Author's Note: Greetings, all. Here is chapter three of my fic. Hope you guys like it so far. Well, Vegeta's here now! Yay! If you guys have any questions or comments, either post it on the review board or feel free to e-mail me at wishingstar49@aol.com.
Fallingby A. Mikato
Part Three: Kind of Like Divine Intervention...
24 hours earlier...
He could hear the wind howling outside his window, taking the leaves off the trees as it breezed by. It was almost midnight. He had been trying to get some rest, but was unable to. The intensity of his thoughts kept him wide awake.
There wasn't anything really specific he was thinking about. It was lots of things, really. Things were pretty uneventful the past few months. Threats to the Earth had been taken care of before they grew too big. Petty things like that weren't enough to quench the Prince of Saiyajns lust for challenge.
He found a nice, secluded piece of land that he claimed suitable for a living space. He constructed a home, and resided there, constantly training for that glorious day a real battle would face him.
As the night wore on, his mind slipped deeper into questions, questions he never liked to ask because he knew he didn't have an answer to them. But somehow these questions seemed to have a mind of their own, leaking into his consciousness, frustrating him more and more.
What is your purpose here, Vegeta?
Why are you on Earth?
Is battle an adequate enough reason for you?
Vegeta jerked out of bed, unable to tolerate the lingering introspection taking place inside his mind. He felt like going outside, getting some air. He threw on an old tee-shirt and proceeded outside. He stretched his body out a little, then took a deep breath of the cool night air. He closed his eyes, letting the crispness of the night to enter his lungs. He opened his eyes, and in an instant was levitating in the air. Tonight would be a good night for a nice trip around the world, he thought. Maybe two trips. Just, anything to keep his mind busy. He didn't like idleness, he favored being active, accomplishing things. He took one more deep breath before speeding into the night.
As he reached his half-way mark, he noticed an old house engulfed in flames below him. He stopped, just to catch his breath, but couldn't ignore the screaming, helpless people running desperately to save their lives. He thought nothing of it at first, telling himself it wasn't his job and that he'd let the professionals take care of it. He readied himself to take off again when a woman's piercing scream echoed through the air.
"My baby! My baby! Please, someone save my baby!"
Vegeta hesitated for a moment, detesting the fact that his conscience was tying him down. Hanging around humans has made you weak, he thought to himself, ready to take off once again.
"Please! My son! My son is still in there!" Vegeta looked down as onlookers could do only that- look on.
He sighed and slumped his shoulders, knowing very well what he had to do. He flew down to where the building was, ignoring surprised looks and gasps from the townsfolk. He landed in front of the woman he noticed, and asked her where her child was.
"Inside, sir," she said hysterically. "He's inside! He's trapped! Please save him!"
"Calm down. Which floor?" He asked impatiently.
"The fifth floor. Hurry!"
Vegeta turned his head to study the building. He looked for an opening, and found one at the very top. A window was on the verge of collapsing in, and there he'd take advantage of it. He flew to the top in an instant, and once inside, tried not to breathe in the fumes. Even Saiyajns needed oxygen. He made his way onto the fifth floor and heard the cries of an infant."
Keep crying, he thought. That way I can find you.
He couldn't see anything through the flames. It was only the baby's cries that allowed Vegeta to find him. Once he retrieved the child, he burst a hole through the walls, and flew outside into safety. He handed the mother her child, and asked if there were any other people trapped inside the building. She said no, and before she got a chance to thank him, he was up in the sky, and gone.
***
He flew a few more miles, until he felt like stopping somewhere to have a drink. It was a long night, and he figured he deserved it, anyway. He spotted a pub and landed there. There weren't many people inside, and the ones who were, were passed out all over the bar. Vegeta decided it would do and ordered a beer from the bartender.
"You don't look like you're from around here," the bartender said, handing the beer to him.
"If you only knew," Vegeta muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Please, leave me be."
The bartender took his signal, and complied, knowing that if he didn't, he'd be in some serious trouble.
Vegeta drank the beer, slowly at first, but then faster as he ordered more and more rounds. He wasn't a big drinker, but there was something about the way he was feeling that night that he wanted to get rid of. This restlessness he felt, it wasn't like him. It wasn't like him at all. He wanted adventure. He needed adventure. The very core of his being depended on the thrill of life. It was in his blood.
And...he needed a woman.
He laughed at the thought. Yes, it was true, there were certainly times when he craved for the pleasure of being with a woman. But what Earth woman could possibly match the sheer nobility of a Saiyajn? There were no women on Earth who could satisfy the requirements of someone of Vegeta's status. To find a woman of great strength, of great beauty, of great intelligence, to find a woman who possessed all three qualities was deemed by him impossible.
There was one, however. For a moment he thought it'd be her. But no, she would not do. If his memory served him correct, she'd be married by now. The last time he saw her, she was wearing an engagement ring, given to her by Yamcha. She was beautiful, that was never a question. But her heart belonged to someone else, and so Vegeta let that matter fall away into the back of his mind.
He finished another beer, his second one that night. He told himself it would be the last, and paid the bartender. As he stood up, he heard her name.
"Bulma..."
He shook his head. No. It had to be coincidence. That, or the alcohol he consumed. Was his mind playing tricks on him?
"Yes, Bulma! That babe with the blue hair who works for Capsule Corp.!"
So he did hear it. He looked across the room. A pair of well dressed men who looked like they had a too few many drinks staggered in the bar, talking loudly.
"So she's the one they're gonna," one of them said, "you know..." He slid a finger across his neck, laughing. The other one joined in on the laughter.
"Yep, that's her, all right. Too bad, too, 'cause I'd like to do something else to her, if you know what I mean!"
Vegeta rushed the two men. "You know, I'm extremely grateful."
One of the men looked up at him, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Vegeta pressed his hands together, cracking a few knuckles here and there. "I've been in the mood to punch something all night, and I couldn't find a perfect target...until now." He swung his fist into one of the men's stomach, and with his other fist jabbed the other man. The two went flying out of the bar, and Vegeta followed.
"Hey," the bartender called out, "thanks for cleaning up."
The two men cowered in fear on the hard ground, watching Vegeta draw nearer.
"What do you want, Mister?" One of them asked, digging in his pocket. "H-here, take my-"
"I don't want your money," Vegeta said, disgusted. "I want information. You mentioned a very familiar name to me. Tell me about her."
The two men looked at one another. Vegeta stepped closer. "There are two ways we can go about this, gentlemen," he continued, walking closer. "I'm sure you can figure it out."
One of them men started crying, and cowering at Vegeta's feet. "Look, just don't kill us, okay?"
"I'm not going to kill you. But I will if she gets killed. Now tell me what you know."
"H-how do you know her?" One man asked, trying to hold back his tears. "Why do you care so much? It's just business, all right?"
Vegeta tightened his fist. "She happens to be a close friend of one of my...er...companions." Vegeta knew how close she and Kakkaraut were, and knew that if Bulma died, Goku would do all he could to with her back with the Dragonballs. Vegeta wasn't doing anything else that night, so he might as well save an eventual wish for something more important.
Vegeta, impatient of these men's ramblings, kicked them both in their stomachs, but not too hard. He wanted to let these guys know he was serious. "I'm going to ask you one more time, what do you know about Bulma?"
The other man groveled at Vegeta's feet, obviously in pain. "Look Mister, all we know is that tomorrow night she's going to display this new invention of hers at this museum! There's this guy, Armstrong, who's been jealous of her all these years and wants to kill her and steal all her ideas!!!"
"How do you know about all this?"
"Look, we're not in on the plan! You gotta believe us! We were just walking across the second floor one day, where Armstrong's office is, and heard him rant about this plan! He caught us listening to him, and told us that he'd fire us if we ever told anyone! Please, you can't tell him it was us-"
Vegeta shook his head as he walked away, in disgust. Let the universe deal with their souls, he thought, as he looked up at the night sky, then flew into it.