A/N: This chapter would be hard to follow if I just put all the talking inside of "" so instead, once the 'others' start to appear they'll each have their own 'voice'. i.e. the first one is *this* and each next one is different. The real/original will use the basic "". It'll make sense as you read. When he's not talking to himself it'll be easier to follow the "" for both so that's what I'll use there. Trust me, this will make sense.
Chapter twenty-nine - Visions
Everywhere was darkness, nothing but pitch black darkness. He could feel it pressing against him, forcing his body down, pressing it into the ground, suffocating him. He tried to move his arms but the weight of the darkness held them down, pinned them to the ground. His chest heaved up and down as his lungs strained to pull air in though the darkness, strained to push the darkness away, to give room for the air.
I thick sound, muffled and distorted by the darkness, tried to make it through, to make it to his ears, to be understood. He focused his mind on hearing, he couldn't see anyway. He concentrated intently on hearing the sound, on understanding what it said, what it was, why it was, and how it got through the darkness.
*Get up.* was the sound. Distorted and muffled by the darkness it was hard to her a tone of voice yet he felt an urgency to it, and an anger. *Get up.* the sound came again. He pulled at his arms, struggled to lift them up, to slide them to the side. He strained to lift his body, to sit himself up but the darkness just pushed back down with even more force. *Get up.* The sound ordered him more forcefully than before, cutting through the darkness clearly now.
"What is this?" Vegeta asked himself staring up into the dark. "I can't move, I can barely breathe, and I'm hearing my own voice order me around."
Suddenly the darkness seemed to pull back, to shrink away from him, to lift into the air and leave him laying. Only he wasn't laying on the ground anymore, he was on his feet standing. The pressure was gone, and so was the darkness. Still nothing surrounded him, just empty space. Suddenly the air before him shimmered and he appeared. It was strange looking at himself.
*Give up already?* the other him asked. His voice had a strange echoing quality to it, not like it was bouncing off of anything but more like there were multiple voices, each identical to the other except in pitch, and just a fraction of a second off from being simultaneous.
"Give up? Who are you? What are you? Where am I?"
The other laughed but it was a new voice, from behind, that spoke. This too had that strange echoing quality. +So many questions, yet you haven't answered ours yet.+ Vegeta turned around to find himself staring at himself again, only this one was a Super Sai-jin. +This is limbo, and you are on the verge of death.+
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Again it was a new echoing voice that spoke, {Face it, you weren't enough to handle Buu. You've never been enough. All your talk of power and blood-line, it's always been just that, talk.} Vegeta spun again and saw himself again, this time at level two. {Always one step ahead of you, everyone's always just one step ahead of you.}
-=Poor Vegeta.=- yet another voice mocked. Again the Sai-jin prince turned to confront yet another version of himself, this one at level three. -=You know you don't have any real power, don't you? You've always been nothing, a nobody, prince or not, and you always will be.=-
"No! I am Vegeta! Prince, no, King, of all Sai-jins!"
+Oh, look at me, big strong Vegeta.+ the others all laughed and faded away. Now a new voice came, one that sent shivers down his spine.
"Poor stupid monkey. Always so lost and alone. They're right you know. You're a nothing, a nobody, a fly on the windshield deserves more attention and respect then you."
"F.. F.. Frieza!" he cried turning to see the tyrant standing, fully transformed before him.
"You lost Vegeta. I killed you on Namek. It took Kakkarotto to defeat me because you didn't have the power." Frieza smiled and laughed. "You're nothing but a pathetic monkey."
"Power! You want to see power!" he cried and charged in toward Frieza only to be stopped by the aliens tail wrapping around his throat.
"Pitiful Sai-jin. You don't deserve my wrath."
"Y.. you..." Vegeta choked out. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Frieza went flying and then vanished leaving Vegeta behind, and Goku before him. "You!" he shouted. "This is all your doing! All your fault! I was the greatest Sai-jin in the universe, the mightiest of them all until you came along!"
"No Vegeta." Goku's voice spoke softly. "Greatness only comes to the deserving, the honorable. You've never been either." and Goku vanished.
"Come back here Kakkarotto! I'm not done with you!"
"VEGETA!" Goku's voice rang out harsh and angry behind the proud Sai-jin. He turned to see Goku transformed, a level three Super Sai-jin. "You know this is true Vegeta, if you've made it this far then so have I. Beyond it even. I've always been better than you, stronger than you, and always will be."
"You're nothing but a low class..."
"I am the son of Bardock, Brother of King Vegeta. The real King Vegeta."
Again Goku faded. Only this time he wasn't replaced by another person but by an event. Vegeta stood and bore witness to his first battle against Goku. He saw, for the first time, what Goku fought with and for. The scenes flashed by quickly and were gone. Then it was the Cell games again and Goku sacrificed his own life so that those he cared about would live.
But what had he, the Prince of all Sai-jins done? Nothing. There was a sudden flash of gold light as an energy beam sped past his face. He turned to look and saw the beam cut through Mirai. He saw his desperate assault against Cell, his attempt at revenge... and felt the restraints. He'd been mad at Cell, saddened by his son's death, yet he could feel the restraint of emotions. Still, even with what had happened the Proud Sai-jin had refused to let all emotion through the barrier.
And he saw Gohan take the attack meant to kill him, saw Gohan stand off against Cell with only one good arm, and then was bathed in pink as he witnessed once more Majin Buu's attack. The one that nearly killed him.
He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. "You're a Sai-jin Vegeta, but even Sai-jins have limits and emotions." It was Goku's voice again, soft and gentle. Then his four alternates appeared again as the hand on his shoulder faded away. Behind them a silhouette stood, large and dark against the empty whiteness that surrounded him.
-=Am I truly what you desired? Do I exist only because you want power? Can you be happy with only power?=-
"I thought once that power was everything... that it was all that mattered."
*And now? Now that you've seen all, felt all?*
"What more is there for me?"
He felt a tugging at his pant leg and looked down to find Trunks staring up at him with tears in his eyes. He looked up again and saw Bulma standing behind the 'others' staring at him.
{I'd say you have a lot to lose, or do they mean nothing to you?}
"I have no heart, no emotions."
"Wrong Vegeta." Bulma said walking up. "I love you... and you love me. You just wont admit that you have feelings. You've always thought they made you weaker...."
"You heard Hiroshi." Goku's voice said as he appeared again. "Let go of the anger Vegeta. Let go of the hate."
"I... I can't, it's all I have."
"What about me?" Asked Trunks.
A laughing filled the emptiness about him. Sinister and childish at the same time, and a form took shape between his other selves and the large shadow. The large pink form of Majin Buu. "You die now!" it cried. "You all die now!"
Bulma turned toward Buu as the pink creature charged toward her. "Vegeta!"
And time froze. Buu stopped moving, the sound of Bulma's scream hung in the air, Trunks was locked in his fighting stance, and nothing moved. Vegeta's eyes locked on Majin Buu's face and an emptiness consumed him. He reached inside himself for the power he'd always called upon but found nothing. There was nothing there. No more hatred of Frieza, no more hatred of Goku, of Cell or the Androids, or of destiny. It was gone, it was all gone and he had nothing.
Time began to flow again but slowly, ever so slowly. He tried to move, tried to go forward, tried to do anything to save Bulma but he couldn't. He was trapped again, barely able to breathe, unable to move. And there was a flash and a crack and she was gone. She was gone. Bulma fell to the ground and she was gone. Gone like the power he'd tried to draw upon. And a new emptiness consumed him, but a power filled him too.
Gone, just gone. But the power, such power. "I can't... she's counting on me... my son... Bulma... no... I'm not strong enough... I can't... I... please..."
The silhouette shifted, changed, and became clear. It was again another form of Vegeta, the ape, the Oozaru. The other Vegeta's all lifted into the air and floated backward, floated toward the ape. -=It's all in you Vegeta. We are you, but you can't be divided and strong at the same time. We are you, but there can be only one of us.=-
"Only one? I don't... I don't understand?! What do you mean!"
The giant ape roared as the four Vegeta's faded into it's massive body and the image of Buu faded.
A new voice came to him. Familiar, yet different. A voice he knew, yet didn't. "Have you forgotten me Vegeta?" it laughed. "We still have things to settle, you and I." Another silhouette took form. Strangely familiar but he could place no person to the shape. "Come now Sai-jin, where's that power you boasted to me before? Or should I say, to Frieza?"
"Gla... Glacier!?"
It's laugh echoed through the emptiness as Vegeta collapsed to the ground in sudden agony.
Chapter twenty-nine - Visions
Everywhere was darkness, nothing but pitch black darkness. He could feel it pressing against him, forcing his body down, pressing it into the ground, suffocating him. He tried to move his arms but the weight of the darkness held them down, pinned them to the ground. His chest heaved up and down as his lungs strained to pull air in though the darkness, strained to push the darkness away, to give room for the air.
I thick sound, muffled and distorted by the darkness, tried to make it through, to make it to his ears, to be understood. He focused his mind on hearing, he couldn't see anyway. He concentrated intently on hearing the sound, on understanding what it said, what it was, why it was, and how it got through the darkness.
*Get up.* was the sound. Distorted and muffled by the darkness it was hard to her a tone of voice yet he felt an urgency to it, and an anger. *Get up.* the sound came again. He pulled at his arms, struggled to lift them up, to slide them to the side. He strained to lift his body, to sit himself up but the darkness just pushed back down with even more force. *Get up.* The sound ordered him more forcefully than before, cutting through the darkness clearly now.
"What is this?" Vegeta asked himself staring up into the dark. "I can't move, I can barely breathe, and I'm hearing my own voice order me around."
Suddenly the darkness seemed to pull back, to shrink away from him, to lift into the air and leave him laying. Only he wasn't laying on the ground anymore, he was on his feet standing. The pressure was gone, and so was the darkness. Still nothing surrounded him, just empty space. Suddenly the air before him shimmered and he appeared. It was strange looking at himself.
*Give up already?* the other him asked. His voice had a strange echoing quality to it, not like it was bouncing off of anything but more like there were multiple voices, each identical to the other except in pitch, and just a fraction of a second off from being simultaneous.
"Give up? Who are you? What are you? Where am I?"
The other laughed but it was a new voice, from behind, that spoke. This too had that strange echoing quality. +So many questions, yet you haven't answered ours yet.+ Vegeta turned around to find himself staring at himself again, only this one was a Super Sai-jin. +This is limbo, and you are on the verge of death.+
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Again it was a new echoing voice that spoke, {Face it, you weren't enough to handle Buu. You've never been enough. All your talk of power and blood-line, it's always been just that, talk.} Vegeta spun again and saw himself again, this time at level two. {Always one step ahead of you, everyone's always just one step ahead of you.}
-=Poor Vegeta.=- yet another voice mocked. Again the Sai-jin prince turned to confront yet another version of himself, this one at level three. -=You know you don't have any real power, don't you? You've always been nothing, a nobody, prince or not, and you always will be.=-
"No! I am Vegeta! Prince, no, King, of all Sai-jins!"
+Oh, look at me, big strong Vegeta.+ the others all laughed and faded away. Now a new voice came, one that sent shivers down his spine.
"Poor stupid monkey. Always so lost and alone. They're right you know. You're a nothing, a nobody, a fly on the windshield deserves more attention and respect then you."
"F.. F.. Frieza!" he cried turning to see the tyrant standing, fully transformed before him.
"You lost Vegeta. I killed you on Namek. It took Kakkarotto to defeat me because you didn't have the power." Frieza smiled and laughed. "You're nothing but a pathetic monkey."
"Power! You want to see power!" he cried and charged in toward Frieza only to be stopped by the aliens tail wrapping around his throat.
"Pitiful Sai-jin. You don't deserve my wrath."
"Y.. you..." Vegeta choked out. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Frieza went flying and then vanished leaving Vegeta behind, and Goku before him. "You!" he shouted. "This is all your doing! All your fault! I was the greatest Sai-jin in the universe, the mightiest of them all until you came along!"
"No Vegeta." Goku's voice spoke softly. "Greatness only comes to the deserving, the honorable. You've never been either." and Goku vanished.
"Come back here Kakkarotto! I'm not done with you!"
"VEGETA!" Goku's voice rang out harsh and angry behind the proud Sai-jin. He turned to see Goku transformed, a level three Super Sai-jin. "You know this is true Vegeta, if you've made it this far then so have I. Beyond it even. I've always been better than you, stronger than you, and always will be."
"You're nothing but a low class..."
"I am the son of Bardock, Brother of King Vegeta. The real King Vegeta."
Again Goku faded. Only this time he wasn't replaced by another person but by an event. Vegeta stood and bore witness to his first battle against Goku. He saw, for the first time, what Goku fought with and for. The scenes flashed by quickly and were gone. Then it was the Cell games again and Goku sacrificed his own life so that those he cared about would live.
But what had he, the Prince of all Sai-jins done? Nothing. There was a sudden flash of gold light as an energy beam sped past his face. He turned to look and saw the beam cut through Mirai. He saw his desperate assault against Cell, his attempt at revenge... and felt the restraints. He'd been mad at Cell, saddened by his son's death, yet he could feel the restraint of emotions. Still, even with what had happened the Proud Sai-jin had refused to let all emotion through the barrier.
And he saw Gohan take the attack meant to kill him, saw Gohan stand off against Cell with only one good arm, and then was bathed in pink as he witnessed once more Majin Buu's attack. The one that nearly killed him.
He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. "You're a Sai-jin Vegeta, but even Sai-jins have limits and emotions." It was Goku's voice again, soft and gentle. Then his four alternates appeared again as the hand on his shoulder faded away. Behind them a silhouette stood, large and dark against the empty whiteness that surrounded him.
-=Am I truly what you desired? Do I exist only because you want power? Can you be happy with only power?=-
"I thought once that power was everything... that it was all that mattered."
*And now? Now that you've seen all, felt all?*
"What more is there for me?"
He felt a tugging at his pant leg and looked down to find Trunks staring up at him with tears in his eyes. He looked up again and saw Bulma standing behind the 'others' staring at him.
{I'd say you have a lot to lose, or do they mean nothing to you?}
"I have no heart, no emotions."
"Wrong Vegeta." Bulma said walking up. "I love you... and you love me. You just wont admit that you have feelings. You've always thought they made you weaker...."
"You heard Hiroshi." Goku's voice said as he appeared again. "Let go of the anger Vegeta. Let go of the hate."
"I... I can't, it's all I have."
"What about me?" Asked Trunks.
A laughing filled the emptiness about him. Sinister and childish at the same time, and a form took shape between his other selves and the large shadow. The large pink form of Majin Buu. "You die now!" it cried. "You all die now!"
Bulma turned toward Buu as the pink creature charged toward her. "Vegeta!"
And time froze. Buu stopped moving, the sound of Bulma's scream hung in the air, Trunks was locked in his fighting stance, and nothing moved. Vegeta's eyes locked on Majin Buu's face and an emptiness consumed him. He reached inside himself for the power he'd always called upon but found nothing. There was nothing there. No more hatred of Frieza, no more hatred of Goku, of Cell or the Androids, or of destiny. It was gone, it was all gone and he had nothing.
Time began to flow again but slowly, ever so slowly. He tried to move, tried to go forward, tried to do anything to save Bulma but he couldn't. He was trapped again, barely able to breathe, unable to move. And there was a flash and a crack and she was gone. She was gone. Bulma fell to the ground and she was gone. Gone like the power he'd tried to draw upon. And a new emptiness consumed him, but a power filled him too.
Gone, just gone. But the power, such power. "I can't... she's counting on me... my son... Bulma... no... I'm not strong enough... I can't... I... please..."
The silhouette shifted, changed, and became clear. It was again another form of Vegeta, the ape, the Oozaru. The other Vegeta's all lifted into the air and floated backward, floated toward the ape. -=It's all in you Vegeta. We are you, but you can't be divided and strong at the same time. We are you, but there can be only one of us.=-
"Only one? I don't... I don't understand?! What do you mean!"
The giant ape roared as the four Vegeta's faded into it's massive body and the image of Buu faded.
A new voice came to him. Familiar, yet different. A voice he knew, yet didn't. "Have you forgotten me Vegeta?" it laughed. "We still have things to settle, you and I." Another silhouette took form. Strangely familiar but he could place no person to the shape. "Come now Sai-jin, where's that power you boasted to me before? Or should I say, to Frieza?"
"Gla... Glacier!?"
It's laugh echoed through the emptiness as Vegeta collapsed to the ground in sudden agony.