Never Again

"Wesley have you seen my briefcase? I need to get to the board meeting and the papers I need are in it."

"No Mrs. Briefs, but I can look for it if you want me too."

"Thank you Wesley." Bulma was running late for a board meeting again. She never really wanted to go to these meetings, but since she was the President of the company she had to go. They were going to discuss the recent acquisition of Say No Records, a local recording company, which also owned the contract for one of her favorite bands, Vegetable Head. Turning on the radio to give her a bit of company while she searched for her briefcase she laughed, hearing her favorite DJ starting another segment of his show.

"Hey there listeners, this is Curious George bringing you all of today's top new artists right here on ZZZN Radio. Straight up for you to start out this commercial free hour is the new single from our favorite local band Vegetable Head. We haven't heard anything from them in the past two months due to their record label's buyout by Capsule Corp, so this is surely a treat. Their new single is off of their début album Too Bad, and is called Never Again."

He's drunk again, it's time to fight
She must have done something wrong tonight
The living room becomes a boxing ring
It's time to run when you see him
Clenching his hands
She's just a woman
Never Again

"I found you case Mrs. Briefs. It was in the break room for some reason."

Bulma looked up at her assistant and gave him a weak smile. "Have you heard this yet?"

"No ma'am."

"Shhh."

I hear her scream, from down the hall
Amazing she can even talk at all
She cries to me, Go back to bed
I'm terrified that she'll wind up
Dead in his hands, She's just a woman
Never Again

'Vegita told me once that when he was a little kid his dad would hit his mom, and that's why he's so scared of hurting me.'

'It was worse than that woman.' He responded to her thoughts, startling her. 'She would always send me back to bed, or to my chambers whenever they would start arguing. She was always standing up to him for me. So that I wouldn't get hurt, but I didn't care about getting hurt, as long as I could protect her, but she wouldn't let me. I was terrified that she'd wind up dead in his hands.'

Been there before, but not like this
Seen it before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
She's just a woman
Never Again

'What happened to her?'

'When I was six they got into the biggest fight yet, she was just a woman, but she stood up to him.'

*He's echoing the song.* She thought to herself, careful to keep the words from her mate.

Just tell the nurse, you slipped and fell
It starts to sting as it starts to swell
She looks at you, she wants the truth
It's right out there in the waiting room
With those hands
Lookin just as sweet as he can
Never Again

'This was around the time that Freeza had taken an interest in me. She had wanted to know what they were planning, but he wouldn't tell her. I was in the medical wing with her the next day, and it was sickening to watch him acting all sweet in front of Freeza, as he lied and told him that Mother had been in a training accident. Bullshit she was that lying sack of… grrr…'

Seen it before, but not like this
Been there before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
She's just a woman
Never Again

'She was so angry with him. I'd never seen her like that before. She was so angry and yet so sad at the same time.'

Father's a name you haven't earned yet
You're just a child with a temper
Haven't you heard "Don't hit a lady"?
Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure

'He never earned the name Father in my eyes. He was more of a child than I was and I was only six. Even I knew that you don't hit a woman like that. I would take great pleasure in kicking his ass. Then Freeza decided to take me when I was eight and he got drunk again and so he decided to take it out on her again.'

He's drunk again, it's time to fight
Same old shit, just on a different night
She grabs the gun, she's had enough
Tonight she'll find out how fucking
Tough is this man
Pulls the trigger just as fast as she can
Never Again

'She fought back, and nearly killed him, but not before he fatally injured her.'

Seen it before, but not like this
Been there before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
She's just a woman
Never Again

'And that's the day you lost your mother.'

'Yes woman, and that's why I can't stand to see any woman treated that way by her mate. She never has the strength to fight back and win.'

'Some do though.'

'But not enough do. That's why I'm trying to help them.'

'I don't understand.'

"Just wait, you'll understand soon enough." Vegita said as he walked into her office, wearing a business suit and his ever-present smirk. "Don't you have a meeting to get to woman?"

Seen it before, but not like this
Been there before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
She's just a woman
Never Again

"How'd you know Vegita?"

Before he could answer her, Wesley knocked on her door and let himself in. "Ah good, you're both here. That's great. The meeting is going to start as soon as you two get there. And I must say Mr. Briefs that I love your music. I'm a big fan. Can't wait to hear your new song, and as soon as I'm off today I'm going to turn on the radio and wait just to hear it."

Vegita's smirk deepened. "Thanks for listening. It's always nice to meet a dedicated fan such as yourself, especially since we only have three songs out at the moment."

"I know and I can't wait until this is all over so that your album can be released." He backpedaled out the door.

Bulma turned to look at Vegita wide-eyed, "You're the lead singer of Vegetable Head!?!?"

Vegita nodded, and then noticed a slightly pained look on his mate's face. "Are you alright woman?"

Bulma opened her mouth to yell at him, when she suddenly felt a massive pain grip her back and stomach. "Owie."

Vegita started to panic. "Bulma are you okay? What can I do? Do you need help?"

Grabbing his collar with a strength that surprised both of them as she growled, "Get me to the fucking doctors office NOW!"

I'm going to go out on a limb and end it there, because I think you all know what's going on, and if you don't, I might just add another chapter or three to clarify some things, and to add more to the characters… just let me know if you are interested in your reviews.