Note: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of the characters from Dragon Ball Z. Those are from the genius of Akira Toriyama. I am only responsible for the plotline.
Chapter 1: A Bucket of Blood
It was breakfast time at Capsule Corps. Vegeta was just sitting at the table, as he couldn't be bothered to eat but Bulma had insisted that he do so just to be polite. Bulma sipped at a mug of coffee and nibbled on a bun while Chibi Trunks scoffed large amounts of bread. "You know that Yajerobie got hurt last week?" Bulma asked.
"Yes?" Vegeta said crossly.
"Well, Chi-chi tried to get Goku to donate blood yesterday." Bulma remarked.
Vegeta was silent, waiting for Bulma to get to the point of the story.
"But Goku refused. I think he actually jumped out of the window or something." Bulma said.
"Did you expect that weakling to actually donate blood!" Vegeta yelled.
Bulma pondered her answer. "Well, not really…"
"And any true Saiya-jin warrior can do whatever they need to." Vegeta finished, smirking.
Bulma stood up angrily. "And I suppose you wouldn't mind proving that!" she said indignantly.
"Why wouldn't I! Name your challenge!" Vegeta replied furiously, also standing up.
Bulma stepped back.
"What's the matter, weakling? Brain gone dead?" Vegeta taunted.
"No. You give blood, then, instead of Goku." Bulma challenged.
"That'll be a complete waste of my training time." Vegeta grumbled.
Bulma shrugged. "You shouldn't have said that, then."
Five minutes later, Vegeta was standing outside a blood donation centre. "Waste of time." he muttered, but went in.
"Hello, I am Juu-hachi-gou and I will be your blood donation supervisor." Android 18 said happily. "Oh, I see we have an ouji in the centre. Please, allow me to escort you into the special room for ouji."
"Why're you here?" Vegeta asked, surprised.
Juu-hachi-gou smiled. "Oh, this is my day job, for when I'm not off destroying the world." she joked. She kept smiling as she escorted him into the 'special room for ouji'.
Vegeta was impressed by this room. It was big and white, with a comfortable-looking bed near one wall. There was a lot of medical equipment around, and Vegeta was looking at it when-
"Vegeta, if you'll kindly lie on the bed." Juu-hachi-gou's voice lashed through the silence. Vegeta reluctantly lay down on the bed. Juu-hachi-gou administered a syringe-full of clear fluid.
"What's that?" Vegeta asked.
"Oh, it'll make you go to sleep so that you don't have to watch me fixing everything up." Juu-hachi-gou said lightly. Vegeta's eyes closed and he fell asleep.
When Vegeta awoke, he felt weaker than he'd ever felt, even as a child. He tried to sit up, but couldn't. As he lay there, panting with the effort that he had just expended, Juu-hachi-gou came in. "Just came to check on the patient." Juu-hachi-gou said, laughing.
"W…w…what's g…going…" Vegeta gasped.
Juu-hachi-gou laughed again. "Haven't you guessed it yet?" she asked gleefully. "With your 'superior saiya-jin brain', I thought you would have guessed it by now!"
Vegeta growled quietly.
"Well, I guess I'm going to have to explain it to you, then." Juu-hachi-gou said, sighing dramatically. "I never 'went good'. I can't. I just reprogrammed myself for a while. It was the perfect undercover move: go among the enemy, even get one of them to have genuine feelings about you…" she sighed again. "But anyway, I've had a particular grudge against you. You were always arrogant, always. Arrogant to me, in particular. You were never helpful; you'd always go off to train in that silly 'gravity room' of yours. That's why I hated you. When did you ever do any of the work that the rest of us did? So decided to" she chuckled softly. "Downsize you. I figured that, like this, you wouldn't be so stubborn. Oh, and, by the way, your 'friends' are gonna get killed."
"W…w…what-"
"Marron's an android. I'm sure that Krillin is going to be very upset about this, but I don't care. You see," she laughed again. "Marron is programmed to kill people. And by the time that they've managed to do something to keep Marron out of the way," another chuckle. "You'll be…let's say 'beyond their help'. Oh and, by the way, I'm going to take care of the saiya-jin myself."
"You'll never manage to defeat all the saiya-jin." Vegeta whispered.
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Juu-hachi-gou said, waving one finger tauntingly in front of his face. "I'm modified. When I eat saiya-jin meat, I not only absorb all of the saiya-jin's abilities, but also get stronger. I'll be perfectly able to defeat all the rest of the saiya-jin. As soon as I have eaten" she paused for effect and smirked slightly. "You."
"W…what?" Vegeta asked going slightly pale. "You'll never do that to me." he said angrily. This couldn't be happening to him. It must be just a trick, or a dream.
Juu-hachi-gou laughed in a bone-chilling way that could never happen in a dream. "And how're you going to stop me? You're weak as a Chikyuu-jin baby!" Juu-hachi-gou taunted.
Vegeta rolled off the bed and tried to stand up, but then crumpled on the floor, landing heavily on his arm. A stab of pain shot through his left arm. He cried out, then fell back, gasping. "How…how're you…keeping me…this weak?" he asked, panting heavily.
Yet another laugh from Juu-hachi-gou. "You haven't noticed that either? Honestly!" She kicked Vegeta in the side and he curled up, gasping. "Well, I guess I really should tell you. Strange, isn't it, how the 'greatest of all Saiya-jin' can fall to the most stupid trick. Have you looked at your left arm recently?"
Vegeta tried to pull his arm out from under him, but ended up sprawled on the floor again. This time, though, his left arm was off to his left, and as he turned his head that way, panting for breath, he noticed a needle stuck deeply into his arm, with a tube leading to a tank. If he concentrated, he could see something inside the tube. Blood. His blood. The tank was half-full of it.
Flashback
Chibi Vegeta sat in a sunny room in the palace. Outside, he would have been able to hear the Saiya-jin talking as they went around doing their regular jobs, some laughter and the sound of several fights. But he didn't because he was listening to his sensei. "Now, my young prince, when two or more pints of blood are taken from your body, you become steadily weaker and, if too much blood is lost over a very short time, you may even die." the teacher finished.
End flashback
Vegeta groaned weakly.
Juu-hachi-gou laughed and kicked him again. "So you've finally remembered! By the way, I had to take four pints of blood to get you that weak!"
Vegeta cried out. "What? You could have killed me! What're you doing here anyway?" he managed to say between gasps of pain.
Juu-hachi-gou smirked. "Krillin taught me to conceal a power level, but since I don't have one, I don't have to bother. Krillin thinks I'm on holiday with an old 'friend' and I suppose that's true, in a way. Bulma thinks you've gone off to train, and that's something that happens quite often, too. By the time that they notice something's wrong, you'll be long dead."
Vegeta felt a cold shiver going down his back, but smirked and closed his eyes. 'Kakarotto?' he thought.
Goku was at Capsule Corps., looking for Vegeta. "He's not here! I think he's gone off to train or something! That's what Eighteen said!" Bulma yelled at Goku exasperatedly.
'Kakarotto?' Goku heard it and grinned. "I hear you, Vegeta! You can come out now!"
'But I'm not "here".' Vegeta thought back, puzzled.
Bulma looked worriedly at Goku. "Vegeta's not here. I already told you that."
"I know, Vegeta just told me." Goku said happily. He closed his eyes as Bulma shook her head. Goku 'saw' the thought-form of Vegeta. He ran towards Vegeta, yelling 'Where have you been!' Goku stopped and looked at Vegeta suspiciously. 'And why're you inside my head?'
Vegeta winced. 'No time for questions, Kakarotto. Can you sense my ki?'
Goku focused, sensing Vegeta's ki. 'What's wrong, Vegeta? Your power level's really low!'
'I know' Vegeta thought back, wincing again, and sighed. 'Just-keep an eye on it, okay?'
''Kay, Vegeta.' Goku thought happily, opening his eyes again.
"Hello-oo." Bulma said, waving one hand in front of Goku's eyes. "What's going on?"
"I was talking to Vegeta." Goku told Bulma happily.
Bulma looked at him in disbelief. The phone rang, and Bulma picked it up. "Bulma Briefs, Capsule Corps. How may I help-"
"Bulma, it's Krillin. There's something wrong with Marron; she's uncontrollable! Can you get Goku here quick?" Krillin's worried voice sounded over the phone.
Bulma looked over at Goku. "Krillin, Goku's here. I'll send him over, quick. Bye!"
"Bye, Bulma!" Krillin's voice called, less worried this time.
Bulma put the phone down. "Right Goku, there's something wrong with Marron. I want you to bring her back here, preferably unharmed, so that I can check her over. Think you can do that?"
"Yup." Goku said, then sensed Krillin's ki, translocating to him.
Bulma sat down. "Well, that's him gone." she said.
Krillin was glad when Goku turned up. "I shut her in her bedroom. I couldn't risk her getting out," he said, turning and going into the house.
But when they got there, there was a Marron-shaped hole in the door. "Oh no! She escaped!" Krillin cried, distraught. Then he remembered something. "Goku, can you sense her power level?"
Goku tried, but after a few seconds he gave up. "No. I'm sorry."
"But the only people without power levels are the androids…oh."
Goku nodded. "I'm sorry." Then he brightened up. "Let's go on this Marron-hunt then, shall we?" he asked.
"O…okay." Krillin said, still shaken by recent events.
They searched the house, and finally found Marron under the sitting room table, giggling hysterically. "Whoa! That's unusual!" Goku exclaimed, amazed.
"No, Goku. That's a perfectly normal thing for a baby to do." Krillin corrected him.
Then Marron jumped into the air and started throwing ki balls at them. "That's more like it!" Goku enthused. "She wants to play 'catch'!" He immediately made his own ki ball and threw it back at her.
Krillin looked upset. "She's never done that before," he said worriedly.
"Really? I thought that's what all babies do," Goku said.
Krillin looked at him worriedly. "You must have seen some very strange babies, then."
Goku's ki ball hit Marron on the back of her head and she fell. Krillin caught her. "I gotta take her back to Capsule Corps." Goku said.
"I'll join you." Krillin grabbed hold of Goku's shoulder, and Goku translocated back to Capsule Corps. Goku had forgotten all about what Vegeta had told him to do.
Back at Capsule Corps., Bulma was shut in the lab while Goku and Krillin waited outside anxiously. Finally, Bulma invited them to come in.
Krillin rushed right past her and gazed anxiously at the still figure of Marron on the bed. "What's wrong with her, Bulma? Will she get better?" he asked nervously.
"No, I'm afraid she won't." Bulma said sternly. "She's an android."
Wha-!" Goku and Krillin exclaimed, unable to believe what Bulma had told them. Krillin was the first to recover his wits.
"But she can't be an android!" Krillin complained to Bulma. "It must be just some kind of joke or something, right?"
Bulma shook her head.
"But she just can't be an android!"
"I'm afraid it's true." Bulma told Krillin seriously.
"I don't believe you!"
Bulma bent down and took a computer chip out of Marron's head. "Don't worry though, I can give her a real girl's personality."
Krillin stared in astonishment. "But she can't…Juu-hachi-gou had her…oh damn!"
Bulma nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"But Juu can't be really an android!" Krillin wailed. "She told me that it was just Doctor Gero's programming!"
Bulma grabbed Krillin's shoulders. "And you trusted her! Like a fool you trusted her! Didn't you know that women are sometimes misleading!"
Krillin narrowed his eyes and touched the tips of his index fingers together. "Well, yes I had realised that before, but-" Then he caught the implication of what it must mean. "But that means that Juu-hachi-gou's really an android!"
Goku caught on with what this would mean. "That would mean that she might be off terrorizing innocent people right this moment!"
Bulma nodded. "Exactly."
Krillin went hectic. "Goku, can you sense her ki?"
Goku tried for a few moments, then shook his head. "I'll keep trying, though."
"Wait a second." Bulma cut in. "Didn't Krillin teach her to conceal it?"
"Oh yeah, guess I did." Krillin said nervously.
Goku interrupted. "Yeah, but Krillin didn't know something like this was going to happen."
"And another thing: Haven't we already agreed that Juu-hachi-gou's an android?" Bulma added.
"But Krillin told me-"
"Listen, Goku! Juu-hachi-gou IS an android; WE are trying to find her and you can't trust ANYTHING Krillin says anymore. Got that?"
Goku nodded confusedly, then remembered something. "Oh yeah; Vegeta asked." He focused and sensed Vegeta's ki. 'It keeps changing.' Goku thought, puzzled. 'I'd better check that he's okay.' And so he translocated off.
Meanwhile, Vegeta had managed to pull himself up using the bed, and was standing shakily beside it, with Juu-hachi-gou looking scornfully at him. "Stop that, android." Vegeta forced out between gasps, and lunged at Juu-hachi-gou, who took one step to her right. Vegeta's punch missed, and he banged into the wall, then fell forward onto the floor. Juu-hachi-gou walked slowly over to him, laughing mirthlessly as he groaned in agony. She kicked him in the stomach, and he doubled over in pain, gasping for breath.
"And this is the power of the 'legendary super Saiya-jin'?" Juu-hachi-gou taunted.
Vegeta gasped an answer and struggled to his feet, swaying slightly.
Juu-hachi-gou laughed again. "And the 'Prince of Saiya-jin' can't even stand up to a 'weak' android like me! What kind of warrior race are you!" she teased.
Vegeta growled in anger, forced himself to try to stand straight and started powering up. He'd almost got to Super Saiya-jin when he felt a sudden weakness pulling him back. He continued trying to power up to Super Saiya-jin, but each time his increase in power was suddenly cut off.
Juu-hachi-gou laughed. "Still so weak? Well, I suppose that it can't be helped."
Just then, Goku translocated in. "Vegeta, what's the matter? Something's wrong, isn't it?" Then he spotted Juu-hachi-gou. "There she is!" Juu-hachi-gou went white at the sight of the taller, more powerful Saiya-jin.
"I'm…alright, Kaka…rotto, and…this …piece of trash…is MINE!" Vegeta said shakily and quietly.
Goku shook his head. "If you're alright, then you wouldn't be all wobbly, Vegeta." Goku said concernedly.
"KAKAROTTO, DON'T CONTRADICT-"Vegeta began, but almost collapsed and only just grabbed onto the wall in time.
Goku looked at him worriedly. "Vegeta, how'd you become so weak anyway?"
Vegeta jerked the needle out of his arm and flung it on the floor, standing shakily.
Goku turned white at the sight of the needle covered with Vegeta's blood, but glanced once at Vegeta and decided to stay. Vegeta was still wobbling slightly, and Goku was sure that he'd never be able to defend himself if Juu-hachi-gou rushed at him and started attacking.
Blood kept flowing from the gash in Vegeta's arm where the needle had been, but eventually the flow slowed and then tapered off altogether. Vegeta looked up and grinned at Juu-hachi-gou, who went even paler at the sight of Vegeta seemingly recovered.
"Vegeta, what was that about?" Goku asked.
"Tell you later." Vegeta said roughly and started powering up slowly, turning Super Saiya-jin.
Juu-hachi-gou looked worried, but got into a fighting stance anyway.
Vegeta dashed at Juu-hachi-gou and punched her in the stomach with his right fist. As she doubled over, gasping, he kicked her legs out from under her with his right leg, and slammed his left fist into her side. As she hit the ground, he ki blasted her with his right hand, destroying her. It was over in the space of a heartbeat. Vegeta dropped out of Super Saiya-jin and almost collapsed again, but grabbed the bed just before he hit the floor.
Goku approached. He attempted to pick Vegeta up and put him on the bed.
"No, Kakarotto."
Goku stopped. "But Vegeta, you can't even stand!"
Vegeta forced himself to stand up. "Yes I can, alright! Now leave me alone!"
"But Vegeta…"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Vegeta yelled, powering up and threatening Goku with his fist.
Goku fell silent.
Vegeta took one step forward, almost fell, but steadied himself on the wall before taking another step.
Goku followed him. "Whatcha doin', Vegeta?"
Vegeta spun around, almost falling over, and glared at Goku, who took one step back, then spun on his heel and continued striding around the room, looking for something.
Goku stepped back, then stayed there.
One minute later, Vegeta found the tank that Juu-hachi-gou had been putting his blood in. He looked at it and gasped. "…seven pints…it's a wonder I'm still alive…" he noticed Goku watching and turned to yell at him, but almost fell over again.
Goku raced up to try and help Vegeta, but then thought better of it as Vegeta swatted at him.
"Leave me ALONE, Kakarotto!" Vegeta yelled at the taller Saiya-jin, slightly embarrassed by the show of weakness. He turned back and poured the blood from the tank into a bucket. Staggering slightly under its weight, he walked towards the door.
Goku ran up to him and tried to take the bucket from him. "Let me carry that, Vegeta; you're not fully recovered yet."
"No, Kakarotto."
"But Vegeta…"
Vegeta spun around and slapped Goku across the face, then staggered and almost fell into the wall. He glared at Goku and then kept walking.
Goku gave up trying to get help Vegeta: he knew that Vegeta would continue to be stubborn and might end up falling over. He followed meekly behind as Vegeta half strode, half stumbled to the door and wrenched it open.
When Vegeta had got outside, he looked around, leapt into the air and started flying back to Capsule Corps.
Goku followed slowly.
Vegeta noticed that Goku was going slow for him and sped up.
Goku noticed that Vegeta had sped up and sped up also.
Vegeta sped up some more, and Goku quickened his flying pace to match Vegeta's.
This went on all the way back to Capsule Corps.
Vegeta stumbled a bit when he landed outside Capsule Corps., but didn't quite fall over. He carried the bucket in, and put it on a table before striding off to the gravity room.
Goku waited in the hall. Soon, Bulma came in. "What's in the bucket?" she asked.
"Vegeta's blood." Goku said seriously.
Bulma burst into tears. "H-he must be dead-" she sobbed.
Goku looked puzzled. "Vegeta never told me he was dead or I wouldn't have let him go to train." he said confusedly.
Bulma looked puzzled. Then she worked it out and got angry. With a scowl on her face, she strode off to the gravity room.
Vegeta was surprised when the gravity cut out: he'd only had it on 5x Earth gravity because he knew he didn't have the strength to train at 100x Earth gravity yet, or even 10x. When Bulma came in, he was even more surprised: Bulma normally stayed out of this room whenever she could. Now, however, she strode in.
"What are you doing training! You lost more than enough blood to have died!" Bulma yelled at him.
Vegeta shrugged.
"Well, you go straight to bed, do you hear me! And no training for three weeks!" Bulma commanded.
"No. I'll train when I want." Vegeta said stubbornly, swaying slightly.
Bulma strode up to him and slapped him across the face. Vegeta was flung onto the floor. Bulma immediately knelt down beside him and cradled his head in her arms. "Are you alright, Vegeta? Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright? By Dende, I didn't realize it was as bad as this! Vegeta, speak to me!"
Vegeta coughed up a little blood, then opened his eyes. "I'll train when I want to, onna." he muttered, gasping for breath.
Bulma almost wept with relief. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Vegeta, but you've got to go to bed at the very least." she said, lifting him up and half holding him with her arm around his shoulders. Then she noticed that he'd opened up the wound on his arm when he'd been training. "Where'd you get this?" she asked, poking it. Vegeta stifled a cry of pain. "Alright, tell me later, then." She half-carried him towards the bedroom.
Krillin discovered them in the hall. Goku had obviously started telling him what had happened, because at the sight of Vegeta, Krillin ran up to them. "What did you do to Juu-hachi-gou!" he yelled, furious. When Vegeta didn't answer, he punched Vegeta in the stomach. Krillin had, all unknowing hit one of the areas of Vegeta's stomach already made tender by Juu-hachi-gou's kicks earlier. Vegeta doubled over in pain, clutching his midriff and gritting his teeth against a scream of pain.
"Krillin…" Bulma said, starting over.
Goku came into the hallway and stared at the scene for a while, then started hurrying forward.
"What did she ever do to you!" Krillin shouted, tears in his eyes as he punched one side of Vegeta's face and then the other.
Goku grabbed his arm as he swung back for another punch. "Leave Vegeta alone." he commanded.
"But he killed my wife!" Krillin wailed, anguished.
Vegeta lay sprawled on the floor. Bulma knelt down and gently turned him over, inadvertently pressing on some bruises, crying. "Please, Vegeta, don't be dead…you can't be dead! Are you alright? Please, Vegeta…" She realised that she was scared. He just lay there. She shook him gently. "Please be okay, Vegeta…answer me, Vegeta…please…" she muttered.
Goku came over and carefully lifted Vegeta up. Vegeta gasped in pain, and Goku shifted his grip to a different position. He carried Vegeta into the bedroom and laid him down on the bed, trying to be as gentle as possible. He then left Bulma there with Vegeta, who was panting for breath and had blood pouring freely from the wound he'd sustained earlier.
He found Krillin in the hallway, sobbing over the loss of his wife. "Look, Krillin, you don't know what happened before Juu-hachi-gou's death. I'll tell you." Goku said kindly, but Krillin pulled away from his old friend and ran towards the door. Goku translocated in front of Krillin and stopped him. "Look, if you don't know what happened, then you'll never understand. I'll tell it to you as best I can, okay?" Goku said, leading Krillin into the lounge.
"I don't care: I'll still kill him!" Krillin said, sobbing.
"Listen: I'll tell you the story as far as I know it, and then you can decide."
In the bedroom, Bulma bandaged Vegeta's arm and bathed his bruises. Then she wrapped padding over them to try and stop them hurting him even more. She propped him up slightly and handed him a cup with a little bit of water in, which he drank straight away before drifting off to sleep. She sat there for a few minutes, gazing at his perfect figure, and then regretfully closed the door and went into the lounge. She arrived in time to hear the last of Goku's story.
"So, what do you think now, Krillin?" Goku asked him.
"I'm still gonna kill him." Krillin said stubbornly.
"Oh really?" Bulma said, stepping forward. Krillin drew back: he hadn't noticed that she was in the room. "And do you know what? He came close to dying himself! Have you seen! He has bruises all over his body and she had taken about seven pints of blood from him aswell! Do you realise that if that had happened to you, you'd probably be dead!"
Krillin nodded thoughtfully, only then realising the pain that Vegeta had been in, and the danger he'd put Vegeta in himself. "Kami-sama! I could have killed him!"
Bulma looked at him furiously. "Have you only just realised that! Do you know that, if it had been you instead of Vegeta, you might've been killed by what you did to him! If you'd survived whatever Juu-hachi-gou put him through! Which I doubt!" Bulma paused for breath, sobbing with tears running down her face.
"Bulma, how long-" Goku started to ask.
"At least a week in bed: otherwise, I won't guarantee his life. And no proper fighting for a month after that."
"What do we do now?" Krillin asked Bulma.
"I'm hungry." Goku complained.
"I'd better make Vegeta something to eat, too." Bulma said, striding into the kitchen. She hummed to herself while she made a stew, throwing potatoes, onions, and many other things into a pot, adding water and a vegetable soup sachet, then stirring over the cooker. Later, she ladled most of the stew into a pot, and put it and some other items on a tray. Finally, she strode out into the hallway to take the tray in to Vegeta, with Goku following behind her. However, she was unprepared to see Vegeta in the hallway, obviously about to come in for something. She banged into him, and they were both thrown backwards. Bulma clumsily grabbed the tray as she was thrown back against Goku, who immediately grabbed the stew pot, and scooped all of the stew back into it before it hit the ground. He also caught the mugs that Bulma had placed on the tray, and the ladle she was going to serve it with. Vegeta was flung onto the floor.
Goku looked quizzically at Bulma. "Where's the spoon?"
Bulma, who had hurried over to Vegeta and was attempting to get him to sit up, looked at Goku confusedly. "There is no spoon." she said, then focused her attentions on Vegeta, who was struggling for breath and had got himself to sit up. She pulled Vegeta to his feet and then, draping one of his arms around her neck and one around Goku's neck, they led him back into the bedroom and laid him down carefully on the bed. Bulma propped him up with pillows and, ladling some stew into a mug, placed it to Vegeta's lips and urged him to swallow.
Protesting weakly, Vegeta swallowed the stew, then almost choked at the heat.
Bulma ladled more stew into the mug and passed it to Vegeta. "Drink it all up, now." she said briskly.
Vegeta groaned, but swallowed it.
Goku knelt down beside the bed. "Are you 'kay, Vegeta?" he asked, looking worried.
Vegeta sighed painfully. "What…does it look like…baka?" he forced out, smiling slightly. "Stupid Kakarotto…"
"I'm not stupid, Vegeta." Goku said, a relieved grin plastered all over his face. He took the mug full of stew that Bulma handed him. "Thanks…"
Bulma stood up. "I'd better go sort Marron out for Krillin." She left quickly, shutting the door behind her.
Goku burst into tears. "Vegeta I'm so sorry I never should have let that nasty Jinzouningen-jin hurt you I should have been there to stop it will you forgive me?"
"Well…you're not…clever enough to…have understood…what was… going on, so…it's no problem. Don't…worry about it…Kakarotto."
Goku grinned stupidly and swallowed the rest of his stew. "I'll go ask Bulma for more…" he said, wandering out.
Vegeta finished the rest of his stew and sighed, lying back in bed.
Goku went into the lounge to find Bulma sitting curled up and sobbing. "Bulma…what's the matter?"
Bulma jerked herself around at the sound of his voice, and wiped her eyes. "It's nothing, Goku."
"Why're you crying, then?"
"Oh Goku, it's just so…TERRIBLE!" Bulma yelled, flinging a cushion at the sofa. "Vegeta's hurt and it's all my fault!"
"It's not your fault, Bulma."
"But it is. It IS!"
"Bulma, Vegeta'd still be hurt, even if you hadn't bumped into him."
"I still hurt him!"
"Look, Bulma. It wasn't your fault. How were you meant to know he was standing there?"
"I should have looked! I should have known he wouldn't stay in bed!"
"Why?"
Bulma considered it, then smiled hesitantly up at Goku. "Indeed: why?" She strode out into the lab to finish sorting Marron out, with Goku following her.
Krillin was waiting outside the lab when Bulma'd finished. When she held Marron out to him, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're alright." His face turned dark. "Can't say the same about Vegeta, though."
Bulma looked at him furiously. "Have you seen the amount of blood he's lost!"
Krillin held up one hand to ward off Bulma. "No…"
"Well, that's obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so mean to him."
Krillin looked at her furiously. "He killed my wife!"
"And she tried to kill him."
"So!"
Bulma sighed and went into the other room. She came back with a bucket full of blood. "This is the amount she took from Vegeta. Almost 7 pints of blood. We're lucky Vegeta survived."
"But my wife DIED!"
"So! As I said before, if you'd had this much blood taken out of you, you probably would have died! As it is, Vegeta can barely stand up on his own! You know how powerful he was before: he could shoot a ki blast as easily as he could breathe! And now he has to struggle to stay upright!"
Krillin shuddered at this enormous reduction in ki.
"And, if that wasn't enough, he's got bruises all over him because of whatever Juu-hachi-gou did to him when he was helpless! And his healing wasn't helped when you decided to use him as a punchbag!"
Krillin shuddered again, this time at the thought of what Vegeta would have done to him if he hadn't been weakened.
"But what happened?" Goku asked.
Bulma took a deep breath. "When someone gets blood taken out of them, it weakens them. Vegeta's had enough blood taken out of him to kill a human. Therefore, he has been made very weak. If it had happened to me or Krillin or Yamcha, we'd have been killed."
Goku stared at her. "Really? You've gotta be kidding, right?"
Bulma shook her head.
"But to Vegeta…she wouldn't have been able to keep him there for long enough!"
"I don't know how she managed that, all I know is that Vegeta's been seriously injured, and it's my job to heal him."
"Okay, but…how long before Vegeta'll be alright again?" Goku asked.
"He'll have to spend about a week in bed, and I wouldn't advise him having a proper fight for at least a month, as I said before. And I won't let him train for three weeks."
There was a gasp of horror and pain behind her. She turned around and found Vegeta leaning on the doorframe, bent over in exhaustion from the walk.
"VEGETA! YOU SHOULD BE IN BED!" Bulma yelled at him, her expression furious.
"I…know…onna…" Vegeta gasped, clutching the doorframe for support.
Suddenly, Bulma was under one of his arms, wrapping one of her arms around his waist and yelling to Goku to help her get Vegeta back to his bed. Goku grabbed Vegeta's other arm and helped Bulma haul Vegeta back into his room, despite his weak protests. Finally, they got to the bedroom and lifted Vegeta carefully back into his bed. As they turned to leave, Vegeta grabbed Bulma's arm. "…onna…"
Bulma turned to him. "Yes?" she asked, her tone softer than before.
"Did you…mean what…you said about…training?"
"Yes." This time, Bulma's voice was cold.
"No." Vegeta gasped, propping himself up on his elbow.
"Yes. You can't train in this condition! Even walking into the hall made you exhausted!"
"So?"
"You'd be killed by the type of training you did before!"
"No, I won't."
"Yes you will, and I'm going to lock up the gravity room for at least two weeks."
"WHAT!"
"You heard me. I'm not going to have you injuring yourself on 10x Earth gravity."
"Lock up the GRAVITY ROOM!"
"Yes."
"You can't lock up the gravity room!"
"I can and I'm going to."
"And that'll keep me out of it! I CAN just blast the lock!"
"By the time you can do that, it'll probably be off."
"I can ki blast now, you know!"
"Possibly, but you won't be able to reach the gravity room."
"Who says, onna?"
"I do, and I probably know your capabilities better than you."
"I don't believe you."
"Well, I'm right. And you're lucky you're not going to hospital." Bulma said as she stormed out.
"The only reason you didn't force me is that you knew I wouldn't let you!" Vegeta yelled after her, then collapsed on the bed, knowing full well that Bulma was right about him not being able to train.
"Goodbye, Goku!" Krillin and Bulma called as Goku translocated off home. Bulma turned to Krillin. "I can tell I'm going to have my hands full with Vegeta: he'll probably keep complaining about not being able to train."
Krillin nodded sympathetically to Bulma and took Marron from her arms.
"Well, better get on, I suppose…Bye, Krillin!"
"Goodbye, Bulma!" Krillin called as he strode out the door, carrying Marron. "And death to Vegeta: the tournament of wits has begun!" he muttered under his breath.