Chapter 7: Heart's Blood

Vegeta yawned, pushing himself out of bed. After all the problems of the past months, it was nice to be able to relax. Both Juu-hachi-gou and Marron had been killed, and Krillin would be too cowardly to attack alone. He shouldn't have anything more to worry about until the next evil villain turned up.

He was dressed and walking down to breakfast when a huge metal fist came through the wall. He automatically leapt aside, turning to see his attacker. He froze, recognising the android he had drawn the plans for. "Trunks! Get your mother to safety now! And get Kakarotto over here!" Dropping into a fighting stance, he groaned inwardly: he hadn't been allowed to start training again, he was too slow…

The rest of the android tore its way through the wall. Vegeta leapt sideways to avoid a descending punch, then rolled to avoid a kick. He smirked as he sprang to his feet: if he could keep this up, he wouldn't have to show his attacks until Kakarotto got there, giving them an advantage in the battle ahead.

A whip-like tail yanked Vegeta's legs out from under him, and he instantly reconsidered, rolling sideways to avoid the android's fist. As he sprang to his feet, he was knocked forward by a kick. He rolled as he hit the ground, but the tail grabbed him by the leg and threw him through the wall. He pushed himself back to his feet, but the machine was suddenly behind him, kicking him through the wall again. Then it was in front of him, pounding him back to the ground, and before he could move, the tail came down…

And Goku slapped it away. Goten and Trunks jumped from beside him and kicked the android, sending it flying. They powered up to Super Saiya-jin, firing ki blasts after the robot, but it dodged, launching itself back towards them. Goten and Trunks dove out of the way. Goku grabbed Vegeta and carried him out of the robot's path.

"Bulma…" Vegeta groaned.

"It's okay," Goku muttered. "Trunks brought her over. She's with Chichi."

Vegeta smiled faintly. "Thanks…"

Goku grinned back. "Don't mention it." He jerked his head up at a smashing sound. Trunks went through the wall and landed nearby.

Vegeta glared at the android, then turned back to Goku. "Go. I'll be fine here."

Goku nodded, then raced back into the fight, Trunks right behind him.

Vegeta lay on the floor, trying to find the strength to stand and return to the fight. Finally, he pushed himself into a sitting position, trying to sense how the fight was going…

Only to sense a ki right behind him. Shocked, he jerked around. Krillin was sitting there. "Doesn't look like they'll be able to win, does it?" he asked Vegeta nonchalantly.

Vegeta glared at him. "It's me you want revenge on, not Kakarotto and a couple of kids!"

Krillin smirked. "Yes, but I can't have them getting in the way again. Not after what they did to Marron." His voice suddenly turned cold. "Now, you will die, Vegeta. And nobody, not even Goku, will be able to save you."

Slowly, almost ceremoniously, Krillin reached into his pocket and produced a small bottle. "It's poison," he said at the confused look on Vegeta's face. "Natural death, see? Natural enough. The dragon will never be able to bring you back…" He carefully unscrewed the lid and leaned over Vegeta.

Vegeta's arm came around and knocked Krillin backwards. Krillin managed to catch the bottle before it smashed. "Very well," he said, replacing the lid and putting it back in his pocket. "The poison will probably work as well if you are mostly dead."

Vegeta watched with despair as Juu-hachi-gou emerged from behind the wall. "I thought you were dead…"

Juu-hachi-gou grinned. "I was…"

Goku, now in SSJ3, ducked a kick and sent a ki blast at the android, who easily absorbed it. Nearby, Trunks kicked out, then rolled out of the way of the tail. Goten, on the other side of the robot, threw a kamehameha at it, flying in close to attack the head. Trunks grabbed one of the legs and, along with Goku, heaved the machine over. No sooner had they let go, however, than it was back up and fighting again.

Trunks groaned. "So that doesn't work…"

Goten grinned. "We can use the Millennium Bug on it!"

"I don't think that will work," Trunks snapped, ducking a kick. He launched himself at the android, but another kick knocked him out of the air.

Goten took the opportunity to attack. Diving out of the way of the tail, he swept the robot's legs from under it easily, then jump-kicked at its head. A hand swept up just before and plucked him from the air. Powering up, he managed to break free, and dodged a punch.

Goku ducked a kick, grabbed the tail and yanked it off, throwing it against the wall. He ran at the robot, until a flurry of punches drove him back again.

Trunks soared back into the battle, weaving his way through the attacks and managing a punch to the machine's body before being driven back again. As he prepared a ki blast, he ducked a kick, then froze. Vegeta, forcing himself to his feet, facing Krillin and… Juu-hachi-gou! 'But it can't be her! She's what this whole mess started over!' Frozen, he didn't notice the fist coming towards him, but Goten tackled him out of the way. Nodding his thanks, he forced his thoughts back to the battle. 'Hang on, tousan…'

Vegeta blocked the punch, then Juu-hachi-gou's kick slammed him back into the wall. Staggering forward, he ducked a ki blast and leapt in to attack.

Juu-hachi-gou swatted him easily out of the air. "You're weak. I could crush you with one hand, but I'm not allowed. You'll never be wished back." As he struggled back up, she kneed him in the groin, then punched him in the face as he doubled over.

Krillin nodded, walking forward. "That should be enough." He bent down, holding the bottle out, then frowned at Vegeta's expression, "Why are you smiling?" he asked, puzzled, then leapt aside as Vegeta shot a ki blast at him. "What the hell!"

Smirking, Vegeta forced himself to his feet. "You…won't kill me." There was a blur, then Vegeta was holding the bottle. He crushed it easily, ignoring the broken glass. "Let's…try again…shall we?" He threw the glass fragments aside, then sprang at Krillin.

With lightning-speed, Juu-hachi-gou pushed Vegeta back. "You lost to me the first time. You'll lose again. Ant this time, I won't stop at a broken arm."

Vegeta dropped into a fighting stance, grinning. "Good. I'm through playing games." Taking a deep breath, hoping his muscles wouldn't give out on him, he lunged at Juu-hachi-gou.

Juu-hachi-gou lashed out with her foot, hitting Vegeta in the stomach. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Vegeta grabbed her leg and cart-wheeled over it, kicking her twice in the face then sweeping her other leg out from under her.

Juu-hachi-gou snarled at him, easily flipping back to her feet. 'He's waiting for me to attack,' she realized, glaring at him.

Suddenly, Vegeta came out of nowhere, kicking her in the back of the head. She staggered forward, then turned. "What the-" she said incredulously, then Vegeta's knee hit her in the stomach. His hand sliced through the air, and her head fell to the floor.

Krillin started to run, but Vegeta was in front of him, a hand shot forward…

Vegeta yanked his hand back, dropping Krillin's heart to the floor, and turned to the robot. Sighing, he gathered his ki. "Everybody duck!"

Goku, Goten and Trunks dived to the side as Vegeta's ki blast shot through them to the robot. Powering up, they added their own ki blasts.

The robot knocked them away with one hand, but never noticed the one coming from the opposite direction, bright gold and stronger than suns…

Goku pushed himself to his knees, blinking the afterimages away. "Everybody alright?"

A bit of rubble was pushed up, to reveal Trunks and Goten. "Where'd Vegeta go?" Goten asked curiously.

Goku looked around. Vegeta seemed to have vanished. Then he remembered that final ki blast…

Vegeta was still lying on his back by the time the others got over. "You okay?" Goku asked.

"What does it look like, idiot? I'm fine," Vegeta sighed, pushing himself to his feet. He would have liked to lie there a bit longer, his muscles felt like they would collapse any time now, but he couldn't show the weakness.

Trunks caught him around the waist as he almost fell over. "You sure you're okay?"

Vegeta nodded, pushing him away irritably. "Of course."

"I'm hungry," Goten complained.

Trunks smirked. "And mum is going to yell at you for trashing our house again."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." His knees collapsed for the second time, and he decided to give up standing.

Goku didn't notice. "We should go and finish breakfast. You guys want to come over?"

Trunks glanced at Vegeta. "Come on tousan, let's go!"

Vegeta nodded, forcing himself up again. "Fine."

Goku looked at Vegeta, but decided to make no comment. Putting an arm around Goten, he grabbed Trunks's hand.

Vegeta felt something touch him. Turning, he noticed Trunks's hand gripping his shoulder. He sighed, but left it. He had more important things to worry about.

A moment later, they were in the kitchen at Goku's house. Chichi, noticing them, gave a sigh to relief and dropped into a chair.

Bulma, on the other hand, jumped up. "You're okay! I was so worried!" Relief plastered all over her face, she launched herself at Vegeta, who went straight over backwards.

Chichi sighed. "I'll make some food. Goku, go and see if the senzus are ready yet."

Goku nodded, leaving as quickly as he had arrived. Chichi dragged Bulma off Vegeta and helped her pull him into a chair by the table. Chichi went back to her cooking as Bulma fussed over Vegeta.

Goku reappeared moments later with a bag of senzu. Bulma hurried over and grabbed it, then darted back to Vegeta. She poked one into his mouth, watching anxiously as he chewed and swallowed. "How're you feeling?" she asked, voice trembling.

"I'm fine," Vegeta said shortly. He looked over at Goku. "Did we get them all?"

Goku nodded. "You did."

Bulma gasped. "You killed them all?" Glaring, she turned back to Goku. "You sat back and watched!"

Goku backed away, terrified at the look on Bulma's face. "No, we didn't, but…"

"Look, we managed, okay!" Vegeta cut in angrily. "We're all alive, they're all dead, Hurray, rebuild Capsule Corps. again, party time."

Bulma turned to glare at Vegeta. "You do realize that this will be the third time this year we had to rebuild! It's getting expensive! Next time, you can pay for it!"

Vegeta shrugged. He didn't believe it, and he knew Bulma didn't either. It was all just a game. He was surprised to discover that he was starting to enjoy it.

"You sure, Bulma?" Yamcha asked. It was a few weeks later, and Capsule Corps. had been fully rebuilt. Bulma and Vegeta were having a New Home Party. "I mean," he continued, "I never put your life in danger when you were my girlfriend."

"I wouldn't trade Vegeta for anyone in the world," Bulma said coldly, then looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

Goku smiled, moving away form the buffet table. He gave Chichi a quick kiss, then headed outside.

He found Vegeta in the gravity room, now, at Vegeta's request, separate from the house. He knocked on the door, then walked in.

Vegeta wordlessly walked over to the computer and turned the gravity down to 100G, then got into a fighting stance. They powered up, reaching SSJ2 almost simultaneously. Vegeta paused, considering, then continued to power up. His aura flared and, smiling triumphantly, Vegeta stood before Goku, SSJ3. "I beat you, Kakarotto!"