Chapter 6 – Changes

Goku slowly returns into his own mind. He doesn't want to let go… He opens his eyes immediately when someone empties a bucket of cold water over his head.

"Wake up, baka." Goku suddenly realizes he has a hard on and he blushes when he sees Vegeta's cold eyes staring at him.

Then he shakes himself with ki to dry, screaming: "God damn it Vegeta, that was groce! How could you share that memory with me? It feels like I slept with my brother!"

"Who cares?" Vegeta shrugs. "It wasn't uncommon in the old days."

"But… the whole gay thing… Are you saying that…"

"Every Saiyan is born bisexual, Kakarot. We're equally attracted to men and women."

"Like hell! I'm not gay!"

"Really? You most certainly got horny while reliving my memory."

"You got horny, I didn't."

"I can smell your feromones everywhere, Kakarot. Don't be so ashamed. You're not an Earthling and you never will be."

Goku keeps muttering for several minutes, then he lets go and becomes serious again.

"You've raised a lot of questions, Vegeta. What happened with Frieza's hybrid experiment? He didn't succeed, did he?"

"Until today, I don't know the answer to that question, Kakarot. I can't remember everything Frieza did to me, some things are lost inside my head. I hope he never succeeded."

"And what about Radditz and you?"

"Well, you killed him. End of story."

"I'm sorry, Vegeta. I didn't know he meant so much to you."

"We took out our frustrations on each other, that's all. We desperately tried to overwrite our past experiences. It wasn't love, Kakarot, it was a surviving strategy. We needed each other in order to believe there would be a brighter day."

"I know you're lying, Vegeta. It was more than that, I could feel it."

"Well then maybe I'm not capable of experiencing love, Kakarot, because I couldn't," Vegeta spits. He storms back into the house.

Goku sighs and tries to process the things he has seen. His ki spikes as he imagines his brother killing his own child. Suddenly another question pops into his head. Did Radditz ever have another child… from Vegeta?

'It's no use,' Vegeta thinks inside the cabin. 'We're not getting anywhere. This mind sharing thing will only make me feel worse. More importantly, Kakarot will find out what he can do to me because he's the stronger fighter. I can't risk that… I've got to get out of here.' He takes off into the dark sky and shivers. 'Damn this cold planet.'

Weeks have gone by. Vegeta has returned to Capsule Corp, but Goku remains somewhere in the woods. Vegeta thinks that Kakarot is still waiting there for him to return… But now he knows he never will. Last night he had another dream, in which Kakarot was the one raping him instead of Frieza.

'I'll avoid that clown at any cost,' Vegeta thinks bitterly.

"Such a grumpy face on a beautiful day," Bulma says cheerful. "What's up, stud?"

"Nothing. Ghosts from the past." Vegeta relaxes his face and leans back on his sunbed. "How about you give me a backrub and make them go away?"

"Let me think… Alright, but then you train Trunks for the tournament."

"Nani? Are you out of your mind, woman?"

"No. You need some father-son time and Trunks keeps nagging about you refusing to train him."

"Okay, okay… I give up." He turns around and feels Bulma's soft hands working on his back. 'Almost as good as Radditz…' he thought and dozed off again.

At night, Vegeta hears screaming somewhere inside the house. He soundlessly slides out of bed and listens. 'Trunks' room,' he thinks and runs into his son's bedroom.

What he sees makes his blood turn to ice. Trunks is fighting someone in a nightmare… It takes Vegeta only a second to sense his son's fear.

"Trunks, wake up! It's just a dream!" He shakes him and then sees Trunks open his eyes. It takes him a while to recognize his father. "Dad! I… I…"

"It was only a dream, son. You're safe now." Vegeta holds his son close, not in the last place to squash his own fear. So it has begun. Trunks can sense his father's past…

"KAKAROT! Damn you clown, where are you hiding?" Vegeta is looking for Goku, but he can't sense his ki. He returns to the cabin again and searches the whole place.

'What a mess… It looks like he didn't clean up since I left. But why? He used to be pretty tidy. And why did he leave this place? He didn't go home after all.'

Vegeta takes a deep breath and tastes the air. His eyes grow wide and he smells it again. Despair.

"Kuso!" He bursts through the nearest window and flies towards a familiar cliff. There stands Goku, his clothes torn, bleeding from small cuts all over his body.

"Kakarot! You baka! Get away from there NOW!"

Goku turns around slowly. He looks like he hasn't eaten in a week.

"Vegetaahh," he groans and then he collapses right at Vegeta's feet. Vegeta can count his ribs, he has lost a lot of weight.

"You baka," Vegeta whispers while hoisting Goku onto his shoulder, "what did you do to yourself?"

He flies towards Capsule Corp. and brings Goku to the hospital wing immediately.

He can't get out… He's running, but his feet stick to the ground. He's coming. He'll do terrible things to him. He'll catch him… No way out…

Goku's thrashing around on the hospital bed, caught up in his own dreams. Vegeta's sitting next to him, he's sleeping in a chair. Slowly, their minds connect.

Kakarot runs into him and they both fall to the floor.

"Baka! Watch where you're going!"

"Vegeta! Thank Kami you're here! He wants to kill me!"

"Who?" Suddenly the floor turns into ice and covers their arms and legs.

"Who do you think, monkey?" Frieza chuckles.

Vegeta growls dangerously. "Fuck you Frieza! I don't care anymore! This is just a fucking dream, and I will no longer let you rule my life through my own mind!"

"Oh really? And how are you going to make me leave this place?"

"Watch and learn, you fucking lizard."

Vegeta roars like an animal and breaks free from the ice. Then he stretches out his hands to Frieza.

"Come to me, bastard, and I'll show you the meaning of suffering."

"What the… You stupid monkey! Let go of me!" Frieza's captured in an invisible energy beam that pulls him towards Vegeta inch by inch.

"How does it feel, Frieza, to be powerless?"

"I'm not… powerless… I'm a thousand… times… stronger than you!"

Vegeta grabs Frieza by his throat and squeezes hard. "I don't care," he hisses with narrowed eyes. "You could be the empress of China and I still wouldn't care… This is my head! GET OUT!" Vegeta powers up until all that remains to be seen is a bright white light.

"You made him leave," Goku whispers softly. Then he falls asleep again, totally exhausted.

Vegeta breaks the connection between them and stands up. It's time for Trunks' training.

After this incident, life changes for Vegeta and Goku. They still participate in mind sharing, but Frieza's presence isn't as overwhelming as it used to be. Vegeta shows Goku most of his youth, including the nights he spend with Radditz.

"You know, that was the only time I could be myself. I thought I lost my identity somewhere along the way, but Radditz helped me to hang on to that little piece of Vegeta that was left. Kakarot," Vegeta suddenly changed the subject, "do you have any idea why I'm so short?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hah! You think I was meant to be this way? Baka," he says almost affective. "I only hit puberty when I first fucked Radditz." Goku's face grimaced at the term Vegeta used.

"I mean, when Radditz and I first had sex…"

"Why so late? You were twenty at the time."

"Saiyans hit puberty as soon as they start to be sexually active. And no, being raped by Frieza is not to be considered sexual activity by me."

"So you would have been taller if Frieza hadn't…"

"I would have been as tall as you are, Kakarot. I still hate the lizard for doing that to me."

"How come I never had growth problems?"

"I don't know, Kakarot. When did you start banging your wife?" Vegeta grins.

Goku turns red like a tomato. "I never… Oh you son of a… I'm gonna kill you!" He jumps at Vegeta, who is long gone by the time he even gets up.

"Show yourself you fucking coward!" Goku screams, still angry. Vegeta appears behind him and locks his arms behind his back. "I thought that was a bad word?"

Goku growls in the back of his throat and looks over his shoulder. "It is! Now will you stop mocking my principles?"

"No way! I'm having too much fun to stop now." Vegeta grins and powers up slightly to hold on to Goku's arms. "Now let's see what else offends our Chikyuu hero… Do I get extra points for mentioning the word 'motherfucker'?"

"That's it Vegeta. You're going down!" Goku powers up and breaks free, slamming Vegeta face down into the ground.

"You asked for it," he hisses, breathing heavily.

"And as always, you obeyed," Vegeta continues to tease him. "Oh Kami, I played these games with your brother all the time. He couldn't get enough of it."

"Stop mentioning those sexual escapades between you and my brother," Goku sighs.

"Why? Can't take it?"

"I don't know. The idea that males of our species were interbreeding… seems just bizarre."

"That's because those pitiful ningen don't know how to appreciate a good f… sex."

"Maybe."

"Honestly, Kakarot, you've become prudish on this planet! I can show you things that would do more to you than just make you blush!"

"Like what?" Goku tries not to sound interested, but miserably fails.

"Come here with that forehead, you not-so-innocent Saiyan, and I'll show you a Saiyan victory celebration!"

They put their foreheads together once more and then silence takes over the forest. Goku's cheeks become pink at first, and bright red after that. Vegeta's face is one big smirk as he shows Goku a few very X-rated Saiyan memories.