Redemption
Part II
----------------------
by Kristina Evelina Brannan
aka Krystiana Slinky
kbrannan@raex.com
krystiana@geocities.com
---------------------------------

Dragon Ball and all related characters belong to Akira Toriyama and a whole lot
of other people, me NOT included. Please don't sue.

One character in here is mine, figure it out for yourself. Please don't use her
without permission. I know it hardly seems right since I am using Toriyama's
characters without HIS consent... but I would like to know about it (not that
you really WOULD like to use her...)

------------------------------------



"That's Vegiitasei?" Bulma questioned as she looked out the window.
She looked back at Vegiita, who had an expression of shock on his face. "Are
you all right, Vegiita?" she asked, concerned.
Vegiita blinked, shook his head, and his expression went back to his
usual constantly angry one. "For the last time, I'm fine, woman!" he snapped.
"Aside from the fact that my home planet has just come back from grave."
The planet outside was a murky red color, giving the appearance it was
covered in lava. In Bulma's scientific opinion, it looked more like a gas planet
than a rock planet like Earth.
"That's Vegiitasei?" Gokou repeated Bulma's words. His voice was
unusually calm. "That's where I was born?" He touched the window with his
hands, as if reaching out to the planet. "It's beautiful," he whispered after a
moment.
Everyone on the ship stared at him. "We better not have two cracked
Saiyajin," Yamucha muttered to Kulilin.
"Beautiful?!" Chichi spat out. "I think it's terrifying!"
Piccolo was craning his neck to look out the window, trying his best to
look casual. "I have to agree with her. It doesn't look to be a very pleasant place."
"Vegiita, ask your _voice_ if this is what we're waiting for," Bulma said.
*Our prince is home!*
Vegiita froze. ~What...~
"Tousan..." Trunks's voice sounded weak.
Vegiita looked over at his son. "What is it, brat?"
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
*Our prince is home!*
"There it goes again!" Goten said. "I heard it, too."
"Yeah..." Gokou looked over at Vegiita. "Is that the voice you keep hearing?"
*Our prince!*
*My prince!*
*He's returned!*
The voices began blending together, getting louder. All the Saiyajin and
demi-Saiyajin looked pointedly at Vegiita.
"I don't know what you expect me to do about it!" Vegiita snapped,
knowing exactly what was going through their heads.
"Um..." Yamucha scratched his head. "Can I ask you guys something?"
"Shoot," Goten said.
"What the HELL are you guys talking about?"
Gokou blinked. "You mean you can't hear them?"
"Who?"
"Those voices," Gohan said, cocking his head to the side.
"What voices?"
"Of COURSE they wouldn't hear them, baka!" Vegiita snarled. "They are
not of Saiyajin blood!"
*VEGIITA!*
He flinched, and spied Gohan rubbing his temple. Baring his teeth, he
turned to Bulma.
"Land this tin can NOW, woman, or we are all going to go insane."
Bulma looked around the ship, then quickly punched in the code to
descend. "I don't know what you expect to accomplish by doing this."
"I'm going to figure out who the hell that woman is."

* * *

The ship hovered over the rather rocky terrain. "Tell me where you expect
to land, Vegiita," Bulma growled.
Vegiita glanced out the window. "Go east."
Bulma glared at her husband. "And just how would you know?"
"I grew up here, baka!" Vegiita growled, his patience about to snap.
"These are the mountains that the Saiyajin used to live in before we conquered
that other _weakling_ race that was living here. We're near the main city."
Bulma narrowed her eyes and turned the ship to the east. After about
a minute of traveling, pointed, white buildings came into view. "What's that?" she
said, pointing.
"The city I grew up in." Vegiita gestured to the tallest building. "Go over
there." Bulma steered the ship towards it, giving him an annoyed look. "Land
there."
"What... it's a landing pad!" Bulma exclaimed.
"Amazing powers of observation you have."
Bulma landed the ship smoothly, then jumped out of her seat. Kulilin
was already heading towards the door. "Are we ready?" he asked.
"You're not, obviously." Kulilin cringed and looked at Vegiita. "Remember
that Vegiitasei has thirty times the amount of gravity Chikyuu does?"
"Oh... yeah. B-but this isn't Vegiitasei."
"Vegiita and I will go check to make sure it's okay," Gokou offered,
opening the door.

* * *

"Explain to me why YOU had to come, Kakarotto," Vegiita muttered as
they walked down the ramp.
"As much as I don't want to admit it, I was born here," Gokou said,
looking around. "I kind of want to see it."
Vegiita snorted. "First interest you've shown in your Saiyajin heritage.
Did you hit your head again, Kakarotto?"
"Iie."
Gokou and Vegiita walked onto the ground and looked around. "Gravity
feels about the same as Chikyuu... let's go back and tell them-" Gokou was
interrupted by Vegiita's voice.
"Baka. We're telling them the gravity is too heavy."
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what is here. If we tell them that the gravity is
okay, they'll all want to come out. But if we tell them that they'll definitely be
flattened, they'll stay on the ship."
"Trunks, Goten, and Gohan'll come out no matter what."
"Those three can take of themselves," Vegiita growled. "I don't want
Bulma running off, then running her mouth off at some ghost of a Saiyajin,
then screaming my head off about it later."
"In other words, you don't want her to get hurt."
"Kisama-"
"Are we going back to tell them that the gravity is too heavy, or are we
just going to go explore on our own?"
"We'll have to go back, or else they'll send someone out after us."
Vegiita turned to walk back onto the ship. As Gokou began to follow, he stopped.
"You're staying here."
"Why?"
"You're a terrible liar, and you'll give it away."
"But-"
"Shut up, Kakarotto."
Vegiita walked back aboard the ship to face several expectant faces.
"The gravity is too heavy. You can't come."
Kulilin's face seemed to fall. "Man..."
"We can come, tousan!" Trunks seemed to jump forward. Gohan and
Goten were right behind him, although Gohan didn't looked as thrilled as
Trunks and Goten.
Vegiita sneered at the three of them. "I don't suppose I can stop you."
"I can come, too." Piccolo strode forward and looked pointedly at
Vegiita.
"No, you-" Vegiita started to say, tensing up.
"We need someone to stay and protect the ship. We don't know what
might be outside. Can you do that, Piccolo?"
Vegiita turned around and spied Gokou. "Why, you-"
A low growl emitted from the green giant. "Fine." Vegiita looked back
at the Namekseijin to see him proceeding to "sit" in the air cross-legged.
Vegiita blinked.
"Then can we go now?" Trunks said, seeming anxious.
Vegiita turned towards the door. "Shut the door after us," he said to
Bulma.
"But-"
Vegiita ignored her and walked out, followed by the three demi-Saiyajin.

* * *

"Otousan, the gravity isn't-"
"We know," Gokou said, glancing at Vegiita. "He didn't want them
coming."
"Amazing, Kakarotto," Vegiita said, ignoring the other three. "I didn't
know you COULD lie."
Gohan glanced at his father. "Otousan?"
"I didn't," Gokou said. "We really don't know what's out here."
"So where are we going?" Trunks asked his father. "This is your planet."
"Inside."
"Inside what?"
"This building." Vegiita pointed to the tall one they had landed by.
"This is the palace. Where I lived." He didn't say anything more as he began
walking inside. The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.
As they walked down the hall, Trunks noticed pictures lining the wall.
Underneath were captions - "Vegiita-sama the First. Vegiita-sama the Second.
Tousan, who-"
"My ancestors. Your ancestors. You were the first in our family for
generations to not be called Vegiita." Vegiita looked at the first picture.
"Vegiita-sama the first. The last Super Saiyajin before all of us." He began
walking again.
As the pictures went on and on, they began to more and more resemble
the Vegiita in front of them. Finally, they came to the last one. Vegiita stopped
and looked at it.
"Who was he, Vegiita-san?" Gohan asked.
Vegiita didn't answer for a moment. "My father." He turned away.
Gokou looked at the picture. "Really?"
"No, I lied," Vegiita snarled viciously. "What do you think, baka?" He
suddenly turned and blasted the picture off the wall, leaving a singed where
it once was. "I hated that man." He began walking again.
As they walked on, Goten spied a smaller picture, separated from
the kings. "Vegiita-ouji," he read. "I-is this YOU, Vegiita??" he exclaimed,
laughing. "You have hair on your forehead!"
"Nani? Lemme see!" Trunks said, pushing Goten aside. Gohan and
Gokou peered over their shoulders at the picture of the prince, who hadn't
quite lost all his baby fat (or his bangs).
"Kawaii, Vegiita-san," Gohan said, smiling.
"Can we go now?" Vegiita snapped. "Or are you so amazed at that
picture of me that I need to go on myself?"
"Hai, hai, we're coming," Trunks said, snorting.
*Vegiita.*
Vegiita bared his teeth at the air. "Not you again."
*The king's hall.*
"Nani? Why there?"
*Come... and bring your friends.*
Vegiita turned towards the others. "This way."

* * *

Vegiita pushed the gigantic doors open. He looked around, blinking.
He had almost expected it to be full of Elite soldiers and the king's advisors...
"Feeling a little nostalgic, Vegiita-san?"
"Shut up, brat," Vegiita snapped at Gohan. ~Showing emotion shows
weakness,~ he thought. ~One of the lessons I learned in this very room.~
"Vegiita."
Goten gasped. "What was that?"
"That voice..." Vegiita said. "It's her! That damned woman who kept
talking to me!"
"Vegiita... you remember this place well, don't you?" The disembodied
voice surrounded them, echoing in their ears.
"Of course I remember it..." Vegiita began, but was interrupted when
a scene began to play before their very eyes.

* * *

"Someday I'll kill you - both you and I know it. You killed your father.
You father killed his father. His father killed his father. That's the way it's
done in our family, isn't it?" Vegiita was being prompted to kneel before
his king by Nappa, who was being ignored.
Vegiita-sama's eyes flashed. "At the rate you are going, brat, you'll
be lucky if you can touch me."
The smaller Vegiita studied his father's face for a moment, then
realisation spread over his features. "You're afraid," he said. More confidently,
he added, "You're afraid! You know I'll be stronger than you! You know I'll
beat you easily when your time comes!"
Vegiita-sama lurched up from his chair. "You may grow to become
stronger than me, brat. But you are not stronger now. It is not wise to goad
me." He hit Vegiita on the shoulder harshly enough to force him down to a
knee. "You will kneel before your king, understood?" Vegiita didn't answer,
but he didn't move. "UNDERSTOOD?!"
"Hai," Vegiita said sarcastically.
Vegiita-sama reached down and picked up his son by his unruly
hair, lifting him off the ground. Ignoring his son's cry of pain, he leveled him
to his own face. "Hai, Vegiita-sama!!!" He then threw his son across the
hall, his body bursting through the doors. "Learn respect for your king, and
perhaps people will respect you when you are king."

* * *

Vegiita was silent as the scene faded.
"You remember that, don't you, Saiyajin no Ouji?"
Everyone was looking at Vegiita as he spoke. "That was the last
time I ever spoke to him."
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
The voice chuckled. "You always want to jump straight to the point."
Vegiita clenched his fists. "You have tormented me for weeks, now.
Tell me who you are!"
"You must remember me for yourself."
"And just how do I do that?"
"Come here."
Vegiita growled. "Come where?"
A glow began near the throne where the image of Vegiita-sama had
sat mere moments ago. "Here, Vegiita-ouji."
Vegiita walked over to the steps in front of the throne, the others
following him. "What now?"
An image of Vegiita appeared, although much younger - even younger
than in the picture that had been on the wall. "You know him, don't you?"
"Of course I know him!" Vegiita snapped. "He is me!"
"But do you know what he knows?"
Vegiita was silent for a moment. "Let me guess... my younger self
knows what I am supposed to remember."
"Yes." The image disappeared suddenly, and the glow began to
cover the room. The room seemed to disappear, and another place began
to form. Once again, a scene began to play.

* * *

VEGIITASEI
50 YEARS AGO

The cloaked figure ran through the endless twisting hallway, looking
back every so often to make sure she wasn't being followed.
She finally reached her destination, stopping a moment to catch her
breath, then opening the door.
The boy, who was lying on the bed, sat straight up and stared at her.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And what are you doing in my quarters?"
The woman stepped forward and removed the hood that covered her
head to reveal typical Saiyajin female features, although softened. Her hair
was unkept, yet it still managed to looked beautiful as it flowed into her cloak,
making it impossible to determine how long it was. Her nose was perfectly fit
to her face - almost pointed, creating the effect that she was staring down
at you. Her eyes were her sharpest feature - they seemed to drill right into
you, yet they were forgiving - a rare thing in Saiyajin.
Those eyes were staring into the boy's at that moment.
"Vegiita," she said. "Do you know who I am now?"
Vegiita was silent for a moment longer as he studied her features.
"Yes."
"Do you understand that I need to get you out of here?"
"Why?"
"I cannot let you grow up on this planet," the woman said. "It will
destroy you."
The young prince cocked his head to the side, still studying her.
"How?"
"The Saiyajin will diminish whatever heart you have. I can't let that
happen to you." The woman reached out, offering her hand. "Please come
with me."
"Where will we go?"
"Off Vegiitasei."
"But..." The prince paused. "But this is my home. I'm supposed to
rule here, eventually."
"If you are not killed by Vegiita-sama, first!" the woman hissed.
"Please, Vegiita." Vegiita stared in silence for a little while longer, then finally
put his own small hand into the woman's. The woman smiled and began
leading him out of his quarters.
"What do I call you?" Vegiita asked her.
The woman smiled at him, knowing there was no word for what she
was to him. "My name is Cocobia."

* * *

She led him down the hallway and towards the launching dock. She
had already knocked out the guards, and the attendant was next. By now
the Elite guards were probably aware of what she was doing, which meant
there wasn't much time.
"Cocobia?" Vegiita whispered. "How much longer do we have to run?"
"Only a few hundred feet."
Cocobia began slowing down as she came to a corner. She inched
over to the wall and began sliding against it, gesturing to Vegiita to do the
same. As the came to the room, she put up a hand to tell him to stop.
Peeking around the corner at the launch attendant, she fired one ki
shot at the back of his head, just enough to knock him out. "Come," she said
to Vegiita. She ran up to the module the attendant had been at. After typing
a few commands, she took his hand and began sprinting towards what looked
to be a hole in the wall.
"What are you doing?" Vegiita demanded. "Let me go! I can walk!"
He peered at the hole. "What's that?"
"An entrance to a pod. That is what will take us off the planet,"
Cocobia said, not looking at him.
A loud and demanding voice finally made her look back. "STOP!"
She didn't stop, but glanced over her shoulder. She recognized the
guards, but could only place one name - Nappa.
"Kuso!" she swore, picking up the pace.
"Release the prince, traitor!" Nappa's voice sent a chill down her
neck. She heard footsteps behind her, and she automatically knew
there was no way she was going to get away with what she was planning.
But she still ran, holding onto a thin hope that she might get away
with the prince...
The shot was soundless but painful. Straight into her lower back.
Cocobia collapsed to her knees and tried to crawl, but found it more
painless to just sit still and not move.
"Run," she whispered to Vegiita. "Run to the pod, my little prince."
Vegiita cocked his head to the side, apparently not understanding.
"You need... to leave!" she reached out to him. "Please-"
Her words were cut off as Nappa came up in front of her. "You are
a traitor and will be judged as such."
Cocobia's eyes widened. "No," she said, struggling to make her
voice steady. She fired a weak blast at Nappa, who easily dodged it.
Another hit him in the hand, and he cursed, then glared at her. "Get
off the planet, little one," she murmured to Vegiita as she continued firing
at Nappa and the few other guards.
"Kill her!" Nappa finally yelled, nursing his wounded hand.

* * *

Vegiita didn't move towards the pod as Cocobia wanted. He stayed,
wondering why the guards were shooting her. Wasn't she...
"Kill her!" Nappa's gruff voice commanded the two guards with him.
One of them came up behind her, raised his hand, and-
~No,~ Vegiita thought. ~You can't!~
But his thoughts did nothing, and the guard fired a clean shot
straight through Cocobia's head. Her body fell to the ground with a
thump... a sickening sound.
"Why did you do that?" Vegiita demanded of the guards. "What
did she do?"
"She captured you, my prince," Nappa said. "She tried to take
you away from the Saiyajin empire. She wanted to take you away from your
destiny of ruling our race."
"Why?"
Nappa blinked and took a breath before answering. "Because she
was a traitor to our kind. She knew you were powerful, and she didn't
want a strong leader for the Saiyajin."
Vegiita didn't answer, but only stared at Cocobia's still body. "What
will be done now?" he questioned.
"Nothing," Nappa answered. "She is dead, and cannot betray us
again."

* * *

PRESENT TIME

"You see, Prince Vegiita?"
Vegiita stared at the ground, lost in thought. "I do not remember
that night. How do I know you were not making it up?"
"You blamed yourself."
"I what?" Vegiita snapped his head up. "Blamed myself for what?"
"My death. You knew who I was."
"I would never-"
"Vegiita, please. Just listen." The voice paused. "I can help you
remember me. I want you to... but it has to be your choice."
"I think I'm going to go insane if I continue this madness," Vegiita
said.
"Is that a 'yes,' then?" The voice seemed amused.
"Yes."
"Good. I will warn you all now... Vegiita's younger self is a completely
different person then he is now."
"WHAT?!" Vegiita spat out. "Just what the hell are you planning to
do?"
"Put your mind in the state it was that night. You will remember."
"I will return to myself, though?" Vegiita questioned suspiciously.
"Yes. Do you still want to?"
Vegiita closed his eyes. "Do it."
"Very well." The eerie light winked out and surrounded Vegiita,
who fell to his knees, eyes still closed.

* * *

Trunks watched his father carefully, not knowing what was
happening. "Tousan?" he asked, uncertain, after the light had faded.
"He can't hear you." Trunks snapped his glance back towards
the front, where the light had returned.
"Why not?" Trunks started forward, alarmed. "What's wrong
with him?"
The light flickered in amusement.
"You inherited your father's impatience," the voice said.
"What's wrong with my tousan?" Trunks repeated, dark tones
coming into his voice.
"Nothing. He's simply in a younger state of mind."
Trunks stared at the light for a moment before answering. "Can
you make any less sense?"
"Right now, his mind is that what it was when he was three
years of age. Seeing you would only confuse him, so I blocked all of
your presence from him."
"So Vegiita-san thinks he's three years old right now?" Gohan
questioned.
"Hai."
a snort came from Goten, which earned a glare from Trunks.
"Ah, gomen," Goten apologized. "But picturing ojisan at three years
old is kind of funny."
"Maybe to you," Trunks muttered.
"Keep in mind that a Saiyajin prince's childhood is different from
a human's. You two are 14 now, am I correct?"
"He's 14. I'm 15, but close enough," Trunks said.
"At your age, Vegiita was working for Furiza, clearing out planets
for takeover."
Trunks frowned. He didn't like being reminded that his father had
an extremely dark past.
"So what is this supposed to accomplish?" Gohan asked.
The voice didn't answer them. It's attention was directed at the
prone Vegiita. "Who am I, young prince?" she asked him in a soft voice.
"Cocobia." Vegiita's voice sounded different... not like a child's
voice, but softer. "a nali... shavda."
Trunks blinked. "That language again. What did he say?"
"It is Saiyago, the only language he knew at this age. He hadn't
learned standard very well yet."
"How come we understood that flashback you showed us?" Gokou
asked.
"I translated it."
"Oh."
Vegiita began speaking again, his voice sounding distressed.
"Arai crux... arai crux! Ru d'rekoor natao..." His expression turned into a
grimace, looking like he was about to cry. "a nali."
"What is he saying?" Trunks asked again. The voice ignored him.
"Ki sou," the voice said to Vegiita. "Ki sou."
Vegiita seemed to relax, his shoulders slumping, and his body
pitched forward. Just before he hit the ground, his eyes snapped open
and he stopped himself with his hands.
Trunks inched toward his father. "Tousan?" he asked softly. "Are
you okay?"
Vegiita looked up at the light with a look of shock plastered onto his
face. "You..."
The light seemed to flicker in joy. "You remember me, young
prince?"
"Yes." Vegiita's eyes lowered. "Yes, I do."
"Who is she, ojisan?" Goten asked, looking from Vegiita to the light,
then back again.
"Cocobia." Vegiita's voice sounded disoriented, like he didn't
understand the question.
"We know that," Gohan said. "But who is she to you?"
Vegiita shook his head to clear it, then slowly got to his feet, his
eyes not completely focusing on anything. It was several minutes before
he answered.
"On Vegiitasei, there is no word for okaasan... mother."
Trunks took a few moments before those words sunk in, then
gasped. "Your... mother?" He jerked his sight towards the light.
"You are... my obaasan?"
"Yes, young one." The light slowly formed into something
resembling a body. It formed features, ones like the woman in the image
she had shown them a few minutes ago. She was smiling.
"Unbelievable!" Gokou exclaimed. "She's your okaasan, Vegiita!"
"No shit, Kakarotto," Vegiita growled. "Thank you for catching up
with the rest of us."
"After my death, Vegiita blamed himself. He knew I tried to save
him, and I gave my life for that cause. He became so immersed in his
self-loathing that he blocked out all memories of me." Cocobia smiled
at Vegiita's bristling, then turned to Gokou. "Kakarotto."
"Huh?" Gokou looked up at the woman. "Yeah?"
"You've grown."
"Ah... yeah." Gokou scratched his head in confusion. "I guess."
"You look a lot like Bardock."
Gokou blinked. "Bardock?"
"He'd like to speak with you. He's here, as well."
"Who's Bardock?"
Another light entered the room, appearing beside Cocobia.
"Are you going to answer me?" Gokou demanded, apparently not
noticing the second entity. "Who is Bardock?" he repeated.
Cocobia didn't say anything, and neither did the second light.
Instead, it too, started forming into a person. Features, blurry at first,
came forward on the face.
Gohan's eyes widened. "You... you look like..."
"Kakarotto." Bardock's face stretched into a smile... or the Saiyajin
equivalent of a smile - it came off as smirk.
There were subtle differences in the features, especially the
eyes... but there was no doubt about it.
"You're Gokou-san's father!" Trunks blurted out.
Bardock glanced at Trunks. "Yes."
"I never thought I'd meet anyone else related to me by blood,"
Gokou admonished. "Raditsu was enough."
"Raditsu took after your mother," Bardock said. "Especially that
hair." He smiled again.
Gokou smiled a bit as well. "So why do you want to speak with me?"
"You defeated Furiza, didn't you?"
Gokou blinked and frowned. "I guess... a while ago. Why?"
"Good." Bardock frowned. "On one of my off-world missions, one
of the aliens got revenge by giving me the ability to see the future."
"How is that revenge?" Gokou questioned.
"By seeing your own death. By seeing how the Saiyajin were
going to die. I knew Furiza was planning to destroy Vegiitasei." He
paused. "I tried to tell the others, but they wouldn't listen. They thought
I was drunk, or delusional. Or insane over the de-" He cut himself off.
"Insane over what?"
"The death of your mate," Vegiita said, uncompassionate. "Nappa
mentioned it to me."
"Yes." Bardock closed his eyes. "They didn't listen. They wouldn't
help. I tried to take out Furiza by myself, thinking I could change my
destiny..." Bardock looked straight into Gokou's eyes, the inner pain
visible. "I failed. I died in the same blast that took out the planet."
Trunks felt something in his chest grow heavy. He had heard both
his father and Gokou mention the destruction of Vegiitasei... but hearing
it from this man, who had witnessed it... Those were his ancestors that
had been murdered.
"But just before my death, I saw YOU, Kakarotto, facing off
against Furiza... and I knew there was hope that a Saiyajin would
avenge Vegiitasei." Bardock smiled. "And you did."
"I... suppose." Gokou's voice sounded uncertain.
"Thank you."
"Nani?"
"For proving me right. That is what I've stayed here for."
"Stayed... here?" Gokou asked. "What do you mean?"
"Bardock and I are the only ones remaining," Cocobia said. "A
few others stayed, but grew tired of waiting."
"What do you mean 'stayed?'" Vegiita demanded. "What are you
talking about?"
"This planet, everything surrounding you, was formed by our
memory," Cocobia said. "We both needed to stay behind to wait for our
business to be over." She looked at Vegiita. "I needed my son to
remember me again." Her image smiled and a hand reached out to
him. "If only I could feel again..." she muttered sadly.
"And I needed to make sure MY son had fulfilled his destiny,"
Bardock smiled at Gokou. "I wasn't strong enough to speak with you
over that much of a distance, though. Apparently the longer you're dead,
the stronger you are."
"And now that it's through... now what's left for you?" Gohan asked
the two spirits.
"We can finally be on our way. We can go on to whatever is
waiting for us," Cocobia said. "And you have to get out of here. Since
we are leaving, this ghost planet will disappear." Both ghosts' images
were fading.
"Which will leave us floating in space," Trunks said.
"Exactly."
"Well, then, that means we've got to go!" Gokou said, grabbing
each of his sons by the arm and walking backwards.
"Otousan...?" Gohan questioned.
"Go now," Cocobia said. "There is nothing left for you here, and
you'll die if you stay."
"That's clear enough for me," Trunks said, grabbing his father by
the shoulder, starting to sprint towards the exit of the room, which was
beginning to fade. "Let's go!"

* * *

Piccolo's eyes snapped open. "Nan da..." He turned to Bulma.
"Open the doors. They're back."
Bulma narrowed her eyes, then proceeded. Almost as soon as
the door had opened, the five of them sprinted in.
"Take... off..." Gokou mumbled.
"Nani?" Bulma questioned. "What's going on?"
"Time to go, kaasan!" Trunks said. "This planet isn't real, and
the people who made it are moving on."
"What are you talking about?"
"MOVE!" Vegiita snapped. "We'll explain later, but there will
be nothing to explain if we don't get out of here!"
"All right..." Bulma turned to the controls and turned on the ship.
"Sit down, everyone."
The ship lifted off the ground and burst out of the atmosphere
in a matter of seconds. Bulma set a course for Chikyuu, then turned
to the others, surprised at what she saw. Gokou had retreated
into a corner, looking unusually solemn. Vegiita was looking out the
window with a look that seemed almost like compassion. Trunks,
Goten, and Gohan were speaking quietly among themselves. Kulilin
was approaching Gokou in a bit of a cautious way.
"So what happened?" Bulma finally asked.
"Gokou?" she heard Kulilin ask. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
Gokou didn't answer for a moment. "For once, I don't want to
talk about it."
"Huh?" Kulilin wondered, scratching his head.
"It has to do with Bardock, doesn't it?" Vegiita didn't turn from
the window.
"Stop pretending to guess, Vegiita." Gokou's voice, usually
full of spirit, sounded flat to everyone's ears. It sent a chill down Bulma's
spine.
"Fine." Vegiita turned from the window. "It DOES have to do
with Bardock, and I know exactly why."
"Eh?" Gohan looked from his father back to Vegiita. "What?"
"I get it..." Trunks said. "If old and dead Saiyajin can do it, why
can't live ones?"
Yamucha's jaw hit the floor in confusion. "What the hell are
you talking about?!"
Trunks grinned and pointed at Gokou and his father, the latter
making a very well-fitting annoyed look. "You guys can read each other's
minds!" He blinked and frowned suddenly. "That's really WEIRD."
"So?" Chichi asked, walking up to Gokou and putting a hand on
his shoulder. "What's bothering you?"
Gokou didn't meet her eyes, and he sighed - a dreadful sound
coming from him. "I met my otousan today."
Chichi gasped. "What? Your FATHER?"
"His name was Bardock," Vegiita interrupted. "Bulma could
have had long conversations with him... they both tended to babble
on for hours about technology. a regular Saiyajin Einstein." Bulma
gave Vegiita a death glare.
"Wait, wait... Gokou's otousan is a technological GENIUS?"
Kulilin said.
"Was."
"Could you please let Gokou talk?" Chichi demanded harshly.
She turned back to her husband after shooting everyone in the room
a look that would have made mountains crumble. "Gokou... continue."
Gokou's eyes closed. "I always knew my otousan would be a
typical Saiyajin... like Raditsu. But I didn't want to believe it. I had a little
hope that my otousan would be... be..."
"More like you." Vegiita's voice sounded almost ironic.
Gokou looked up at Vegiita. "Yup. Exactly." Gokou sighed again.
"He was proud of me, all right. But not for any good reason." His eyes
closed again and he turned his head away from the others. "He was
proud of me for killing Furiza, and getting revenge for the death of the
Saiyajin race."
There was silence in the ship for a few moments. "Son-kun, I..."
Bulma said, frowning.
"There's nothing to say," Chichi said. "Is there?"
a few more moments of silence.
"I just expected more of him," Gokou said. "I never thought I'd be
respected for killing someone."
"That you didn't even kill. Trunks did."
Trunks gave his father a strange look.
"Mirai Trunks," Vegiita corrected himself, snarling.
"That's not the point, Vegiita," Kulilin said. "But I supposed YOU
wouldn't underst-"
"You'd be surprised what I understand, mop head," Vegiita
snapped. Kulilin bristled at the name, but Vegiita ignored it. "I understand
a lot more about the Saiyajin then any of YOU do." He turned his gaze
to Gokou, who had finally looked up. "Kakarotto, you need to think like
a Saiyajin for a moment."
"Eh?" Gokou said. "How would I think like them?"
"Like you're SUPPOSED to, because you ARE one... but only
by blood, aren't you?" Vegiita said in annoyance.
Gohan narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the time for this,
Vegiita-san-"
"Shut up, brat," Vegiita growled. He looked Gokou in the eyes.
"Think about how a Saiyajin acts," he told him.
"But the only ones I've met are you, Raditsu, and Nappa..." Gokou
asked. "And the two ghosts in there."
"Think about how big Vegiita's ego is... that's what he's trying to
say," Bulma said, smirking slightly.
"Oh? Okay..." Gokou said.
"Would a 'typical' Saiyajin ever admit he's proud of someone
beside himself?"
Gokou blinked. "I guess not."
"Your father was not a 'typical' Saiyajin. I met him the one and
only time when I was five."
"Really? How?" Gokou asked.
"I was trying to keep away from those damn Elite guards..."
Vegiita caught himself and continued. "I found myself in his workroom."
Vegiita grinned. "What an idiot... insulting me at first... then groveling at
my feet when he figured out who I was."
"Oh?"
"Stop interrupting."
"You keep interrupting yourself."
"Shut up, Kakarotto." Vegiita narrowed his eyes. "Bardock hacked
into the system where their Scouters were kept online, and shut them
down."
"Clever." Bulma smiled to herself.
"Anyway... your point being?" Chichi said impatiently, crossing
her arms.
"Bardock was proud of you, but he was still a Saiyajin, with their
pride and everything," Trunks said. "So he didn't want to admit that he
was just proud to be your father, so he admitted it in a different way...
right, tousan?"
"Close enough," Vegiita muttered.
Gokou thought about the words for a moment. "I get it."
"If you had your memories of Vegiitasei and being Saiyajin, that's
probably what you would act like," Vegiita said.
Gokou shrugged. "I guess."
Bulma smiled at Gokou. "Hopefully we'll never test that theory."
She then turned to Vegiita. "Your turn."
Vegiita glanced at her. "What do you mean 'my turn?'"
"Explain who that voice was. It couldn't have been Son-kun's
tousan... you said it was female."
Vegiita turned away from them, facing the window again. "I
don't want to explain. If someone else wants to, be my guest."
Bulma looked pointedly at Trunks.
Trunks frowned. "Why me?"
"Because I said so."
"No, you didn't."
"I am now."
Goten practically popped forward. "She was ojisan's mother!"
Bulma stared at Goten for a moment, and then her jaw dropped.
"Nani?! You can't be serious."
"He's serious," Vegiita said, then turned sharply on his heel and
stalked into one of the back rooms, shutting the door behind him.
"What happened?" Bulma asked Trunks after frowning at
Vegiita's retreating back.
"Apparently when tousan was really young, she tried to get
him away from the planet and the rest of the Saiyajin because she
didn't want him to grow up to be like them." Trunks paused and sighed.
"It didn't work. She got caught, and she was executed right in front of
him."
"And he forgot this?"
"Yeah. He blamed himself, so I suppose it was too painful for
him to remember, and he blocked out all memory of her."
Yamucha blinked. "This is Vegiita we're talking about, right?"
"No matter who you are or what you act like, it's painful to lose
a parent," Gohan spoke up, then closed his eyes, remembering losing
his father... twice.
The room was filled with silence for a few minutes.
Gokou finally interrupted it by getting up and walking to the same
room Vegiita went into. After the door shut again, Bulma frowned.
"I'm beginning to wonder if this trip was a mistake," she said
quietly.

* * *

Vegiita didn't turn as Gokou came in, but he knew it was him.
Neither one of them spoke, knowing exactly what was running
through the other one's mind.
Finally, almost thankfully, Gokou said something. "Were you
serious about what you said?"
"Serious about what?" Vegiita still didn't turn.
"How I would act like Bardock if I ever regained my memories?"
"In theory. I really don't know, considering you've been influenced
by humans most of your life." Vegiita paused and turned towards
Gokou. "Kakarotto, for once I don't understand what's going through
your head."
Gokou sighed. "I don't really know what I'm thinking." He
closed his eyes and gave a small smile. "If what you said was true...
how he really WAS proud of me... I wouldn't mind getting my memories
back. I could remember the planet I came from." He opened one eye.
"So long as I don't become a rage-hungry killing machine."
Vegiita narrowed his eyes. "The Saiyajin weren't machines.
How we killed was our art. It was all we knew."
"I can understand fighting as an art... it's fun." Gokou grinned
slightly before continuing. "But does fighting have to include killing?"
Vegiita scowled. "Killing is part of instinct. Part of our nature."
"Why?"
Vegiita looked away. "Before the Saiyajin had the technology to
move around to other planets, they only had each other to fight.
However, even if you were just sparring, it was hard to accept losing.
Whenever there was REAL fighting against someone instead of just
sparring, you should have always made sure your opponent was dead,
so they wouldn't come back and kill you."
Gokou eyes trailed on the ground. "a while ago, I wouldn't have
understood that. But now I do." His fist clenched. "But I still find death
pointless."
"You would," Vegiita muttered.
Gokou sighed once more. "If I did regain my memories,
exactly how much would I remember? I mean, I was just a little baby
and I couldn't have stayed on Vegiitasei for long..."
"I estimate about you were on Vegiitasei for about five months.
You'd probably remember the doctors, and the basics of the language.
Saiyajin babies have excellent memories, so there's no telling." Vegiita
glanced at Gokou. "You planning on falling off a cliff again, Kakarotto?"
"No. Just getting prepared... in case it ever does happen."
Gokou grinned and Vegiita rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"So... what do you think?" Gokou asked after a moment.
"About what?"
"About what you found out today."
Vegiita closed his eyes and waited before answering. "I don't
know what to think." He opened them again and looked straight into
Gokou's.
The silence between them formed once more. Through their faint
mental link, they could sense one thought in each other's minds, identical
in nearly every way.
One simple thought, but important. After what had happened
tonight...
Neither of them would ever be the same.
Never.

---
END
---