Oh yea it's the day after Christmas and it's been a long time since I've
put up a new fic, so this is my late present to y'all faithful fans of me!
Chihan: (By the way she's my muse and Gohan's twin sister) Like you have any...
CG: Just shut up, will ya? But anyway, here's my fic! I AM BACK!
Chihan: ...back again, CG's back, tell a friend...
CG: Geez, don't you ever give your mouth a break?
Chihan: Oh, so THAT'S what this big hole in my head is called! I was wondering how the sound came out of my body! (Starts experimenting with her mouth)
CG: (Bangs head on wall)
CG: Okkkkkkkkk, anyway, here are some things you should know.
"this means talking, duh"
*This means thoughts*
~~`Scene change`~~
(When I interrupt if so)
/Part of a song, me trying to put something in italics, or... ok, that should be all that means/
All righty, that's all you should know for now. But now... (drum roll) ON WITH THE STORY! Wait, I don't own DBZ. Ok. ON WITH THE STORY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: Five Long Years
The cold wind whistled eerily through the trees. It picked up some snow powder from the ground in its path, and kept on going, forever and ever until someone stopped it.
Tonight, that someone was Vegeta. He lay on the grass outside Capsule Corp. dressed in just his blue training spandex, not caring about the chilly weather. For him, physical things never mattered anymore. He had his own cold, freezing winter inside himself- just where his heart was.
Don't get me wrong, Vegeta's heart was still there. (Yes you people this is a long way after the Majin Buu Saga) But it lay, beating only enough to support the person it was inside, which was Vegeta. It could have been white, for all anyone knew, because Vegeta had given up love. He couldn't bear the pain of it anymore. He had known it would make him weak, but this... this was too much to handle. It hurt, so bad... and it was something even HE, the Prince of all Saiyans, couldn't control. It was the loss of someone he had once loved- no, still loved- that was, if she was still alive.
The person Vegeta had lost was his beautiful mate, Bulma. It had been five years ago, when Bra had just reached the age of preschool...
It hurt so much to even think about it. But think about it he did, every day since what had happened, and he couldn't stop it.
~~Flashback~~
Bulma and Vegeta were walking down a path in the park. *I still can't believe the woman brought me here. I'm hungry and I have a lot of training to do if I want to beat Kakarot.* "Why did you bring me here, woman?"
Bulma glanced at Vegeta. For a second Vegeta thought she was going to yell at him for calling her 'woman' again, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, she just stared at the path they were walking on. "Vegeta, I brought you here to tell you something."
He waited for her to go on. "Well, what is it?"
"Vegeta, I feel like someone's been watching me. I'm serious, Vegeta, don't laugh. I've actually found evidence. It's been in Capsule Corp. before, just outside our bedroom, next to the stairway, even outside the GR..." she shuddered. "Vegeta... this is no ordinary human. I analyzed the evidence in my lab before." She looked at Vegeta and was shocked to see some kind of a slight expression of worry on his face. "Vegeta, it's..."
Just then she let out a scream as an arm shot out of the bushes and grabbed Bulma around the neck. She tried to pry it from her neck, but it was too strong for her. "Vegeta!" she cried.
Vegeta sprang into action. Snarling with anger, he grabbed the arm and wrenched it from Bulma's neck, letting her breathe. He was about to pulverize who ever had touched Bulma when a beam shot out, hit him in the chest, and flung him back into a lamppost, bending it with the force.
"Vegeta..." she half-reached out in an attempt to reach him but was grabbed by the shadow who sprinted away.
Vegeta got up and followed the shadow through the forest, firing attack after attack, but when he reached the edge of the river he knew the horrible truth. Bulma was gone.
The shadow gave one last cold laugh before it disappeared into thin air, with Bulma in its clutches.
Vegeta stood, shocked, for what seemed like an hour. At last he finally managed to move. "Bulma..." he whispered. "BULMA!"
~~End Flashback~~
And that had been the last time he had seen her, the picture clearly imprinted in his mind. Her hair flying in the air, her dazzling blue eyes widened with fright, and her arms clutched to her side by that-that thing. And she had been pleading, for him to stop it, for him to rescue her. But he wasn't strong enough, he wasn't fast enough, and because of that, he had lost her...
Vegeta remembered standing at the riverside, wanting to die. He had almost stepped into the river, too, but Trunks and Bra flashed through his mind. Then he knew he must stay, for their sake. He would not let them go parent- less.
A single tear made its way slowly down his cold face and dripped onto the frozen grass. *Bulma...*
~~`Inside the Capsule Corp.`~~
Trunks glanced out the window and sighed. *Looks like Dad is going to spend another night out there.* "Bra, come on, it's time for bed."
Bra stuck out her lip. "I know when it's my bedtime, thank you very much." Then she yawned. "Ok, NOW it's my bedtime."
Trunks tucked his little sister in. "Good night, Bra." He said softly.
"`Night, Trunks."
Trunks walked outside casually and sat down on the grass next to his father. "Brrrrrr! Dad, it's cold out here. You should go inside." He pointed out.
"Just leave me alone." Trunks had to strain to hear his father's voice. "I don't want to. It doesn't matter anyway."
Trunks sighed. "Please, Dad, Bra needs to be tucked in!" he pleaded, lying between his teeth.
"Do it yourself."
"Dad, please come in, for us? It's supposed to reach below zero tonight, and if you freeze, we'll be parent-less!" *I'm going to run out of excuses soon.*
Vegeta turned over on his side and slowly got up. *I've got a cramp from lying down so long. Maybe next time I should stay in the GR so no one will bother me.* Slowly he headed back toward Capsule Corp.
Trunks stared at the retreating short figure. *Poor Dad...*
~~`Later that night`~~ Vegeta turned and tossed in his bed. He just couldn't get to sleep tonight. He looked over at his side and instinctively looked away. *I still can't forget after five years. Bulma... why'd you leave?*
Finally Vegeta got out of bed and opened his closet. *I'll just clean out my closet. The brat has been nagging me to anyway.* Really he just wanted anything to take his mind off of her, but even he wouldn't admit that, not even to his self.
The first thing Vegeta pulled out from the closet was a red dress. Instantly he knew cleaning out the closet was a big mistake. Tears made their way to his eyes, unknown, as the saiyan held up the small dress. It was a simple one, yet beautiful. It hugged the wearer's body tightly and shone as the moonlight hit it. For a moment Vegeta could picture Bulma wearing it and whirling around, laughing, like the one time she had worn it on their anniversary. Just as quickly as he had seen it though, the vision disappeared and Vegeta was left holding a limp, lifeless dress.
A wave of an unknown feeling swept over Vegeta. Quickly he shoved the dress unceremoniously back into the closet. A small cry escaped his throat as he slid down with his back to the wall. *What is this feeling... that hurts so much?* He closed his eyes, but the feeling wouldn't go away. *Maybe I just need some fresh air.* Just then, a tape fell out of the closet and landed on his head. He kicked it away, made his way toward the balcony door, and shoved it open.
Vegeta stared at the stars. *Bulma... you can't be dead... some days I can almost feel you... where are you? Why haven't you come back?* "Bulma..." Then he fell asleep, exhausted, with his back on the glass door.
~~`The next morning`~~
"Daaaaaddddddddddyyyy!" Bra's scream echoed around the Capsule Corp.
Trunks yawned as he came into her room, rubbing his eyes. "Bra, what's... (yawn) wrong? It's 3:00 in the morning."
Bra whimpered fearfully. "I... had a bad dream... and Daddy was gone!"
Trunks shook his head. "Nah, that'd never happen. Dad would never leave. Go back to sleep, Bra." *Yea, you can probably sleep, but now I'm wide-awake! Geez!*
Bra shook her head. "No, Trunks, I'm still scared. Can we check in Daddy's room to see if he's there?"
Trunks sighed. "OK, Bra, come on. Lead the way."
Bra entered the room. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. "DADDY'S NOT HERE!"
Trunks became alert immediately, but dropped his guard after he saw Vegeta outside on the balcony. "No Bra, he's still here. Shhhh, look outside. But be quiet, I think he's sleeping."
Bra worked the door open carefully so Vegeta wouldn't fall in backwards. When she was outside, she studied Vegeta carefully, then snuggled up to him and fell asleep.
Trunks noticed that Vegeta's face became more relaxed when Bra did that. *He must think Bra's... someone else... I'll bet Mom did that all the time...* He tried to shut his mom out of his head. "Good night-or morning, shrimp," he whispered, resting a hand on his sister's head. "Good morning, Dad." He went back in.
~~`Later`~~
"BULMA!" Vegeta screamed.
Bra jolted awake. "Dadddy, are you OK?"
Vegeta panted heavily, trying to calm himself down by gripping the balcony bars. "I'm fine, Bra. Go get some breakfast. You should be hungry, it's really late."
Bra skipped downstairs.
"Why do I keep having that dream?" Vegeta said to himself. It's the same old one, where someone, always one of my enemies, snatches the woman away from me. And I can't do anything about it, because I'm as weak as those pathetic humans. And this time... it was Frieza. He laughed at me, and I saw her body lying on the ground... it was...so lifeless... and it looked so beaten up and abused..." He rested his head on the cold balcony bar. *No, I can't talk like that...*
"Hey, Vegeta!"
Vegeta looked up. He sighed. "What do you want, Kakarot?" he snapped.
"You know the party's today, right?"
"Who said I wanted to go to that foolish winter reunion at the old fool's house?"
Goku shrugged. "Just wanted to remind ya. Oh, by the way, I was really bored, and Chichi kicked me out for a little while cause I ate too much, so I was wondering... you wanna, um, spar for a little while?"
Vegeta stepped back. "No, Kakarot, I don't really want to see you get creamed by me, so I'll spare you the humiliation." He disappeared into the house.
Goku stayed there a little longer, wondering about Vegeta's attitude. "He's really taking this hard, if he's even lost all pleasure of sparring me."
~~`At Roshi's House`~~
"Oh no, we don't have enough food!"
"I'll go to the supermarket to get some!" Trunks volunteered.
"Thanks Trunks!" Krillin yelled over the noise. "The closest one is to the north!"
Trunks went outside and was about to start off when he spotted his father, sitting on the beach. "Dad, I'm going to the supermarket. Do you want to come?"
Vegeta appeared to be thinking about it. Slowly he got up and dusted the sand off. "It's not like I have anything else to do."
They headed off, their two twin trails of light fading away into the distance.
~~`At the supermarket`~~
Trunks looked around. *I can see why Dad never comes here. There are too many couples." He glanced at Vegeta, who was staring at the ground.
"Is that all we need?" Vegeta's voice was rough, almost as if he hadn't used it in a long time.
Trunks headed toward the cash register. "Yea."
The clerk blinked at the sight of the two men and the four carts of food. "That will be $250. Um, do you want a garbage bag- make that two- for all that?" Trunks answered yes, paid, and they lugged all the food outside onto the beach, preparing to fly off.
Just then, someone walking by caught Vegeta's eye. His jaw dropped. "B- Bulma?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Could this seemingly innocent passer-by really be the long-lost Bulma? Or is poor Vegeta just seeing things? Find out next time on DBZ!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, that's the end of the chapter! Review and you get the next one! For those of you who don't know my rule...
Chihan: 3r=1c. That is, three reviews gets you one fresh new chapter right off the word processor!
CG: So, please review or else!
Chihan: Else what?
CG: You're not supposed to ask that!
Chihan: What's it to you?
(The two start fighting)
Gohan: Um... (picks up pieces of script from the ground) 'Please review!' No wait, they already did that part... 'Until next time! See ya!'
Chihan: (By the way she's my muse and Gohan's twin sister) Like you have any...
CG: Just shut up, will ya? But anyway, here's my fic! I AM BACK!
Chihan: ...back again, CG's back, tell a friend...
CG: Geez, don't you ever give your mouth a break?
Chihan: Oh, so THAT'S what this big hole in my head is called! I was wondering how the sound came out of my body! (Starts experimenting with her mouth)
CG: (Bangs head on wall)
CG: Okkkkkkkkk, anyway, here are some things you should know.
"this means talking, duh"
*This means thoughts*
~~`Scene change`~~
(When I interrupt if so)
/Part of a song, me trying to put something in italics, or... ok, that should be all that means/
All righty, that's all you should know for now. But now... (drum roll) ON WITH THE STORY! Wait, I don't own DBZ. Ok. ON WITH THE STORY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: Five Long Years
The cold wind whistled eerily through the trees. It picked up some snow powder from the ground in its path, and kept on going, forever and ever until someone stopped it.
Tonight, that someone was Vegeta. He lay on the grass outside Capsule Corp. dressed in just his blue training spandex, not caring about the chilly weather. For him, physical things never mattered anymore. He had his own cold, freezing winter inside himself- just where his heart was.
Don't get me wrong, Vegeta's heart was still there. (Yes you people this is a long way after the Majin Buu Saga) But it lay, beating only enough to support the person it was inside, which was Vegeta. It could have been white, for all anyone knew, because Vegeta had given up love. He couldn't bear the pain of it anymore. He had known it would make him weak, but this... this was too much to handle. It hurt, so bad... and it was something even HE, the Prince of all Saiyans, couldn't control. It was the loss of someone he had once loved- no, still loved- that was, if she was still alive.
The person Vegeta had lost was his beautiful mate, Bulma. It had been five years ago, when Bra had just reached the age of preschool...
It hurt so much to even think about it. But think about it he did, every day since what had happened, and he couldn't stop it.
~~Flashback~~
Bulma and Vegeta were walking down a path in the park. *I still can't believe the woman brought me here. I'm hungry and I have a lot of training to do if I want to beat Kakarot.* "Why did you bring me here, woman?"
Bulma glanced at Vegeta. For a second Vegeta thought she was going to yell at him for calling her 'woman' again, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, she just stared at the path they were walking on. "Vegeta, I brought you here to tell you something."
He waited for her to go on. "Well, what is it?"
"Vegeta, I feel like someone's been watching me. I'm serious, Vegeta, don't laugh. I've actually found evidence. It's been in Capsule Corp. before, just outside our bedroom, next to the stairway, even outside the GR..." she shuddered. "Vegeta... this is no ordinary human. I analyzed the evidence in my lab before." She looked at Vegeta and was shocked to see some kind of a slight expression of worry on his face. "Vegeta, it's..."
Just then she let out a scream as an arm shot out of the bushes and grabbed Bulma around the neck. She tried to pry it from her neck, but it was too strong for her. "Vegeta!" she cried.
Vegeta sprang into action. Snarling with anger, he grabbed the arm and wrenched it from Bulma's neck, letting her breathe. He was about to pulverize who ever had touched Bulma when a beam shot out, hit him in the chest, and flung him back into a lamppost, bending it with the force.
"Vegeta..." she half-reached out in an attempt to reach him but was grabbed by the shadow who sprinted away.
Vegeta got up and followed the shadow through the forest, firing attack after attack, but when he reached the edge of the river he knew the horrible truth. Bulma was gone.
The shadow gave one last cold laugh before it disappeared into thin air, with Bulma in its clutches.
Vegeta stood, shocked, for what seemed like an hour. At last he finally managed to move. "Bulma..." he whispered. "BULMA!"
~~End Flashback~~
And that had been the last time he had seen her, the picture clearly imprinted in his mind. Her hair flying in the air, her dazzling blue eyes widened with fright, and her arms clutched to her side by that-that thing. And she had been pleading, for him to stop it, for him to rescue her. But he wasn't strong enough, he wasn't fast enough, and because of that, he had lost her...
Vegeta remembered standing at the riverside, wanting to die. He had almost stepped into the river, too, but Trunks and Bra flashed through his mind. Then he knew he must stay, for their sake. He would not let them go parent- less.
A single tear made its way slowly down his cold face and dripped onto the frozen grass. *Bulma...*
~~`Inside the Capsule Corp.`~~
Trunks glanced out the window and sighed. *Looks like Dad is going to spend another night out there.* "Bra, come on, it's time for bed."
Bra stuck out her lip. "I know when it's my bedtime, thank you very much." Then she yawned. "Ok, NOW it's my bedtime."
Trunks tucked his little sister in. "Good night, Bra." He said softly.
"`Night, Trunks."
Trunks walked outside casually and sat down on the grass next to his father. "Brrrrrr! Dad, it's cold out here. You should go inside." He pointed out.
"Just leave me alone." Trunks had to strain to hear his father's voice. "I don't want to. It doesn't matter anyway."
Trunks sighed. "Please, Dad, Bra needs to be tucked in!" he pleaded, lying between his teeth.
"Do it yourself."
"Dad, please come in, for us? It's supposed to reach below zero tonight, and if you freeze, we'll be parent-less!" *I'm going to run out of excuses soon.*
Vegeta turned over on his side and slowly got up. *I've got a cramp from lying down so long. Maybe next time I should stay in the GR so no one will bother me.* Slowly he headed back toward Capsule Corp.
Trunks stared at the retreating short figure. *Poor Dad...*
~~`Later that night`~~ Vegeta turned and tossed in his bed. He just couldn't get to sleep tonight. He looked over at his side and instinctively looked away. *I still can't forget after five years. Bulma... why'd you leave?*
Finally Vegeta got out of bed and opened his closet. *I'll just clean out my closet. The brat has been nagging me to anyway.* Really he just wanted anything to take his mind off of her, but even he wouldn't admit that, not even to his self.
The first thing Vegeta pulled out from the closet was a red dress. Instantly he knew cleaning out the closet was a big mistake. Tears made their way to his eyes, unknown, as the saiyan held up the small dress. It was a simple one, yet beautiful. It hugged the wearer's body tightly and shone as the moonlight hit it. For a moment Vegeta could picture Bulma wearing it and whirling around, laughing, like the one time she had worn it on their anniversary. Just as quickly as he had seen it though, the vision disappeared and Vegeta was left holding a limp, lifeless dress.
A wave of an unknown feeling swept over Vegeta. Quickly he shoved the dress unceremoniously back into the closet. A small cry escaped his throat as he slid down with his back to the wall. *What is this feeling... that hurts so much?* He closed his eyes, but the feeling wouldn't go away. *Maybe I just need some fresh air.* Just then, a tape fell out of the closet and landed on his head. He kicked it away, made his way toward the balcony door, and shoved it open.
Vegeta stared at the stars. *Bulma... you can't be dead... some days I can almost feel you... where are you? Why haven't you come back?* "Bulma..." Then he fell asleep, exhausted, with his back on the glass door.
~~`The next morning`~~
"Daaaaaddddddddddyyyy!" Bra's scream echoed around the Capsule Corp.
Trunks yawned as he came into her room, rubbing his eyes. "Bra, what's... (yawn) wrong? It's 3:00 in the morning."
Bra whimpered fearfully. "I... had a bad dream... and Daddy was gone!"
Trunks shook his head. "Nah, that'd never happen. Dad would never leave. Go back to sleep, Bra." *Yea, you can probably sleep, but now I'm wide-awake! Geez!*
Bra shook her head. "No, Trunks, I'm still scared. Can we check in Daddy's room to see if he's there?"
Trunks sighed. "OK, Bra, come on. Lead the way."
Bra entered the room. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. "DADDY'S NOT HERE!"
Trunks became alert immediately, but dropped his guard after he saw Vegeta outside on the balcony. "No Bra, he's still here. Shhhh, look outside. But be quiet, I think he's sleeping."
Bra worked the door open carefully so Vegeta wouldn't fall in backwards. When she was outside, she studied Vegeta carefully, then snuggled up to him and fell asleep.
Trunks noticed that Vegeta's face became more relaxed when Bra did that. *He must think Bra's... someone else... I'll bet Mom did that all the time...* He tried to shut his mom out of his head. "Good night-or morning, shrimp," he whispered, resting a hand on his sister's head. "Good morning, Dad." He went back in.
~~`Later`~~
"BULMA!" Vegeta screamed.
Bra jolted awake. "Dadddy, are you OK?"
Vegeta panted heavily, trying to calm himself down by gripping the balcony bars. "I'm fine, Bra. Go get some breakfast. You should be hungry, it's really late."
Bra skipped downstairs.
"Why do I keep having that dream?" Vegeta said to himself. It's the same old one, where someone, always one of my enemies, snatches the woman away from me. And I can't do anything about it, because I'm as weak as those pathetic humans. And this time... it was Frieza. He laughed at me, and I saw her body lying on the ground... it was...so lifeless... and it looked so beaten up and abused..." He rested his head on the cold balcony bar. *No, I can't talk like that...*
"Hey, Vegeta!"
Vegeta looked up. He sighed. "What do you want, Kakarot?" he snapped.
"You know the party's today, right?"
"Who said I wanted to go to that foolish winter reunion at the old fool's house?"
Goku shrugged. "Just wanted to remind ya. Oh, by the way, I was really bored, and Chichi kicked me out for a little while cause I ate too much, so I was wondering... you wanna, um, spar for a little while?"
Vegeta stepped back. "No, Kakarot, I don't really want to see you get creamed by me, so I'll spare you the humiliation." He disappeared into the house.
Goku stayed there a little longer, wondering about Vegeta's attitude. "He's really taking this hard, if he's even lost all pleasure of sparring me."
~~`At Roshi's House`~~
"Oh no, we don't have enough food!"
"I'll go to the supermarket to get some!" Trunks volunteered.
"Thanks Trunks!" Krillin yelled over the noise. "The closest one is to the north!"
Trunks went outside and was about to start off when he spotted his father, sitting on the beach. "Dad, I'm going to the supermarket. Do you want to come?"
Vegeta appeared to be thinking about it. Slowly he got up and dusted the sand off. "It's not like I have anything else to do."
They headed off, their two twin trails of light fading away into the distance.
~~`At the supermarket`~~
Trunks looked around. *I can see why Dad never comes here. There are too many couples." He glanced at Vegeta, who was staring at the ground.
"Is that all we need?" Vegeta's voice was rough, almost as if he hadn't used it in a long time.
Trunks headed toward the cash register. "Yea."
The clerk blinked at the sight of the two men and the four carts of food. "That will be $250. Um, do you want a garbage bag- make that two- for all that?" Trunks answered yes, paid, and they lugged all the food outside onto the beach, preparing to fly off.
Just then, someone walking by caught Vegeta's eye. His jaw dropped. "B- Bulma?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Could this seemingly innocent passer-by really be the long-lost Bulma? Or is poor Vegeta just seeing things? Find out next time on DBZ!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, that's the end of the chapter! Review and you get the next one! For those of you who don't know my rule...
Chihan: 3r=1c. That is, three reviews gets you one fresh new chapter right off the word processor!
CG: So, please review or else!
Chihan: Else what?
CG: You're not supposed to ask that!
Chihan: What's it to you?
(The two start fighting)
Gohan: Um... (picks up pieces of script from the ground) 'Please review!' No wait, they already did that part... 'Until next time! See ya!'
