--Notes: Ah, yes. This is the part where I make comments on reviews that I've received. As you can see, I'm trying to do these earlier.
--Topic 1: Self Explosion - Yes, it is true that in the series any time someone does this technique, they die. They're blown into a million tiny pieces and they cease to exist on this plane. So, yes, it's what I like to call an ALL OR NOTHING. Now, as you can see, this was the technique Bra performed to win her sparring match with Goten. Why is she still alive? I'm glad you asked. And here we go: 1) I generally ignore things in the series, though some things from the series still apply to this story. It's a strange and confusing lot for the people who chose to read this story. 2) I just thought it would be really cool to bring that technique up since it is so rare that it used in the series. 3) I seriously want to know how the people who do that technique know they can do it. I mean, in the series they talk about it like anyone can do it, but, let's be serious, no one ever does (besides certain people). 4) When it IS used in the series, it is all to no avail anyway. I thought I would make it do something other than kill the people who use it.
--In short, I thought it would be fun, so I did it. I probably should have come up with another name for it to avoid confusion, but that was what she did. Only she didn't kill herself or her opponent.
--Topic 2 (and thankfully a much smaller topic): Goku's Feelings About Gohan and Videl's Marriage - Bulma said that she thought Goku seemed more excited about Goten and Bra getting married than he was about Gohan and Videl getting married. But that's impossible. He should be equally happy about both of his kid's marriages. Why does it seem that way? 1) Bra is Bulma and Vegeta's daughter... No offense, but Goku had no clue who Videl was. Gohan met her in high school. 2) Bulma may have just seen it that way because that's her little girl.
--In short, Bulma didn't say that Goku hated that Gohan and Videl got married. And from her point of view, it may have looked like Goku was happier about Bra and Goten's engagement.
--Topic 3: The Strangeness of Sparring After Getting Engaged - Yes, it was strange to see these two who love each other so much fight. Yes, I did that on purpose. And the reason is simple. They are born fighters. They were sparring before they got engaged and surely they will spar even after they get married.
--In short, I found it funny. (How many couples do you know with fight each other just for the sake of fighting...? Okay, Bulma and Vegeta don't count. That's not the kind of fighting I'm talking about.)
--Topic 4: The Brain Wave Tests - There is more to come...
--Now then. Answering questions you may have or making comments about something I've done is very fun for me. I don't know that it's so fun for you. It's just more reading with a whole lot of me and whole lot less of Goten and Bra.
--Conclusion: I've prattled on long enough. I should really learn to shut up.
Versus 4: Temporal Distortion
--Controversy--
Goten sighed as he sat on the ground right outside the wasteland where he and Bra normally sparred. "I never would have guessed you could do that. It just seems like it would be hard to gauge." He was, of course, referring to the attack Bra performed to end the sparring match. Her explosion.
Bra was seated beside him. "Yeah, you have to be really careful how you do it, or you could blow yourself to smithereens. It takes guts to use that technique. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes. I knew what your power was, so I made sure that the explosion wasn't enough to do any major damage to either of us."
"It sure surprised me," Goten told her. He put his hand on hers. "You're a great fighter. I always look forward to sparring with you."
It was all she'd ever wanted to hear. That she was on level fighting ground with him. She felt like she could take on the world.
"It's getting late," Goten said.
Bra nodded. "We're both pretty banged up. We'll look awful if we went to dinner like this. But there's not enough time to use my dad's regen tank."
Goten looked at his bruises and scars, then at Bra's. "Yeah. You're right."
"What would your mom say if she saw us like this? She'd probably want us to cancel the engagement," Bra said.
Goten frowned. "I don't think she would go that far. Besides, she knows that we're fighters..." He frowned harder. "You know, you might have a point."
They thought for a long time...
"Senzu," Goten seemed to say out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Bra asked.
"Senzu beans. If we ate senzu beans, we'd be completely healed," Goten explained.
Bra laughed. "Goten, you're a genius." She stood and helped him to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm more than just a pretty face, you know," Goten said facetiously.
Bra put her arm around his waist and smiled. She knew that he thought he was joking around by saying that. She'd fix him. "You're all of the above."
She could tell that she had surprised him with that statement. So before he could say anything about it, she stated, "Korin's tower, here we come," leaving him utterly speechless.
The two had reached Korin's Tower in no time.
"Goku? Bulma?" Korin asked once they arrived. He narrowed his already narrow eyes even more to get a good look at them. "I swear you kids get younger and younger every time I see you."
"No. Guess again," Goten said with a grin.
Bra giggled a little under her breath.
Korin looked at them for a long time. "I give up."
"Goten and Bra," Goten told him. "I'm Goku and ChiChi's youngest son, remember."
"And I'm Bulma and Vegeta's daughter," Bra informed.
"Oh, right. It's been a while since I've seen any of you," Korin said. "You could at least drop by more often or something." The cat walked closer to them. "You're here for senzu."
"Wow. You didn't know who we were, but you knew what we came for. That's amazing," Goten said, sounding truly mystified.
Bra shook her head. She knew what was coming next. Maybe she shouldn't have given Goten credit for being a genius. She giggled at the thought.
"Yes. I am all-knowing. And you two look pretty beat up. I should have known that Bulma wouldn't get herself into a situation where she ends up looking like you two look," Korin told them.
Goten blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Right," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.
Bra could only smile.
"Just like your father," Korin told him. He turned away. "Yajirobe! I need two senzu beans! I know we have an overstock these days!" he shouted.
Goten and Bra looked at each other.
"Alright! I'm coming! I'm coming!" the voice from downstairs called. The roly-poly of a man made his way up to where they were and looked them over. "Well, now. It's Goten and Bra. You two look pretty beat up."
"Hi, Yajirobe," Goten greeted.
"Hi, Yajirobe," Bra greeted as well.
Yajirobe looked Bra over longer than he should have and moved closer. "Hey. So, Bra. What are you doing these days?" He had a strange smile on his face.
Bra looked around. "Who? Me?"
Goten fumed. "Excuse me. You're flirting with my fiancé," he said rather calmly.
Was Yajirobe flirting? Bra hugged herself. That was such a sickening thought, she almost passed out.
"Fiancé!" both Korin and Yajirobe asked.
Yajirobe smiled devilishly. "Way to go, man. You landed a real babe." He handed Goten the senzu beans.
Goten still looked a little angry, but he took the senzu anyway.
Bra raised her eyebrows. Goten sure was acting strangely. Was he jealous?
Korin laughed a little. "I wonder if Dende knows about this," he muttered.
Bra put her arms around one of Goten's and his expression softened. "We'd better get going, Goten. We'll be late for your mom's dinner."
Goten looked at her. "Alright." He gave her a senzu bean and ate one.
They were miraculously healed. All of Bra's sore muscles stopped aching. The burning sensation in her hands finally stopped. All of the burns and bruises vanished.
She smiled. "These things are great. Thanks guys."
"Yeah. Thanks," Goten said. He took Bra by the hand. "We'll see you guys some other time. Maybe we'll visit more often."
As they took off flying, they heard Korin say, "Yeah, yeah."
--back at Capsule Corp
Goten and Bra pulled up at the Brief home and the first thing they heard was the sound of shouting.
"Vegeta, she loves him! It was her decision to make the move and she made it! I don't see what the big fuss is about!" Bulma's voice could easily be heard outside. Apparently, the living room was not semi-soundproof like the rest of the house.
"I don't care who did what!" Vegeta bellowed. "I won't have my only daughter marry the son of a clown!"
Bra stood at the front door and rolled her eyes. "This is not good."
Goten nodded. "I'm not letting you go in there alone."
Bra just looked at him for a while.
"She's my daughter too, you overconfident orangutan! You're always talking about how you don't want her to be with someone weak! Then you say how you don't want her to be with Goku's son! I'd really like to know what exactly you have in mind for her because only one of two things is possible! One is that she marries someone strong like Goten! And the other is that she marries someone weak like anyone besides Goten!" Bulma screamed.
"There's one more possibility, glorified house cow! She could just NOT get married!" Vegeta shouted.
Things got quiet for a long time.
Bra groaned. "Alright. We're going in."
Before she opened the door, Goten took her by the hands and pulled her close. "It's gonna take a whole lot more than your dad to keep me away from you."
Bra smiled a little. "Same here." She pecked him on the lips and they walked into the house hand-in-hand.
Bulma was standing right behind Vegeta with her hand on his shoulder. "...is about, isn't it?" she asked him in a much more quiet tone.
When they heard the door close, her parents both turned to face them.
Vegeta glared at Goten. But Goten simply looked back at him.
"Oh. Hi, Bra. Hi, Goten," Bulma said to them. "Where have you been?" She looked at their burned, dirty and torn clothes.
Bra ignored her mother's question. "Mom, Dad, I think we should all just sit down and talk."
"There's nothing--" Vegeta began.
"Vegeta, enough!" Bulma told her husband, quickly turning toward him.
Vegeta looked at her angrily, but didn't say anything.
"We are going to sit down and discuss this like adults," Bulma said to him. "Like ADULTS. That's what you are, isn't it, Vegeta?"
"Don't insult me, woman," Vegeta said through his teeth.
Bulma pointed to the sofa for him to sit down.
Vegeta grumbled something incoherent, but did what she said. Or signed.
And Bulma took a seat beside him.
Bra cleared her throat. "Considering the yelling we heard outside, I assume that you both know about our engagement."
Vegeta looked as though he were about to say something, but Bulma shot an ice-cold stare at him to shut him up.
"It was my decision to ask Goten to marry me," Bra went on. "I asked him because I love him. If it were something I didn't want to do, I wouldn't have done it."
Goten looked at Bulma and Vegeta, still holding her hand. "And if it were something I didn't want to do, I wouldn't have accepted. I love your daughter. I would do anything for her. Anything."
"Well, I believe that you two were meant for each other," Bulma added. "I've watched you grow up and I couldn't think of any pair more perfect." She smiled at them.
Vegeta's silence would only last so long. "Are you saps done with your chatter? Because I'd like to say something now."
They all gave Vegeta their attention.
"Bra, you aren't marrying him," Vegeta told them, plain and simple.
Bra gasped. "But Papa--!"
Vegeta cut her statement short. "Don't try that on me this time."
She noticed that Goten hadn't said anything. When she looked over at him, she saw that his face was twisted in an angry expression. His eyes had even flashed that oh so familiar aquamarine color. But he remained silent for the time being.
Bulma put her hands on her hips and stood from her seat on the sofa. "You're such a domineering dolt! If you didn't want them to be together, why did you give them permission to start seeing each other in the first place?"
"Because I thought she would kill him," Vegeta said, like it was nothing at all.
Bra became silent, wondering exactly where her father was going with all of this.
Bulma shook her head. "What? Vegeta, you're not making any sense."
Parts of conversations she'd had with her father regarding this issue began pouring back into her mind...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
When she fought her father:
"Vegeta, I don't want to fight you. But if it means that I'll be able to be with your daughter in peace, then I guess that's what it's come down to," Goten told him. He took his fighting stance.
Vegeta smirked and took his stance. "You're either brave or foolish to butt heads with the prince of all Saiyans. And I think it all comes down to how foolish you are." He powered up to Super Saiyan level 2. "When I'm done here, you'll think twice before you try to manipulate someone else's daughter."
That was it. That was the last straw. Bra powered up to Super Saiyan level 2 and phased over to where her father and the love of her life stood. "Dad, I won't have it." She stood between the men.
Vegeta looked at her strangely.
Bulma's eyes bulged. "Wha--? She's a Super Saiyan too?"
"Goten's been nothing but kind to me my whole life. He's a great friend. But my feelings are my feelings. And it's not because he did anything to make me feel this way other than being himself," Bra told her father. "And he feels the same way about me." She looked over her shoulder at Goten and smiled. Then she looked back at her father with a serious expression. "So, if you can't handle that, you're just gonna have to take it up with the person you should have been taking it up with in the first place. Me." She took her stance.
"Is she serious?" Bulma asked.
Goten looked a little surprised.
"She's talking about FIGHTING? She's talking about fighting her FATHER?" Bulma asked no one in particular.
Goten walked over and stood behind Bra. "What are you doing?" he whispered.
"Just stay out of this, Goten," Bra said without even turning toward him. "This is the only language he can understand, you know. It's the only way to get through to him."
"I'm not gonna let you do it," Goten stated. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
Vegeta furrowed his brow.
Bra finally turned and glared at Goten. "So, you're saying you're not gonna let me stand up to my father? So, you're saying you're not gonna let me make any decisions? So, you're saying you're not gonna let me express my feelings? So, you're saying you're not gonna let me be with you?" she exclaimed, getting louder and louder with each sentence.
Goten held his hands up in defense and backed away a little. "Okay, okay. I get the picture. But there has to be some other way."
Bra turned back toward her father. "I want you to see that I'm not a little girl anymore. I want you to see that my feelings for him are real. And I'd like for us to have your blessing. So, if challenging you to a sparring match is the only way to prove myself, then I challenge you."
Bulma fainted and Goten quickly went to her aid.
Vegeta smirked. "It's an interesting offer. And I think I'll set the conditions." He thought for a moment. "If you win, I'll give you and the brat my blessing. But if I win, you get no blessing from me and you are to never see him again."
Bra swallowed hard. It was a tough decision to make. She was putting it all on the line this time. Everything depended on whether she won or lost in a fight against her own father. She wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but she knew that her father would hold nothing back. Especially with such high stakes. And she would hold nothing back either. She looked back at Goten, who was holding her mother in his arms and looking at Bra worriedly. She had to do it for him. She had to do her best in order to be with him. Losing was not an option here because losing the fight meant losing everything.
Bra took a deep breath and nodded to Vegeta. "The conditions are fair enough."
Vegeta nodded. "Then let us begin, child..."
--------
When her father allowed her to start seeing him:
"I'm not letting you do this. Fighting him isn't going to change the way I feel about him," Bra said to her father.
"That may be. But killing him will change the way you deal with it," Vegeta retorted.
"Well, if you kill him, you may as well kill me. Because I can't live without him," Bra said.
Vegeta looked at Bra for a long time. "Then there's only one thing that can be done."
Bra looked at her father and tried her best to control her breathing. Inhale. Exhale.. Inhale... Exhale... Inhale...
"I will allow you to see each other," Vegeta announced...
--------
When he talked to her about the L word:
After a moment of silence, Vegeta spoke again. "I heard what happened here a few minutes ago. Now, as you know, I'm not one to pry. So I'm sure we both feel...out of place..."
What was he talking about? It wasn't like her father to babble. This WAS out of place.
"I'll just get to the point here. You have a problem with...THAT word," Vegeta continued.
THAT word? What word?
"You most likely inherited that from me," Vegeta went on.
Inherited what? Bra wasn't sure what he was talking about. She just looked at him strangely.
"What are you looking like that for?" Vegeta asked.
"Dad, I don't know where you're going with this. What are you talking about?" Bra questioned.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "And you're supposed to be the smart one in all of this? Where has your mind been?"
Bra growled.
"I'm talking about what that twit said to you before he left," Vegeta told her.
Bra blushed. "You heard that?" Of course he heard it. He was sitting right above them when it was said.
"Yes," Vegeta replied. "Welcome to the discussion. Now, like I was saying, you're probably never going to say that word to him. I've never said it to your mother. Never."
"Really?" Bra said. This was awkward. She never thought she'd be talking to her father about something like this. Of course, it made more sense than talking to her mother about it. She spits THAT word out like it's some kind of greeting. What was up with that?
"And I won't ever say it to her. Do you know why?" Vegeta asked.
Bra shook her head.
"I don't either," Vegeta informed her.
So what was the point of this very strange, very uncomfortable conversation?
"It's just the way some of us are," Vegeta continued. "And she's still trying to get me to say it to this day. I don't understand why some people think it's so important to SAY it..."
Okay, he'd gone off into his own little world now. Man, her dad was a spectacular fighter, but she wasn't sure if he was altogether there. But she understood what he was getting at. He never said it to her mother, but he really did love her. And just because he didn't say it didn't mean that he didn't love her. At least she was pretty sure that that was what he meant. Theirs was a strange relationship indeed. Maybe it was a sign that she and Goten could work through this little shortcoming.
By the time Bra turned around to say something else to her father, he was gone... Typical...
--------
His enigmatic answer for why he let her start seeing Goten:
She wasn't sure why she was about to ask her father what she was about to ask him. It had plagued her since it happened. She needed an answer, so she worked up the nerve to ask: "Why did you give us your consent? Why did you agree to let Goten and me see each other?"
Vegeta looked at his daughter for a long time. "There's no SIMPLE explanation." With that, he left...
--------
When she had to put Goten in her dad's rejuvenation chamber after nearly killing him:
Vegeta, with his arms folded across his chest, stood from his seat. "I knew that you used my rejuvenation chamber when you pushed yourself too hard. But when I came here and found the brat inside, well, I was a bit surprised to say the least." He looked at Bra for a long time. "What happened?"
Bra sighed. "I kinda went overboard when we were sparring, that's all."
Vegeta smirked. "That's what I thought. You've come a long way, child."
Bra just looked at her father strangely.
"She tried to kill him," Pan interrupted. "She even left him there to die."
Vegeta looked at Pan. "Really?" He looked back at Bra. "It seems you've become a true Saiyan. Unlike some of the others of our race." He looked back at Goten in the chamber.
"But that's not something I'm supposed to do. I'm not supposed to try to kill someone I love," Bra said before she even knew what she was saying.
Pan looked surprised.
Vegeta looked back at Bra and smirked again. "Oh, but it is. One fighter to another. It is the way of the Saiyan warrior. Today you will be acknowledged as the last true Saiyan." And with that, he was gone...
--------
When she'd asked her father about the whole 'Last True Saiyan' thing:
"You see, a long time ago, even before my father's time, fighting was used for everything. It made bonds between family members stronger. Especially near death sparring. It's even used as a form of courtship. A bit of a mating ritual, if that's what you want to call it. Only the strongest of Saiyans left their potential mates near death," Vegeta said. "It was only a matter of time before you ended up doing it. Your human side probably just had to come up with a reason to go through with it."
Bra blushed deeply. Mating? This was not something she wanted to talk to her father about. So, this meant that he was trying to tell her that it was okay for her to try to kill Goten? Well, it wasn't okay. This wasn't the old days on Planet Vegeta. She wasn't a part of this ancient race anymore. She was on Earth. And it was time for her to accept her human side. She just had to be brave enough to say that to him.
"Why me?" Bra asked. "Why couldn't it be Goten?"
"Yeah right," Vegeta sighed. "No one knew this was going to happen to you. And I don't know why it didn't happen with any of the others. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised it's happening to anyone at all. But I had my suspicions when you volunteered to fight me a while back instead of letting the brat fight. Humanity has taken over the hearts and minds of these other half-breeds. We, Bra--you and I--are the last remaining Saiyans..."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Had that been what he hoped? Had he hoped that she would end her love's existence? But why?
"I thought that she would kill him," Vegeta repeated. "What doesn't make sense about that?"
Goten's expression went from angry to surprised, while his color went from warm to deathly pale.
Bra was just about to break several blood vessels trying to figure a way through this. How could her father hate someone she loved so much? How could he not support her when she obviously loved Goten with all her heart? What was so wrong with Goten that her father wouldn't approve? Her head had started to hurt just thinking about the whole situation.
Bulma folded her arms. "You can't be serious. There's no way you're really this adamant about making your daughter's life miserable."
"It isn't my intention to make her life miserable--" Vegeta began.
The telephone rang.
"Well, that's what you're doing," Bulma told him. "Look at her. Look at what you're doing to her." She went to the kitchen to answer the phone.
Bra took a deep breath, hoping it would help her maintain her sanity.
"Vegeta, I'd like your approval, but with or without it, Bra and I will be together," Goten said plainly.
Vegeta laughed cynically. "I should have killed you myself. It would have saved Bra a lot of heartache. That was a bad call on my part. I admit that. And thinking that she would kill you herself, well, it almost came to pass. Unfortunately, almost wasn't good enough." He folded his arms and frowned. "What is it with you and this family? First you corrupt my son, and then you corrupt my daughter."
"Corrupt?" Goten and Bra asked at the same time.
"You've turned my own family against me, you son-of-a-clown," Vegeta stated. "My line shouldn't want anything to do with yours."
Oh, not this again. Bra looked at her father. "Dad, doesn't it only make sense that we would want to be with them?" She was, of course, inadvertently talking about Trunks and Pan as well. "The strong intermingle with the strong. YOU'RE the reason we're around them so much."
Vegeta thought for a while. "Hm. Point taken, child."
Both Goten and Bra's eyes lit up.
"Does that mean you'll really give us your blessing this time?" Bra asked with a smile.
"Of course not," Vegeta answered quickly.
Bra and Goten frowned.
"He's impossible," Bra told Goten. She looked back at her father. "But I think he forgot that I am too." She smirked.
Goten smirked as well.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at both of them.
Bulma came back into the room. "Alright. That was ChiChi on the phone." She looked at her watch. "It's getting pretty close to 7:00. You two need to get ready." She looked at Vegeta. "Vegeta, you may not think much of Goten or Goku, but you're gonna behave when we go to their house."
"I don't--" Vegeta started.
"YOU WILL BEHAVE!" Bulma said. "We're going to Goku and ChiChi's house. All of us. And you will be civil. Because I said so."
"Who do you think you are, woman?" Vegeta asked.
"Vegeta, I swear if you do one thing I don't like...," Bulma groaned.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "If it will put a stop to your incessant nagging, I will go and be 'civil' at this dinner. But that doesn't mean I'll like it."
Bulma thought for a while, then smiled. "Well, I'll keep nagging you about Bra and Goten's engagement. Why don't you just save us both a lot of arguing and agree with that too?"
"I don't think so. Nice try though," Vegeta told her.
--End Controversy--
--Alright, that episode was kinda long. But that's because of when Bra looked back on what her father had told her. Now we've got a bunch of stubborn people in one place here and now they're gonna go to a dinner celebrating something they don't agree on. That spells trouble with a capital T, people.
--Thank you for reading this episode. Did you like it? Did you not like it? Let me know. I know it probably seemed like a cluttered mess, but that's kinda the way I see this situation.
--Thank you for your reviews. You're helping me out a lot. I'll have a better idea about how to go about doing certain things when I start writing other stories.
