylight she could see that the carpet was torn up, missing in some places, and shredded. So that was what she had gotten tripped up in when she was looking for him that night. She grumbled about his tendency to destroy everything in his path with no regard for her having to pay for it.

For reasons she could not give, Bulma opened the drawers of his dresser to see if his clothes were still there. 'Of course they are, stupid. Why would he pack earthling clothes to go to another planet?' One corner of Bulma's mouth turned down as she pushed the drawers shut. The force she used shook the whole thing and she heard something roll across the top and a small thud as whatever it was hit the floor. 'What was that?'

Bulma looked around on the floor around the dresser but didn't see anything, so it must have landed behind it. She shrugged and turned to continue exploring the room, but her curiosity grew the further she moved from the mystery object and she found herself turning back and pulling the dresser away from the wall.

"Why am I even doing this?" she asked the empty room as she peeked around the dresser, which she had only been able to move a few inches. The light hit something small and metallic just right to catch her eye. She knelt down on the floor and squeezed her arm between the wall and the dresser to reach whatever it was. Her hand closed around it and she pulled it out to examine it. Her heart dropped when she recognized it as the capsule of his motorcycle. "Well, it's not like he'd have any reason to take this with him," she reasoned. But it still hurt her.

She considered putting it in her pocket, but it just didn't feel right taking something she had given as a gift to the grumpy saiyan prince. So she set it on his night stand and walked over to his closet to see if he had taken anything. She stepped into the closet and started rifling through the hanging clothes when she saw something white and bronze hidden behind them.

Bulma pushed the clothes to the sides and got a better look at what was lying on top of an old chest. It was his breastplate. She raised her eyebrow and picked it up, surprised at how light it was. She had figured it was terribly heavy considering how durable it was, but that wasn't the case. It had clearly seen better days; there was a small, circular hole on the left breast and a larger hole in the stomach that looked like it had been caused by a strong impact judging by the cracks around it. 'I wonder what caused the damage to this?' She turned it over and saw there was a matching circular hole across from where the one on the breast was. Her eyes widened in horror and she dropped the armor on the floor.

"That was… that means he was…" Bulma couldn't bear to say the words, but she felt she needed to say it to believe it. She gulped and tried again. "That was how he died. Frieza shot him through the heart." It had been so easy to forget he had ever died since she hadn't seen it happen and never saw his dead body or him coming back to life on Namek. He had just appeared on Earth, looking pretty much exactly the same as he had when he fought Goku. "I really didn't know the first thing about you but I acted like I knew you as well as any of my other friends. I could never understand your damned pride, but I see now. It was what kept you going all those years and it was all that was with you when you died. And it's all you have now even though you've been given a new life. I was taking it away from you without even thinking about it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Bulma sank to the floor and picked up the armor again and held it on her lap. She traced her fingers around the small hole over and over in a daze. "You died for the sake of your pride. Your stupid, fucking pride, you arrogant jerk. You proud prince." Her harsh words were tainted with a fondness she hadn't known she felt for the saiyan.

Bulma looked around at the rest of the room Vegeta had stayed in for so many months. The bed was still there, still torn apart. She had never gotten around to taking it out or replacing it. And next to it, on the floor, was his large pile of pillows, blankets, and what appeared to be towels, rags, and other soft scraps of cloth. She smiled sadly at the mess and crawled over to it. "You crazy animal," she chuckled. She laid down in his nest and held his breastplate against her chest. His alien, masculine scent was heavy on his blankets and pillows, and it comforted her.

Vegeta's space pod landed on a green planet several times larger than Earth. It had been one of Frieza's military bases that the saiyan had visited a few times while in the tyrant's service. Oxygen filled the pod and woke Vegeta from his artificially induced slumber. He inhaled the life-giving air deeply and opened his eyes as the door to the pod opened. There was a hiss of steam when the airlock opened that was all too familiar to him. He stepped out of the pod and looked around warily. There were a dozen alien soldiers surrounding him with weapons raised. He smirked.

He took a few steps forward and the soldiers took a few steps back. The planet's gravity was fifty times greater than Earth's, which had made it difficult for him to move the last time he was there, but now it had no effect on him. In his brain he switched to Intergalactic Standard before he spoke to his reluctant welcoming committee. "Who is your leader, now that the Colds are dead?"

The alien who must have been the leader of the group narrowed his eyes angrily and replied, "Frieza and King Cold are dead, but Cooler still lives. He took over his brother's empire upon learning of his death. We serve Lord Cooler. And you, saiyan scum, have been condemned to death on sight."

Vegeta started chuckling, but it turned into a hearty laugh, which unnerved the men standing around him. "You fools think you can kill me? I'd like to see you try. I've gotten much stronger since Frieza murdered me." He laughed again when they looked like they were seeing a ghost. There was a trace of insanity in his laughter, and that put the soldiers more on edge. "Don't worry, I'm not dead now. Hell itself cannot hold the Prince of all Saiyans."

The leader of the soldiers spoke again, his voice shaking noticeably. "Why have you come here, saiyan?"

Vegeta raised his arm, palm facing out. "You ask too many questions," he growled as he blasted the alien into another dimension. The other men took off in different directions, fleeing their imminent death, but he sent ki blasts after each of them and they all joined their leader.

He smirked again and slapped his hands together as if cleansing of dirt. Then he casually strolled away from the landing base into the control tower. Whenever he saw someone he immediately blasted them, not even bothering to find out who they were or what their business was. He wouldn't take the chance of his arrival being announced to 'Lord Cooler' or anyone else who could give him trouble. He was there on a mission and he refused to have it interrupted.

The saiyan prince kept his ki suppressed, not only because he didn't want scouters alerting his presence, but he wanted to stay hidden from Kakarrot in case he were to seek out his ki and use his damned instant transmission to teleport to him and try to take him back to Earth. When he was sure that he had successfully eradicated the building of all life, he went outside and ran through a large city with a layout that indicated it had been built up haphazardly. It was night, so there was little light and few inhabitants in the streets. Vegeta avoided the few there were, figuring leaving a trail of dead bodies would blow his cover and have every soldier on the planet hot on his tail.

After running down streets, ducking through alleys, climbing fire escapes, and leaping across rooftops, Vegeta finally reached the building that had what he wanted. He levitated to a window on the third level and broke it. He flew in and scanned the room he was in. No one was around, probably all gone home for the night.

'Now, where would I be if I were a micro engineer's lab?' He strode down a long, dark hallway with metal doors lining the walls. Finally, he found what he was looking for and kicked the door in. It was time to get to work.

Bulma woke with a start and looked around the dark room. She couldn't remember where she was until she inhaled deeply and smelled saiyan musk. Oh, right, she had fallen asleep in Vegeta's room after she had laid down in his nest. She stretched out and looked up at the ceiling wondering how long she had slept. She could have been upset that she had taken such a long nap that would make it difficult to sleep that night, but she wasn't going to complain after getting the best sleep she had had in weeks.

'I should go see if Mom and Dad are home yet. I hope so because I'm starving.' Bulma stood up and stretched again with a yawn. 'Why did I even come in here? It just makes me miss that jerk more.'

Sighing, Bulma picked her way through the pile of pillows and crossed the room toward the door. She looked around the room one more time before closing the door behind her and going downstairs to get food. She was relieved when she smelled her mother's cooking coming from the kitchen; she really hadn't been looking forward to cooking for herself.

When she opened the door to the kitchen, she found her father sitting at the table reading a science magazine while her mother was pulling a roast out of the oven. Bulma's mouth started to water as she sat down at the table next to her father. "Hey Mom, hi Daddy," she greeted them with her first real smile in a long time.

"There you are, sweetie," Mrs. Brief chirped, "What have you been up to this afternoon?"

"I was working in the lab but I got tired so I went upstairs for a nap. I guess it was a little longer than I expected," Bulma answered as she pulled her father's magazine over so she could read it too.

"I'm glad you were able to sleep, dear. You've been looking so tired lately, I've been worried that you were getting sick."

Bulma smiled at her mother and shook her head. "No, not sick. Just haven't been able to sleep well."

Mrs. Brief set the roast on the table and went to fill a bowl with noodles. She was smiling wider than normal because of her daughter's good mood. It had been uncomfortable in the compound since the handsome young man had left. She figured it was because her daughter missed him so much. After all, he was so sweet. She thought he would have been a great catch for her daughter, but she hadn't said anything since Bulma wouldn't have listened.

The small family ate their meal and chatted about what they had done that day. It was pleasant for a change as Bulma wasn't wound up and ready to pounce on her parents over the smallest thing. What the elder Briefs didn't notice was how forlorn their daughter appeared when Mrs. Brief sat down at the table to begin the meal.

'It just isn't the same without him here. Even the amount of food we have at dinner reminds me of him being gone.' Bulma sighed and started eating, her sad thought forgotten when she immersed herself in conversation with her parents.

Vegeta tore through the laboratory searching for the tools and materials he needed. When he had finally gathered them all he dumped them on a desk and sat down to work, pulling a magnifying glass over his project so that he could see what he was doing. The mechanism he was building was tiny, smaller than a wristwatch, but the technology in it was extremely advanced.

He hunched over the desk and started piecing his invention together patiently. His brows furrowed in concentration as he worked, never changing positions until he had completed the device hours later. He slipped it around his wrist and pushed a button on the side and immediately his body felt like it weighed over forty tons. He smirked and pushed another button and the heavy feeling lifted. "Perfect."

After dinner Bulma went upstairs to the recreation room to shoot some pool. The idea of going back to work in the lab did not rest well with her so she decided to spend the night relaxing. She would have gone outside for a walk but autumn was quickly fading into an early winter and she didn't feel like dealing with the cold. She picked up her cue stick and grabbed the rack of balls from the shelf and took them over to the pool table.

'Kami this reminds me of Vegeta,' she thought with some irritation. 'But what doesn't? My life revolved around him for months.'

Bulma sighed and broke the set. She watched the balls rolling around the table with mild fascination. They collided with each other and the cushions and bounced around in predictable movements. Occasionally one would fly out in a seemingly random direction and escape from the group of other balls. 'Like Vegeta. It interacts with others in the usual way but has a completely different reaction.' She groaned when she realized she was thinking about him again.

Bulma moved around the table shooting the balls into the pockets, which helped relax her as her mind was torn away from its brooding. She usually didn't play by herself, but at the time she didn't have anyone to play against, which didn't bother her. She wanted to be alone for now as she forced herself to come to terms with Vegeta's disappearance, her friends' busyness with training, and the prospect of the androids coming into a world with only one super saiyan. She had been stressed over all of the above problems for too long in her opinion and she was ready to get over it. By the time all the balls had sunk into the pockets, she was feeling better.

"Just because they need to train doesn't mean they can't stop to have fun every now and then. Look at me, I've been so busy working in the lab that I haven't had any time for myself. I was going crazy. I need to take some time to unwind. They probably need the same thing. Maybe I should invite the guys over for a party." Bulma smiled at her idea and set up the rack again. "I could have it in a couple days. It'll be a lot of fun."

She broke the rack again and went through another solitary game of pool. When the last ball rolled into a pocket she put away her cue stick and the balls. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and started calling her friends. Even if not all of them could come she was determined to have the party anyway. Even if only one of them could come she'd do it!

Three phone calls later Bulma was absolutely beaming. Yamcha, Goku and his family, Krillin, and Master Roshi were all going to come to the party. Goku was going to go talk to Tien and Chiaotzu since they didn't have phones or any other way of communicating with the outside world where they trained. Lunch might have, but Bulma didn't know her number since it changed so many times because of her blonde persona getting into trouble with the law all the time. Maybe she was with Tien again and he would bring her. Bulma shrugged and sat on the couch and turned the TV on to watch whatever late night movie was playing.

As the movie played, Bulma stretched out on the couch and let her mind wander. The movie wasn't particularly interesting anyway. At first she started planning the party, deciding where she would have it in the compound, what food she would have, how much food to order to make sure Goku and Gohan would have enough, what music to play, etc. But it didn't take her long to sort all that out and she once again started to think about the saiyan prince.

'I wonder where in the universe he is. He could be anywhere doing Kami knows what. I just hope he isn't getting into trouble again.' She shook her head and focused on the movie. That was a thought she did not want to entertain.

Vegeta stood up and stalked out of the lab he had spent so much time in. It went against his nature to stay in one place on a hostile planet for so long, but that was where the resources he needed were; that was the entire point of coming to this planet, it had the best technology. When he was in the hall he felt a low ki approaching him. He shrank into the shadows and crept down the hall and around a corner to wait for the person.

He waited a minute before the person came into view. It was a woman, shorter than him and slender. Her skin was deep brown, almost black, and she had pale pink eyes and a flash of short magenta hair. She wasn't terribly attractive despite her exotic coloring, as she lacked a very feminine physique for her otherwise humanoid shape. She was wearing a light gray lab coat over a plain, dark gray dress. But Vegeta was only paying attention to the communication device she was holding in her hand and the way she was cautiously looking around.

'Damn! Someone must have found the broken window and sent people out to search for the intruder. Oh well, more fun for me.' Vegeta stepped out of the shadows when she was only a foot away from him.

The woman nearly jumped out of her skin and shrieked as her eyes widened in fear and she backed against the wall behind her. The communicator dropped to the floor and Vegeta promptly stepped on it, applying pressure slowly until it shattered beneath his foot. All the while he kept his black eyes fixed on the woman and smirked at her, showing his long canine.

"Who are you?" she whimpered when he moved toward her. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to curl up to protect herself from the wild man. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was trembling from head to foot. Vegeta sniffed the air and smirked wider when he smelled the terror coming off her in waves.

He put his arms on either side of her and braced himself against the wall, leaning in so his face was only inches from hers. "You may have heard of me, wench. I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans." His tongue flicked over his canines when he saw her terror increase.

"V-Vegeta? But he's dead!" she whispered.

"Not anymore. I was dead, but now I'm alive. Unfortunately for you." He moved closer to her and pressed his body against hers, his eyebrow raising suggestively. The woman seemed to take the hint and started pounding her tiny fists against his chest and screaming for help. But he pressed himself tighter against her and crushed his mouth against hers to silence her. He felt her heavy breathing and ripped her lab coat off. He pulled back to tear her dress off as well.

"Please don't do this," she whimpered, trying desperately to stop him from going through with what he was planning. No dice. He had made up his mind and nothing could stop him.

He grabbed her hair roughly and tilted her head so he could whisper in her ear, "If you scream, I will kill you in the slowest, most painful way I know how." He watched as she gulped and nodded her head. He had to give her credit for holding back her tears, but that wasn't going to save her. He spread her legs with his knee and thrust into her.

The pink-eyed woman watched as her mind detached from her body as she was brutally raped. The saiyan's eyes were glazed over with madness, his lip curled in a feral snarl. She was petrified of him, but she didn't scream or even whimper through it all. She hoped that it was all a nightmare, a terrible nightmare where a beast from hell attacked her, but she knew it wasn't so. He was too real: she could feel him, see him, smell him, hear him.

When he finished his business he shoved her to the floor and pulled his pants back up. The insanity never left his eyes as he raised his hand and blasted her body to oblivion. An evil, toothy grin spread across his face when he sniffed the scent of burnt flesh mingled with forced sex and fear.

"At last, I have my life back," he said. His cold laughter echoed in the halls.

Bulma was fussing in the indoor garden over the tables filled with the catering she had just picked up. Everything else was in order and her guests would be arriving any time now. She was growing increasingly excited about seeing the whole gang again and she had all but forgotten the foul mood she had been in for the past few months. It was time to party, and she was going to have a blast. A few minutes later the doorbell rang and she ran down the hall to answer the door.

"Krillin!" Bulma screamed in joy as she hugged the bald monk. "Hey, Master Roshi, Oolong, Turtle. How are you all?" Her beaming smile was infectious and by the time she had led them to the indoor garden they were all smiling as brightly as her and joking around merrily. Bulma had to smack Master Roshi's roaming hands a couple times, but that was expected and only slightly annoying. If anything it had become a friendly routine.

Bulma ran to the door again when the doorbell rang its cheerful tune and ushered the Son family plus Piccolo in the door. Soon after Yamcha arrived along with Tien and Chiaotzu. It was beginning to feel like old times when she had them all gathered in the indoor garden with the music blaring, loud laughter, and ChiChi screaming at Goku to eat slower.

Bulma sat in a lawn chair next to Tien and Krillin and started talking to them about how their training was going. She hadn't seen either of them since the day Vegeta had ascended to super saiyan and she was dying to catch up with them. It wasn't long before Gohan joined their small group.

"So you've been training with Piccolo and your dad?" she asked Gohan.

"Yeah, it's been really great. I'm not letting them go easy on me and I'm getting a lot stronger, I think. Mom doesn't like how beat up I get sometimes, but I don't mind." Gohan blushed a little when he expressed his attitude toward his mother's fretting.

Krillin laughed and slapped his young companion on the back. "Don't worry about that, kid. ChiChi would worry if you came home with a broken nail." He grinned wide and barely dodged a frying pan thrown at his head. How it materialized out of thin air, no one knew.

Gohan laughed at his friend's near demise. "Yeah, I know. She wants me to stay home all day and study. Don't tell her, but I'd rather train any day."

Master Roshi, Oolong, and Turtle soon joined their little group and joined in their conversation. It really had been a long time since they had all been together and they found there was a lot to talk about, and not all of it revolved around the android threat.

Everyone was in high spirits, talking, eating, and laughing the afternoon away. Bulma was glad that she had decided to invite everyone over. She had been alone for so long that she had almost forgotten how much fun it could be to get everyone together. Her friends put her at ease and lifted the stress from her mind, if only for a little while.

As it got later, the conversations started to die down as talking was replaced with yawning. Bulma could see how tired her friends were getting, which didn't surprise her considering how hard they all worked all the time. They were mostly early risers so they were used to going to bed early too. Piccolo was busy meditating in the corner, Gohan was asleep on ChiChi's lap, Oolong was out for the count, and Master Roshi had fallen asleep in his chair. She sighed, knowing it was about time to end the party. But she didn't want to kick her friends out.

"Hey guys, it's getting late, so why don't you stay the night? You wouldn't get any more training in tonight anyway."

ChiChi perked up at the offer. "Oh, Bulma, we wouldn't want to put you out. Goku could just IT everyone back home."

Bulma shook her head. "No, I insist. It's really no trouble, I have plenty of guest rooms." Everyone agreed to her offer and she led them upstairs to show them their rooms.

When all her friends had retired, Bulma went to her own room to change into her pajamas and catch some shut-eye. She laid in her bed for a long time before she gave up trying to sleep. She was tired, but for some reason couldn't seem to get comfortable. She slid out of bed and went to the door. Checking the hall for any late-night roamers, she slipped out of her room and tiptoed down the hall to Vegeta's old room.

Bulma closed the door quietly behind her and padded over to his nest. She didn't want to sleep in it again since she had her own bed, but that didn't mean she couldn't take some comfort from it. She saw that she had left his breastplate lying on the floor and put it away in the closet exactly as she had found it. Then she picked up one of the pillows from the floor and held it to her nose. She could smell the saiyan on it and smiled. Her human olfactory may not have been as strong as the saiyan's, but his odor was strong and distinct. And she loved it.

Carrying the pillow with her, Bulma crept back to her room and got back in bed. She curled around the Vegeta-scented pillow and fell asleep shortly after. She dreamed of days gone by with the saiyan prince and smiled in her sleep at the fond memories.

When Vegeta had disposed of the pink-eyed woman, he ran through the halls and leaped out the broken window, landing silently on the ground below. He could see lights moving around in the building and knew they were searching for him. He smirked and ran down the street back toward the space base where his pod was waiting for his return. On his way he killed anyone and everyone he saw, no longer worried about being found.

He took off in his space pod and stopped at the top of the atmosphere and stepped out on the open door of the space pod. He raised his hand to form a ki ball large enough to destroy the planet, but for some reason he hesitated. The people below were once part of Frieza's army and now they worked for Cooler, so they didn't deserve to live, did they? Vegeta frowned and lowered his hand.

'I was also Frieza's soldier, so I can't hold that against them. And when Cooler took over they surely had no choice but to join him or die. I might have done the same. Their pathetic existence should be ended, but it is not my place to do so.' He sighed and ran his hand through his flame of hair. 'Why I should care I don't know.' He shrugged and stepped back into the space pod and entered coordinates to another planet before entering his coma-like state.

Five weeks later Vegeta's space pod crashed into a thick forest on an uninhabited planet. There was lush vegetation, plenty of water, a tropical climate, and lots of wildlife, but no sentient species had ever evolved. It was a planet that Vegeta had crash landed on one time as a teenager and had never forgotten. Frieza did not know about it and so it remained a secret hideout, if only in his dreams. Its seclusion was what he desired now.

When the pod's door opened with another hiss of steam, Vegeta stepped out into the muggy air and sniffed the alien scents. He had not eaten for almost five months, and despite being held in stasis, his body was ready for nourishment. He could smell some exotic fruit nearby and headed toward it, his mouth watering.

Vegeta found himself under a tall tree with branches bearing round, yellow fruit the size of basketballs with pointy spikes coating the hard exteriors. He climbed the trunk of the tree and grabbed the lowest branch when he reached it and crawled along its length. He reached down to pluck a fruit from the tree, but one of the spikes jabbed into his hand. He hissed in pain as he felt a small trickle of blood worming its way down his fingers.

More carefully this time, he got a firm grip on the fruit and pulled until it finally gave up its resistance. He banged the fruit hard against the branch until it broke open, revealing a soft interior with the texture of chocolate mousse. He lifted one half of the fruit to his face and licked some of the flesh out of the shell. His tongue was assaulted with an indescribable tangy sweetness. It was far superior to any fruit he had tasted on any other planet and he quickly scooped the rest of the flesh out and ate it. Soon he was cracking more fruit open and had to move on to another branch to get more to satisfy his hunger.

He finally finished his meal and sat on a high branch and leaned against the trunk of the tree. He crossed his arms over his chest and let one leg dangle off the branch as he closed his eyes for a midday nap.

Vegeta awoke abruptly as some kind of earthquake shook him from the branch of the tree. His eyes snapped open as his tail wrapped around the branch to catch him before he fell. He looked around in alarm, stretching his ki sense out as far as he could in case he had been followed by someone with a high power level. He could not sense anyone, but he sniffed the air and listened carefully for any other indication of an enemy.

The ground shook again and as the tree quivered Vegeta flailed from side to side as he hung by his tail. There was an unfamiliar scent in the air now, but it was wild and animalistic. Vegeta inhaled deeply and a feral grin formed on his face.

'I'm having meat for dinner,' he thought as he dropped to the ground and ran through the forest toward the epicenter of the quake. Within minutes an enormous tan furry hide came into view. An animal over twenty feet tall with four stocky legs, a short neck, and a large, round head with a flat, ugly face took another ground-shaking step in his direction. The creature had wide orange-golden eyes and its jagged bottom teeth jutted out below its snout-like nose.

Vegeta did not fear the animal despite its grotesque appearance and incredible size, but he almost panicked when he saw the creature almost stepping on his space pod. Its weight would surely destroy the pod, or at last damage it enough to render it unusable and then he would be stranded on this planet forever. "Oh no you don't you fucking big-footed abomination!" he roared as he shot into the air and slammed into its side, knocking it off its feet and away from his space pod.

The animal howled in pain and struggled back to its feet, large eyes blazing mad as it looked for its attacker. Vegeta clenched his fists and flew toward it again and slammed into its jaw from below, snapping its neck backward. Once he was above it he cupped his hands at his side and a purple glow emanated from them. He grinned again as the animal writhed in pain.

"Galick gun!" The violet beam of light shot down at the beast's head, lobbing it off and sending its bloody body crashing back into the trees.

Vegeta floated back down to the ground and strolled casually over to his kill through the bloody mud of the forest floor. When he reached the body he formed a long ki blade and sliced the animal's abdomen open, spilling its entrails out on the ground as he walked the length of the body, blade never leaving the body. The stench of fresh blood filled Vegeta's nostrils and his stomach growled in anticipation.

He grabbed the skin of the animal and jumped on top of the body, ripping the animal's hide off with the force of his momentum, revealing the steaming red flesh. He shortened his ki blade to the length of a knife and used it to cut out bloody chunks of meat he didn't bother cooking before stuffing them in his mouth. When he had had his fill, he dissipated the blade and laid down in the soft fur of the giant beast and slept, the curled tip of his tail thumping against his leg in contentment.

His last thoughts before he drifted off to sleep were of blood, chaos, power, and mayhem. The screams resounding in his mind sang him an eerie saiyan lullaby of death and destruction only he could appreciate.

A/N: Ok, now before you complain about Vegeta's character portrayal, let me set the record straight. At this point in the story he hasn't really changed that much from what he was before he came to Earth. What little change he has made is easily discarded in favor of regressing to his previous lifestyle because it is what he knows. It is comfortable and he mistakenly believes that is the life of an honorable warrior. So yes, he kills and rapes without remorse (for now). Trust me, this is an extremely important thing for me to show at this point in time. I am not a particular fan of Vegeta being a rapist, but face it. He was cruel, had no conscience, and was raised in an environment where murder and rape were probably common occurrences. I don't believe he wouldn't have been influenced by that.

Song: "Ghost Opera" by Kamelot … Just thought I'd throw it out there that they're my favorite band. You should check them out. :)