The Past Returns

Part Seven

Goku found Vegeta in the kitchen of the ship eating at the large rectangular table that was overwhelmed with all the dishes the Saiyan Prince piled on it. The robot servants at Capsule Corp cooked hundreds of dishes that would last for everyone going on the trip. With five Saiyans on board, eight huge refrigerators were required for this trip as well as a separate storage room that stored food that didn't need to be refrigerated.

The Saiyan Prince was enjoying the pleasant solitude of eating alone until he felt Goku's presence in the room. He looked over at the doorway and saw Goku practically drooling at all the food on the table.

"Oh, wow. Look at all the food!" Goku licked his lips excited and Vegeta rolled his eyes. Goku grabbed several plates out of the cabinet, a six pack of soda from the refrigerator, sat at the table with Vegeta and quickly piled food on his plates.

"Kakarot, this is my food."

"Aw, bwut thlpre's so mwch," Goku said with a mouthful of food.

"Swallow and then speak, Kakarot," Vegeta said agitated. "Idiot," he muttered before putting some egg rolls in his mouth.

Goku swallowed his food and smiled cheerfully. "I said there's so much."

Vegeta watched Goku as he resumed eating. The younger Saiyan didn't eat his food. He inhaled his food. 'Doesn't he know how to chew? How does she put up with it? I can't believe I put up with it for four months.'

Goku only used his eating as a cover up to what he really wanted to discuss with Vegeta. After hearing Vegeta's response that he will go on this trip, Goku was left wondering what was the real intention of the Saiyan Prince's decision to come on this trip. He never had time to ask until now where they were alone and no worries of Gogeta entering since he told his father that he was going to train alone in the gravity room. "So, the only reason you're coming on this mission is to get revenge on the woman who defeated you?" Goku asked before putting a roll in his mouth.

"Lucky, Kakarot," Vegeta reminded him. "She got lucky and yes."

"There's nothing else?" Goku pursued cautiously. At Vegeta's pause before taking another bite of his chicken casserole, Goku knew Vegeta knew exactly what he was talking about. After that talk in the gravity room nearly nineteen years ago, Vegeta never said anything about his feelings for Chi-Chi except Goku needn't worry because he wasn't one to interfere. A lot of things could be said to describe Vegeta but one of the things that went with Vegeta was that he had his pride and honor and he knew it would be shameful to pursue a woman that was already taken and not share mutual feelings for him.

Vegeta's only response to Goku's words on the delicate topic was a death glare that would intimidate anyone but Goku and Chi-Chi. He resumed his eating in silence.

Goku knew that glare was Vegeta's answer and it was for Goku to back off because he wasn't going to answer. Still, out of that, Goku knew. "Well, I appreciate you coming, Vegeta. It really helps our chances in defeating Apollo and his forces."

"Surely, you don't have any doubts about us winning," Vegeta sneered at Goku.

"No, but with you coming along, we have a better advantage."

There was another round of silence as the Saiyans ate. "Vegeta, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"It doesn't mean I have to answer," Vegeta said as he ate his food.

"I was wondering if there was some kind of connection a Saiyan has with his partner. I was the only one to have felt Chi-Chi's pain."

"It's because of the bond, you idiot," Vegeta muttered.

"A bond? Is that some kind of marking?" Goku asked.

"Not for Saiyans. It's something developed over time. Several things can happen through a bond such as telepathy, feeling the other's pain and emotions. Feeling your partner's physical pain is the first sign of the bond, then there's the reading of minds and later on you as your relationship deepens you feel the emotional pain as well. Nappa and Raditz explained the whole bonding process to me since I was taken from Planet Vegeta as a child and didn't know everything about my own people. He told me the longer you are with this person, the deeper and more powerful it becomes. He told me it can even protect a bonded couple though I don't know what he meant about that."

"Oh," Goku said. "That'll explain a few things. I guess there are still things about Saiyans I don't know about. I didn't know until five years ago about the slow aging. Is it the other way around? Can Chi-Chi feel my pain?"

"She's human, not a Saiyan, so the chances are slim."

Goku pushed his empty plates aside as a thoughtful expression crossed his handsome face. "The last time I felt her pain were hours ago. Now…I feel nothing. I know she's alive but there's something wrong. Something doesn't feel right. I was wondering if you had any ideas on what it could be."

"Considering I'm not bonded with Chi-Chi, the answer would be an obvious no."

"So, you don't know?" Goku asked.

Vegeta glared at Goku annoyed. "Idiot! Didn't you hear what I said?!"

"Oh, I thought you were being sarcastic." Goku shrugged his muscled shoulders. "Oh, well. I thought I should ask since you know all there is about Saiyans."

"Are you through questioning me? Can I eat in silence now?"

"Um, sure, but I need to ask you one more thing." Goku looked back at the door making sure it was closed and then back at Vegeta. "Do you think we should tell Gogeta about you being his father, too?" He asked in a whispered tone. "We were going to do it on his birthday."

Vegeta placed the pork chop he was about to put in his mouth back on the plate. "I think you and I can agree that now is not the time. We should wait until Chi-Chi is back. Gogeta doesn't need to know now. He's upset with his mother being captured. If he knows about me being his father…it's too much for him now."

Goku put his hands behind his head looking relaxed. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that, but I think he can handle it just fine. He'll be shock and confused but I think Gogeta can handle it."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. Leave it up to Goku to be the positive one. The doors opened and Trunks entered the room. "Oh, I thought you were here alone, Dad. I'll come back later."

"Nah, Trunks. It's okay," Goku said rising from his seat and leaving the room. "I was just leaving."

Once the doors closed, Trunks sat in the seat once occupied by Goku.

"Ami told me that we should be arriving on Olympus in several days. Anxious for a rematch?"

"It won't be that," Vegeta said polishing off his pork chop and then putting another one in his mouth. "It'll be a slaughtering."

"That is why you're coming, right? To get revenge on that woman that defeated--" he saw the glare from his father, "um, got lucky."

'Not him, too,' Vegeta inwardly groaned at the thought. Vegeta raised an annoyed eyebrow at his son. "What are you insinuating?"

Trunks half rolled his eyes. "I don't need to spell it out, Dad." Vegeta stared at him as if he did. "Starts with a 'C'. Ends in an 'I'."

"This has nothing to do with Chi-Chi! First Kakarot and now you! I'm tired of these interrogations!" Vegeta roared angrily. He slammed his fist on the table to emphasize his point, which led to the table breaking and crashing on the floor.

Trunks knew his father had a quick temper but there was more to it which made Trunks believe it had something to do with Chi-Chi. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh, riiight," he said slowly not believing his father.

"And what does that mean?!" Vegeta asked irritably.

Trunks put his hands up to protect himself from any possible attack from his father and said meekly. "Nothing."

Upon hearing the crash, the doors opened and Ami stepped in the room. She saw the table and food on the floor. "Saiyans," Ami muttered rolling her eyes and glared at the two. "Can't you two control your monstrous strength? You two are cleaning up this mess and fixing this table." And with that, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room.

Vegeta rose from his chair and headed for the door. "You're cleaning this up."

"Me?" Trunks sputtered. "But I didn't do it. You did."

"You provoked me." He paused at the doorway and smirked at him. "I'll clean it up if you think you could beat me in a fight."

Trunks knew his father had him there and he regretted lacking in his training, but running Capsule Corp. took up his time. Well, dating and hanging out with Goten and Gogeta took up his time, too. "No, I'll clean it up."

"Maybe this would make you train more," Vegeta mocked before leaving the room.

****

Gogeta headed to the gravity room in plans for two hours of solitary training. With everyone on the ship for a while, it left everyone with little to do. There weren't any valleys for them to fly over, lakes for anyone to catch a fish, trees to pick apples from or take a nap under the shade trees provided. They only had each other to talk to, a gravity room, kitchen, rec room to keep their minds occupied. There were windows where they could look out in the darkness of space with several stars moving at a blur from the speed they were traveling.

When the gravity room doors opened, Gogeta was surprised to find Iris in the room fighting alone. She mentioned about her brother being a fighter as well as other fighters but he hadn't considered her to be one. Her delicate features distracted him from that possibility.

She was very sleek and graceful in every fighting pose she made. He wondered how she would stand up against him. Fighting someone new would be a challenge he noted, even if it was a woman.

Iris didn't notice Gogeta was in the room until she swung a leg in the air and her ankle was caught by Gogeta. Without thinking, Iris swung her other leg in the air and kicked Gogeta in the face with the full force of her leg. Not expecting that attack, Gogeta released Iris and fell back. Iris was ready to attack again but relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Gogeta? Oh, I didn't know you were in here. I have to be on guard all the time on Olympus and when I was fighting, I was picturing myself there."

Gogeta underestimated Iris again as he rubbed the side of his face. For a delicate looking woman, she sure was strong. Gogeta smiled at the thought as he was reminded of his mother. Goku told his son the same thing about Chi-Chi as a child. "So, everyone's trying to kill you wherever you go?" Gogeta asked as he stood. "That's a lot of people."

"I'm the only one who goes against my brother's wishes and Apollo's always hated me," Iris explained.

"That's a strange brother/sister relationship you got. I couldn't imagine myself hating my brothers. They're the best," Gogeta said as he walked over to the gravity machine to read what level she was training on. He blinked in surprise as he read the level--500 times gravity. He looked Iris over who was wearing a blue Saiyan suit. Ami must have loaned it to her. No way Vegeta would. Aside from how the attire reflected her feminine but athletic figure, Gogeta noticed Iris wasn't breaking a sweat or breathing heavily. She was good.

"How long have you been at this?" Gogeta asked.

Iris looked over at the machine. "According to this machine, two hours. Why?"

Two hours and not sweating or slowing the least bit of fatigue? Gogeta was impressed. Who was this woman? "Wanna spar?"

"All right," she said and got in a stance.

The two began fighting; throwing blocks and kicks in the air. Iris got in a sharp kick to Gogeta's stomach, Gogeta got in a sharp punch to Iris' face. Gogeta noticed Iris had great agility and quick reflexes. She was giving him trouble but he was still in his normal mode and not in his Super Saiyan mode.

Gogeta tried to kick Iris in the face but she avoided the attack with a back flip. Gogeta was fast on her as he caught her arm in the middle of her back flip and swung her towards a wall. Iris caught herself on the wall, moved her legs quickly to kicked Gogeta but he put up an arm to block her. The kicks, punches and dodges resumed until Gogeta caught Iris from behind in a bear hug.

"Ha! Gotcha!"

"That's what you think," Iris said and elbowed Gogeta hard in the chest. It didn't faze him.

"You were saying?" Gogeta smirked.

Iris smirked as well and her silver eyes sparkled. It was fun to actually spar with someone and know it wasn't serious with her life at stake. That's all her fights were before she came to Earth--kill or be killed. She elbowed Gogeta from behind on his stomach as hard as she could. Gogeta held her firmly. She repeated it again and again. Iris heard a pained grunt from Gogeta. He was starting to hurt. She kept at it until his grip loosened under her repetitive hits. After the twelfth hit, Gogeta was left with no choice but to release her unless he wanted a broken rib. Iris used one of her legs to trip Gogeta. Gogeta caught himself from falling by balancing his body on one hand. Iris used the maneuver to her advantage by grabbing Gogeta's left leg and throwing him on the other side of the room.

Gogeta slammed hard into wall. So much so he could knew a crack formed where his head crashed. Instead of being angry like Vegeta would've been, he smiled. "Wow. You're strong. I'm impress but I'm still much stronger."

"Is that a fact?" Iris said as she approached him.

Gogeta stood and stretched. He twisted exercising his waist a few times and then stood on his hands to do pushups. Gracefully, landing on his feet, Gogeta stretched his legs. "Dad always told me to stretch well before I get into a good fight," he laughed excitedly. "I didn't think I'd have to, but I must ascend higher in order to defeat you. This is gonna be fun," Gogeta said as he stood and transformed into a Super Saiyan.

Iris gasped and stepped back. She had never seen a transformation like that. How in the world could someone have black hair and black eyes one minute and then blonde hair and teal eyes the next. "What the… what is that? What did you do? What are you?" she babbled.

Gogeta laughed at her surprise. "I transformed into a Super Saiyan."

"Super Saiyan?"

"Yeah, I'm faster and stronger than I was before when my hair was black."

Iris felt the amazing rise in power and knew Gogeta had surpassed her strength. "You're faster and stronger now…in this form?" She stepped forward calmly and touched his hair. Iris stared at his hair curiously as she ran her fingers through it. It caused a strange rush of heat to pass through Gogeta's body and he stepped back surprised by the affect. Iris didn't seem to have noticed. "Your hair and…" she looked at his face. "Your eyes. They've changed colors. This is what happens when one transforms into a Super Saiyan?"

"Yep," Gogeta said still reeling from her touch.

Iris smiled in awe. "Amazing. I never knew Saiyans had that kind of ability. I knew you were strong but… I'm now even more confident that you can defeat my brother. He is a lot stronger than me so you may have trouble fighting Apollo in this form."

"I'm not worried," Gogeta said confidently. "Being the son of the strongest man in the universe, has its perks."

"Is your father as strong as you?" Iris asked.

"Dad is still stronger. He can transform into Super Saiyan Three. I can't do that yet, but I'm trying. I can only go as high as Super Saiyan Two. That was a hard level to reach."

"Super Saiyan Two? Three? How many levels are there?"

Gogeta shrugged. "I don't know. My Dad didn't know there was a Super Saiyan Three until he made it."

"Is that transformation the same as this?" Iris asked.

"No, it takes more time to reach that power. Plus, you look completely different. As a Super Saiyan Three, Dad didn't have any eyebrows and his hair was spiky like this," he said pointing to his hair, "and it's longer stretching to his hips."

"Wow." Iris was in awe. "Since your Dad is stronger, it may be best if he fought Apollo then."

"No," Gogeta shook his head firmly. "Dad has been in enough fights to last him a lifetime. Dad told me once he can't do this forever and it's time for a new generation of fighters to be the hero. We can't keep relying on the same heroes to save the day when we can do it ourselves if we work hard enough. It struck a cord with me and I told my Dad I would take his place. Apollo would be a great challenge to me and if I can defeat him without my father's help, then I have surely taken my Dad's place as a hero and protector."

Iris took in all that Gogeta said and it amazed her that someone thought this way. "That does make sense. That's a very thoughtful and noble idea, Gogeta. Your uncle doesn't come off as that benevolent, but is he as strong as you?"

"Uncle?" Gogeta repeated. "I don't have an uncle."

"You don't?" Iris said surprised. "What about Vegeta?"

"What about him?" Gogeta asked. "He's not my uncle. He's a friend of the family."

"You mean you're not related to him?" Iris asked.

"Related? To Vegeta? I may have Saiyan blood like him but I get that from my father, Goku. He and Vegeta are the last Saiyans left and they are not related. Why did you ask?"

"Oh," Iris began and put her hands behind her back nervously. "Nothing."

"No," Gogeta said sternly. "Come on. Tell me. You must have a reason to ask that question."

"Well," Iris started. "It's just that there's a resemblance between you and Vegeta."

"A resemblance?"

"Yes. It's very obvious. It's so strong in your face, in your eyes sometimes and then there's the name."

"What about my name?" Gogeta sounded offended.

"I didn't mean to insult," Iris apologized. "But come on. Gogeta. Vegeta. It sounds too close to not mean anything. Did you ever ask your parents about your name?"

"No," Gogeta said. "It's just a name. Did you ask your mother how you got the name Iris?" he shot back.

Iris looked insulted and replied tersely. "My mother died when I was a newborn."

Gogeta inwardly wince now remembering. He felt bad for getting mad at her when there was nothing to get upset about. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I forgot."

"I should apologize as well for getting you upset," Iris stated as she ran a hand through her soft, sable hair. "I didn't mean to. I'm not even sure how I got you upset." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two before Iris spoke. "Well, I guess I'll take a quick shower and take a nap. I'll see you later."

Gogeta watched Iris leave and scratched his head completely bewildered. 'Why would she think that Vegeta and I are related?' "Vegeta. Gogeta." He said the names aloud. "Now that Iris mention it, there is a resemblance but it doesn't mean Vegeta and I are related."

Iris spotted Vegeta in the hall as she made her way to her room. 'There are some strange similarities between the two. It can't be a coincidence.' "Hello, Vegeta," she said kindly. Vegeta only grunted and walked passed her. "I was talking to Gogeta just moments ago. Is it me or is there a resemblance between the two of you?"

At Iris' words, Vegeta stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head slightly in her direction. "Gogeta and I share no resemblance. Where did you get crazy notion?"

"You share similar facial traits. Have you even notice that when Gogeta smirks he looks a lot like you?"

"Stay out of business that doesn't concern you," Vegeta ordered. "You're only here to get us to Olympus and help find Chi-Chi. Once we do that, just stay out of our lives and find one of your own when we're through pulverizing Apollo and his minions."

Iris watched as Vegeta disappeared down the hall. She had a feeling something was going on and her suspicions were correct. 'Is it possible that Vegeta is Gogeta's biological father and not Goku? There's a resemblance but Gogeta also share traits from Goku. Goku and Gogeta seem to love Chi-Chi so much. She couldn't have possibly betrayed her husband, could she? What exactly is going on here?'

To Be Continued

Sadako: I'm that way. I'm worse when it comes to reviews! I may read a story and forget to review because it's so late at night when I read them. I think ChiChi will always be a fighter. She might not be as strong as she used to be but she can kick butt every now and then.

Sammi: See! I knew it! I knew it! Piccolo does like you! After all this time of saying how annoying you are, he comes back. He's just using the water as an excuse to see you. Aww! Goku, don't you think Vegeta is annoying sometimes when he goes into his ranting that he is the great Saiyan Prince and he will not be defeated over and over. ChiChi, I have never seen you in the series hit Goku with a frying pan so where did this frying pan of doom come from? Hee. Hee.

Xephon: It's coming. Not soon since I'm updating weekly. I just have to build certain things up first before we get to it. You won't be disappointed.

Lady Athena: What's going to happen to ChiChi? She's going to get pregnant by Apollo! ::sees Goku behind me:: I was kidding. I already told you what will happen. Nope, Gohan and 18 are on Earth. With DB/DBZ I take what I can get from that show. Anything remotely romantic or sweet is a miracle to me.

GD: You're going to love the next chapter then because it involves ChiChi.

Moon Girl: The next chapter you will want to hurt me.

Gogirl: Mwahahaha! That's what you get for underestimating how evil I can be. I think I saw something about the Princess Bride on 'I Love the 80s Strikes Back'. ChiChi looked very pretty in her dress. Smack your little brother for me for saying ChiChi looked old.

Midnight Goddess: Hey, welcome back!! I think Vegeta broke your computer after reading his butt getting kick by a woman in Part Three of this story.

CB: He doesn't to see her suffer but it's so much fun writing it. Good luck on your finals!

Lady Kouga: Wow and all this time I thought you were on the west coast reading this. East coast rules!