Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z.

Author's Notes:  Hey!  I actually got this written within six months of my last update!  Hooray for me!  I hope I'm not rushing the action along, though.  I just didn't want to spend too much time on the year of training.  Lord knows DBZ spends enough time on those years of training, even when it mainly consists of running down a really long road with banjo music in the background (gotta love Saiyan Saga).  Anyway, on with the show.

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Soul 43: One Day More

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Chichi paused as she passed the kitchen calendar, something that she did several times a day.  Nothing was remarkable about it.  She didn't want to look at the pictures of landscapes or anything, and her memory hadn't gotten that bad either.

The day's almost over anyway, she debated in her head.  I know I said I wouldn't anticipate, but it's close enough.  The sun's down, and we've already finished dinner, so I could go ahead and not really be cheating in counting.

Pursing her lips, she pulled the pen from the coffee mug on the end table underneath the calendar and crossed out the day.  Now that she'd done that, it was only one full day that she had to wait before seeing Goten again.

Some would say that she was crazy.  Those people had a habit of labeling her as such.  Some would also say that she needed to focus more on the fact that, along with Goten, the leech would be coming back with her grandson, having done who knows what to the child, and try to kill everyone.

So what else is new?

"You alright?"

Chichi looked up, startled at the unexpected entrance of the blonde cyborg.

"Sorry…" Eighteen said uncomfortably.  "I thought you might need help bringing in the coffee."

Chichi's eyes widened as she realized that the pot was finished bubbling.  "Actually, yes.  I… didn't realize."

Eighteen's lips curled up slightly as she walked over to the cabinet and began pulling down mugs.  She didn't say anything, for which Chichi was grateful. 

That was one thing that always frustrated her about her other friends… which were mostly Goku's friends anyway.  They would always have to talk too much whenever they were trying to be nice or comforting to her, or to anyone.  And then they would suddenly ask if anything was wrong when you would look sad or quiet.  And then get surprised when you would get irritated at them.

Chichi pulled the milk and creamer from the fridge.  She had gotten first-hand experience on the ineffective sympathetic presence of their friends right after Goku had died and she had found out about her pregnancy.  Loyal to Goku, as well as to Gohan, most of their friends tried to be there for her and Goku's unborn child.  Chichi had tried to appreciate the help, but every pitying stare and awkward word had just made her rebuff them.  Not truly understanding why she was so caustic, friends like Bulma, Krillen, Yamcha, and Puar had just given up and distanced themselves, chalking it up to "that's just Chichi."  The only real help she'd gotten had to have been Piccolo, who merely wordlessly came by and took Gohan off her hands whenever she needed it.

That would have been a great time to have Eighteen's help, Chichi thought ruefully.  At the time she had violently disliked the woman, and had pushed Krillen away because of it.  She had even stopped going over to the Kame House when Eighteen started living there, and tried to get Gohan to do the same.  It had really irked her when Gohan had ignored her restrictions, and even gave her progress reports on Krillen's new family.  Though, that's probably what helped her get over herself.

Chichi followed Eighteen with the creamer, sugar, and milk, all put into little containers with pictures of daffodils.  She walked out of the quiet of the kitchen into the noisy living room.  In order to get rid of some of the agitation brought on by anticipation of the coming battle, Chichi had gathered around family and friends from supper.  Gohan was sitting in the big armchair, and Videl was perched on one of the chair arms.  She was looking on in amused exasperation and Gohan and Krillen joked around with Pan, who had brought a date.

"No, dad, his name's not Cameron," Pan said through clenched teeth.  "That was from a year ago.  This guy's name is Jared."

Jared shifted on the couch, sweating under the teasing of the two men.  It wasn't like no one had met him before.  Pan had been dating him for several months, and this one had stuck by her for a change after meeting the family.  And Chichi was happy that Pan had found a non-freak who wasn't scared away by their group of lovable freaks.

"Coffee?" Chichi said to Jared quietly, handing him a cup.  He gratefully took it, and started putting in sugar to cover his unease.  He grimaced as he took a sip.  He'd put in too much sugar.

Chichi gave Gohan a look to quiet him down.  He had complained too much in the past about her interfering with his relationships for him to be doing to same to Pan.  Gohan got the message from her that he didn't seem to have gotten from Videl's continual pinches to his arm.

Chichi sighed and set a cup in front of Goku, knowing he would only drink a couple of sips.  Normally Goku would be right in the middle of the teasing and laughter, usually saying something that would make them all face-fault.  Sometimes he would say something like that intentionally, liking the reaction he got out of people.  It was his own brand of humor – a way of putting people at ease around the insanely powerful man.  No matter what anyone said, or what she had said in the past, Chichi knew that Goku wasn't as stupid or naïve as he made himself out to be.  He just handled social interaction the only way he knew how.

It was something that he hadn't done in a long time.

Now Goku was sitting quietly.  Occasionally he'd add a few words in the conversation, but he would never draw attention towards himself with his antics.  It wasn't like he was visibly in the depths of depression anymore.  Chichi knew for a fact that he had steadily been getting better for months.  He ate, he slept, and he even sparred occasionally.  He didn't participate in the grueling training schedules that a few of the others were putting themselves through.  He instead lived much as he usually did, though less on the sparring and more on the fishing and flying through the woods.  Occasionally Chichi would join him on hiking through the woods.  And he would always spend time with Gohan or Pan when they came to visit.  In other words, he was just like Chichi had wanted him to be for so many years.

And she hated it.

Chichi sat down next to Goku, smiling at the perversity of missing the characteristics of Goku that had most frustrated her for so many years.  There he sat, quietly attending their little party instead of dominating it with his jokes.  He had even eaten conservatively, putting away as much food without making as much of a fuss of asking for more.  He was playing the good husband and father, and wasn't being Goku at all.  Maybe both were just fronts, but his old front was something everyone was more comfortable with, including Goku.  Sure enough, people had been casting nervous looks in Goku's direction ever since the beginning of the party.

"I'm surprised you could even come tonight, Pan," Krillen said.  "I thought that megalomaniac prince would still be grinding your face into the dirt."

Pan grinned.  "Yeah, well, today was our last day.  Vegeta-san said that he had wasted enough of his time already.  But we're better now.  I found out that I really do get stronger if I get the crap kicked out of me."

"Vegeta push you that far?" Gohan asked.

"Nah," Pan laughed.  "Darjili, usually."

"So when did you say it was going to happen?" Jared asked.  "Tomorrow?"

Pan coughed, having accidentally taken a sip of Jared's overly sweet coffee.  "Day after," she choked out.

"And who all's going to be fighting?" Jared asked, perfectly aware of the super-strong group and all their various exploits.  Pan had gotten tired of trying to hide everything from her boyfriends and finally decided to tell them all the truth.  This weeded out a lot of guys that would have left her eventually.

Krillen frowned, considering.  "All of the Saiyans… except Bra, of course.  Then there's me and Eighteen, and the Spider students."  Krillen laughed.  "Of course, there's a difference between those who'll actually be fighting and those who'll just be there."

Jared frowned.  "All the Saiyans meaning…"

"Well, me, of course," Gohan said.  "And then there's Pan, Trunks, and Goten is going to be wished back to life.  And Vegeta and Dad."

"No, I'm not."

Gohan was about to say something else when the attention of the room went right to Goku, who was holding his untouched cup of coffee.  Chichi pulled away to look at him in surprise.

"No what, Dad?" Gohan asked shakily.

"Not going to fight when the leech comes," Goku said calmly.

There was a long pause in the room, as everyone expected for Goku to laugh and say he was just kidding.

"Goku," Krillen said hesitantly, "I know you've been going through a lot, but you remember what the leech did, don't you?"

"I was there, Krillen," Goku said.

"Right," said Krillen.  "And you remember that you're the most powerful person on Earth, don't you?"

Goku gave an unconvincing laugh.  "I don't know.  The way everyone's been training recently…"

"We haven't been doing that well in training," Gohan said.  "And we really need everyone to fight."

Goku smiled.  "I have faith in you and Goten.  And Goten's been getting special training.  You wouldn't need me anyway."

Only Gohan and Krillen felt right in confronting Goku.  The rest just stared in amazement.

"Dad, you know that none of us have ever been able to defeat someone on our own!" Gohan exclaimed.  Videl had taken the coffee cup out of his hand just in case he forgot and gripped it too hard.  "We need you!"

Goku frowned.  "I've been in enough battles already.  I've saved the world so many times… and I think it's your turn."

Gohan had pushed himself from his seat.  "He killed Goten, Dad!  And Jita!  And he kidnapped Jiten!  What are you talking about?!  We have to destroy him!"

"So he deserves to die?" Goku asked in a funny voice.  "Anyone who kills deserves to die?"

Gohan looked at Goku as if he'd gone crazy.  "Anyone who kills the innocent, yes.  Come one, Dad, you've always understood this.  You're the one who taught me this.  The leech… is like Cell.  And since we're the only ones who can bring about justice, we have to do it."

Goku stared ahead stonily.  "And that person who brings justice should be qualified… and blameless?"

Gohan sighed.  "Of course."

Goku nodded, hiding his eyes.  "I'm going to go for a walk now."  Goku got up and kissed Chichi on the cheek.  "I'll go ahead and say goodnight."

The party watched helplessly as Goku teleported out of the room.

Gohan sat down slowly.  "He's masked his ki," he said after a moment.

Chichi got up and began cleaning the coffee things away in frustrated silence.

"Why did you have to go one like that, Gohan?" Videl asked him furiously.  "You know how your dad's been like lately."

Gohan slumped in his chair.  "Yeah, and I'm sick of it.  I mean, yeah, he went through a lot, apparently, in hell.  And Goten's dead.  I get that.  But he's never reacted like this.  Why does he have to go all crazy now?"

Chichi slammed the tea tray down, commanding everyone's attention.  She turned slowly to Gohan, a sort of calm intensity on her face.

"And why shouldn't he go crazy sometime, huh?  We're all allowed, and he's not?"

Krillen looked down guiltily, but Gohan just stared at his mother, dumbfounded.

Chichi crossed her arms.  "As easy as it is to just rely on Goku to do everything, he can't do it.  Even his children and closest friends forget that Goku is a person like everyone else.  No one faults you, Krillen, or you, Gohan, for staying in the background and relying on others to make decisions.  But as soon as Goku does it, everyone jumps on him.  And, yes, including me," she said, anticipating the protest on waiting lips.

"Chichi," Krillen said calmingly, "no one is saying that Goku has to fight.  "It's just," he scratched his graying hair, "this is far from Goku's style.  Goku has always been the one to swear vengeance or justice on any enemy or murderer.  Remember the Red Ribbon Army?  And Piccolo Sr.?  And, kami, even Frieza.  Goku has always killed out of revenge or… because it needed doing.  And it's not right when he suddenly does the opposite."

"He swore vengeance on the leech," Pan muttered.  "Remember?  That's when the leech said he'd come in a year."

"Maybe he doesn't want to kill," Eighteen finally said.

Everyone looked up in realization.

Gohan laughed after a minute.  "That's… ridiculous."

"You didn't want to kill Cell," Krillen said pointedly.

Gohan frowned.  "That's beside the point.  I'm not Dad.  Dad didn't have a problem with it.  And… he's never killed innocents."

"He would never do so unintentionally," Krillen surmised.

There was a long lapse in the conversation, and no one seemed to want to break the silence, either by talking or leaving.  However, it wasn't overly long before they heard the tiny chime of the living room clock.

Jared cleared his throat.  "Um… Pan?  I gotta go to work in the morning, so…"

Pan looked at her watch.  "Crap, you're right!"

Eighteen got up, pulling Krillen up with her.  "We've got to get home, too."

Videl did the same to Gohan.  "We don't want to keep you up, Chichi."

Chichi laughed as she got up to see her guests out.  "You think I'm getting any sleep tonight?  You're crazy."

Gohan and Videl took off with few words.  Gohan realized that he'd said some things that he was already regretting, so he thought it best just to leave without provoking another argument with his mother.

Pan and Jared climbed into his economy-sized capsule plane and sped off, leaving Krillen and Eighteen with Chichi.

"You okay?" Krillen asked Chichi tentatively.

Chichi smiled a fake smile which quickly faded away.  "Yes, I'm fine.  Can you sense where Goku is?"

Krillen concentrated for a minute before shaking his head.  "He's masking his ki.  Probably doesn't want anyone to harass him some more about him not fighting."  Krillen snorted… as well as he could without a nose.  "No fighting… yeah right.  Once the battle starts and Goten gets wished back, Goku'll come.  Especially if he senses that we're having a hard time of it."

Eighteen smirked.  "Krillen, you know I hate it when you're optimistic."

Even Chichi was able to join in laughing at that.

Meanwhile, Pan was staring ahead at the copilot's controls, not speaking.  Too much was on her mind.

"Well, that was weird… and uncomfortable," Jared said quietly.

Pan looked over at him.  "Jared, I'm sorry.  It's just this whole… thing… that I told you about."

Jared nodded.  "Yeah, I know.  Gotta be wearing on people, especially since it happened so many times before."

"Yeah," Pan agreed quietly, still worrying.

"So it's the day after tomorrow?" Jared asked, hoping to keep Pan talking.  Brooding was not his favorite date activity.  Neither was supper with the grandparents, but that was beside the point.

Pan checked the clock.  "Almost tomorrow, by now."

"What time did the guy say?"

Pan frowned.  "Didn't say an exact time.  We'd know the place by his energy signal, I guess.  And all he said was that he would return in exactly a year."

Jared started slowing down as they approached Pan's apartment building.  "Would that be 365 days or 366 days?"

"What?" Pan asked.  "What do you mean?  A year is 365 days."

"This is a leap year," Jared said nonchalantly.  "You said that the leech was in another dimension.  Does he have calendars there, or is he just counting 365 days?"

Pan frowned, frustrated.  "I don't know.  Maybe he picked up a calendar while he was here.  Maybe they have leap years in other dimensions.  I don't know!"

Jared frowned.  "It was just a suggestion," he said sullenly.

Pan sighed as they touched down in front of her apartment complex.  "Jared, I'm sorry.  I just… I'm tired, and frustrated, and really worried.  I don't mean to take my frustrations out on you."

Jared smiled.  "That's okay.  You go in and get some sleep.  We can talk tomorrow."

Pan smiled, kissed Jared goodnight, and got out, staying by the curb to watch him fly off.  She then mounted the stairs and entered her apartment, suddenly intent on a glass of water.

As she passed by the phone table, she stared at the baseball calendar, noting the day circled in red.  She stared in doubt for a second, but then shook her head.  Nah… we've all been expecting it then.  The gods wouldn't make that sort of mistake.

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Darjili landed neatly outside of the grounds of Capsule Corp at the gate.  She would have landed in the front yard, but she didn't go over there all that often and didn't think that it was appropriate.  Even the contact with Vegeta-san was a teacher relationship, and she wouldn't just walk into any of her other teachers' houses uninvited… well, except for Goten and Jita, but she lived there anyway.

She pressed the doorbell and waited for an answer.  As she waited, the traffic and pedestrians passed by obliviously.  Well… oblivious to the danger to the world in the form of the leech.  It was getting fairly late at night, and none of the people passing by looked all that oblivious or naïve.  If she hadn't been stronger than any of them, Darjili would have been worried for her safety.  As it was, if anyone caused trouble, she could just smack them out of the way.

The intercom crackled to life with a slight buzz that came from much use and little maintenance.  "Trunks speaking.  Who is this?"

Darjili smiled at him having to ask.  As if he couldn't just read her power signal.  Of course, he didn't know her all that well, so it was understandable.  "This is Darjili, one of the Spider students.  I came with the dragonballs."

There was a pause, with some muffled talk.  Finally Trunks said, "Come in."

The gate opened with a whirr, and Darjili quickly walked in so the gate didn't have to stay open longer than necessary.  A security guard with a dog was crossing the front path.  Darjili hesitated, but he merely smiled and nodded at her.  Darjili smiled back, and walked on ahead.  She clutched the purse filled with dragonballs, along with a radar, tighter to her side.

The door opened automatically, and she walked into the lobby.  She always found it strange that someone's house would have a lobby, but she knew that Capsule Corp was also a business.  They had built a new office building a few blocks down a couple of years ago, but there were still labs and offices that employees used in the original building itself.  As such, the entire house set off a feeling of formality and intimidation right from the get go.

Darjili hesitated, but then decided to simply follow power readings to find someone.  Since she had spoken to Trunks, she looked for his reading.  Thankfully, or unfortunately, he seemed to be around the entire Briefs clan.

Darjili walked into the living room to find a surprisingly domestic scene.  Bra was curled up on the couch watching a movie; after a few minutes, Darjili was able to tell that it was The Princess Bride.  Trunks was half-watching the movie while going over some important-looking papers.  Bulma and Vegeta were sitting at a small table near the French doors, playing a game of chess.

Vegeta looked up from smirking triumphantly at the seemingly-stumped Bulma.  "So, girl, you decided to take your own sweet time at bringing those dragonballs over."

Darjili would have been intimidated if it weren't for two things: a) she had lived around Jita too long to be intimidated and b) she was in her blonde form.  And that still gave her a little more edge than other times.  "I apologize, Vegeta-san, for being remiss in my responsibilities to take care of your own responsibilities.  It won't happen again."

Vegeta was not to be cowed by her sarcasm.  "See that it doesn't."

Bulma looked up as if realizing for the first time that Darjili was there.  "Oh, you brought 'em over.  Thank you."  She got up to take the dragonballs from Darjili.

Vegeta simply rolled his eyes and looked down at the board to make his move.

Bulma looked back and grinned.  "Oh, yeah, Vegeta.  I forgot to say… checkmate," she winked cheekily.

Vegeta cursed and stalked off into another room.

Bulma laughed loudly, making sure that Vegeta heard her.  "Great, now he'll be impossible to live with.  Such a sore loser…"

Vegeta yelled something in an unrecognizable language – possibly Saiyan, possibly not – and Darjili had the distinct impression that it was something that should never be translated.

Bulma laughed and took the purse that Darjili was offering.  "Here… I'll put these in the bedroom.  They'll probably be safest there."

"Since nothing will be going on there tonight!" Vegeta yelled from the other room.

"Sorry, I forgot I had to make allowances for your old age!" Bulma yelled as she was walking down the hall.

Darjili wisely turned her attention away from the continuing argument and to the television screen.  She briefly admired the state-of-the-art, I-would-never-be-able-to-afford-this plasma screen.  Then she caught what the scene of the movie was: the scene with Miracle Max and his wife.  She stifled a laugh with great difficulty.

Bra looked over her shoulder at Darjili, showing the amusement in her own eyes.  They both laughed quietly at the comparison.

Bulma walked back in the room.  "OK, it's all set with everybody."

Darjili quickly looked back at Bulma and hid her amusement.

"Early the day after tomorrow we're going to wish Goten back.  That should give plenty of time for those muscle-heads to come up with a battle plan.  And then… it's just a matter of waiting."

"What time?" Darjili asked, wishing she'd brought something to write it down on.  While her personalities were no longer like two separate people, she did have minimal memory loss, most of which could be chalked up to normal forgetfulness.

Bulma checked her watch, though it was for absolutely no reason since it wasn't like she recorded anything on that watch.  Although, for all Darjili knew, maybe she did.

"We're meeting at eight in the morning tomorrow.  It was the latest I could push these fighters back.  Why all you fighter types like to get up so early in the morning I have no idea."

Darjili held her tongue.  She liked to sleep in, and had been horrified to hear that she had to get up before eight.

"Wait," Darjili said, "I forgot.  Why aren't we wishing Goten-san back earlier?"

Bulma shook her head and sighed.  "I tried to get them to go ahead and get it over with, but everyone else agrees that Goten will need all the training he can get… I didn't mean for it to sound that way…"

Darjili caught the unspoken reason.  Everyone knew that Goku had been really messed up in the head for the past year, and Goten had always had issues with his patriarch.  Darjili knew that people fought best without being hindered by personal distractions.  Goten would have enough to worry about with Jiten and all.

Darjili looked down at her own watch and groaned.  She had planned to go to bed early, or at least before midnight.  "I'd… better be off," she smiled, taking her leave.

"Thanks for bringing the dragonballs over," Bulma smiled back.  The walked over to the small table to put the chess board up.

As she was turning to exit, Darjili was stopped by Bulma's voice.

"Oh, Darjili?" the blue-haired woman said.  "Could you come by tomorrow with the six-star dragonball?  You must have left it.  It wasn't in with the others."

Darjili's eyes widened as she blushed.  "Oh, goodness, I'm sorry.  It must have fallen out…  I'll go back and…"

Bulma winked at her.  "No problem.  Don't go to any trouble tonight.  Just come by some time tomorrow.  Someone ought to be here."

Darjili bowed slightly and took her leave, still embarrassed at her mistake.  As soon as she cleared the gate, she decided to take to the skies, still wondering where she had put that stupid dragonball.  Oh well.  She would just look for it the next day.

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Vegeta was pacing the house.

He felt trapped there.  Even at such a ridiculously humongous place as Capsule Corp, he felt trapped in a way that he had never seemed to suffer before, even in the close confines of a spacepod.

He growled in irritation at the robot servants watching him, knowing they were turning their heads to follow his steps by the mechanical whirr and slight squeaking of metal that didn't get maintenance all that often.  He knew it was idiotic to care about what robots thought of him, but it irritated him nonetheless.  Why should they care where he goes, or whether or not he was going anywhere?  They were robots.  It was none of their business.

And, for all he knew, Bulma could have programmed them to monitor his moods or something.  The woman was always worrying about his emotional state.

Before he knew it, Vegeta found himself walking down the massive corridor that used to serve as the main living quarters of the Briefs family, containing the master bedroom that he shared with Bulma, Trunks' old room, Bra's old room, and the guest room that Vegeta had inhabited before he'd taken to just staying in Bulma's room.

All were empty except for the master bedroom.  He and Bulma still slept there.  Trunks had long ago moved into the old Briefs bedroom – something about wanting more privacy.  And Bra had taken Bulma's childhood room, which consisted of half of the second floor.

Bulma had been hesitant, but Vegeta had quickly overruled.  For one, they were both adults, for kami's sake.  Wasn't it customary to move out once you reached adulthood?  Apparently not in the Briefs clan, though Vegeta could never understand why.  While Bulma's parents had been still living, Vegeta had hinted at taking their family and building a place out of the city.  Bulma had been horrified at the notion of leaving Capsule Corp.  Leave home?! she'd said.

Vegeta'd had no problem leaving his parents' home.  Of course, he'd also had no choice.

Vegeta entered the large room, noting that Bulma was in the shower.  He smiled at the relatively early bedtime, but then shrugged and decided that it wasn't a bad idea.  Always get sleep while you can, because you never know when you're going to need it.

He shrugged off his clothes and readied himself for bed.  Bulma was still showering when he flopped into bed with the light on.  She'd turn it off when she got ready.  Then he smirked tiredly, wondering when he'd gotten so considerate.  He picked up a book, something that Jita had been pestering him to read.  He'd just now made the time to read it, with slight chagrin at the thought that Jita would have probably wished to discuss the book with him.

After a few minutes of trying to read Proust, his brain started to hurt.

"Vegeta?  You there?"

Vegeta did not put the book down when Bulma called his name.  It was an idiotic question anyway.  She was right in front of him.  She could see him.  Of course he was there.

Bulma continued.  "I would have thought you would have gone back to the Spider dojo or something.  That's where you've been spending all your free time, and I thought you were going to get that other dragonball."

Vegeta closed his eyes in frustration.  He'd been pissed when the schitzo girl had forgotten about the other dragonball.  That was the sort of mistake that one did not make in life-or-death situations.  "I would have thought you would have learned not to be so interested in how I spend my free time."

Bulma glared at him, and then instantly deafened him with her hair dryer.  He glared back mutely, not wishing to yell over the blasted contraption.

"So why weren't you at the Spider dojo this evening?" Bulma asked immediately after the dryer cut off.

Vegeta sighed tiredly and propped his book back up.  "Don't you ever stop talking?"

Bulma smiled.  "I've been like this for six decades, and I'm not about to quit now."

Vegeta snorted.  "You say that like you're old."

Bulma sat on the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers.  "Say the word 'old' in conjunction with me again, and you'll be out of that bed.  And you didn't answer my question."

"I didn't feel like it.  Is that all right with you, woman?"

Bulma faked a look of shock.  "You?  Not want to train?"

"It can happen, you know."

"So is that why you've been stalking through the hallways?"

Vegeta stared hard at Bulma.  "You're too nosy for your own good.  And you talk about stalking."

"It's called taking an interest," Bulma replied.  "Pardon me for finding it a little strange when you suddenly give up your obsession with training the Spider students that you've had for the past month… in favor of spending the evening with your family, something I know that you are loathe to do."

Vegeta let Bulma's last phrase slide.  "How is a few more days' training going to make any difference?"

Bulma's brow furrowed.  "OK, now I'm really worried.  Mr. 'I'll-train-until-the-very-last-second-and-make-an-unexpected-entrance-in-the-battle.'  Really, what's gotten into you?"

Vegeta smiled at her comments.  "Humans are different.  The brats were getting nervous with the end of the world coming up the day after tomorrow.  I told them to go home and get some sleep."

Bulma looked over at Vegeta.  "What about you?  Getting nervous?  We still have a couple of days, you know."

Vegeta didn't answer.  Bulma didn't feel like pressing the issue this time.

Vegeta closed his eyes, knowing that he probably needed to get some sleep.  Despite what he had told Bulma, he knew he was going to get up early in the morning and train as hard as he could for most of the day… without the humans.  He needed to spend a little time getting himself primed for the battle, and he didn't need the humans in his way.  They wouldn't benefit from extra training so close to the fight anyway.  For it was only the day after tomorrow that it would be an exact year since the leech had issued his ultimatum.

But that felt so far removed from reality; Vegeta just couldn't bring himself to believe that it would happen.  Instead, he envisioned the day after to be just like the one before.  It was nothing like the approaching battles of his youth, when planet would keep getting bigger as he approached each, intent on destroying them.

"It doesn't seem like it's actually going to happen, does it?" Bulma mirrored his thoughts.  Vegeta stared at her, almost giving credence to his occasional feeling of having a mental bond with her.

"I wonder why?" Bulma continued sleepily.  "I mean, I've been through umpteen number of 'end-of-the-world' scenarios, and who knows how many years of watching you guys train for each one.  You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

"You never get used to terror," Vegeta said before he realized.

Bulma stared at him, but he just stared at the ceiling.

"You think you do," Vegeta continued quietly.  "You think you'll get used to each one – that the pain and fear and anticipation will become more bearable.  But it never does.  That's why it doesn't seem so real.  It's your mind's way of keeping you sane.  And denial seems to be a common practice on this planet."

Bulma laughed.  "I guess that's why I'm so calm.  But…" she hesitated to ask this question.  Even after years of marriage, there were still some personal barriers that she was never sure she could push.  "Why?..."

"Why what?"

"Why are you so agitated?" she finally asked.

Vegeta smiled wryly.  "Same reason.  Everything is normal."

Vegeta watched the confused expression on Bulma's face.  He didn't see the point in evading Bulma's unspoken questions.

Vegeta turned to face her and propped himself up on one elbow.  "Bulma, you know I lived a very different life.  From what I've heard, you've spent your life, directly or indirectly, trying to keep people from blowing up the planet.  I've been on the opposite side.  I blew planets up."

Bulma smiled tentatively.  "Vegeta, I know this, and you know that it doesn't matter…"

Vegeta stopped her.  "I'm not asking for forgiveness.  It's not your to give.  Like I said, I blew planets up.  Most were not my choice, but that's beside the point.  But it gave me a different perspective on things.  Do you know what I saw whenever I would go to a planet set for purging?"

Bulma merely waited for him to answer his own rhetorical.

"Normality.  That's what I saw.  Everything was so blasted normal.  People were going to and from work.  Children were playing.  The shops were full, meals were eaten, people were talking…  Pretty much what you'd see if you walked out of the outside gate right now.  And it was all ended… in a flash."

Vegeta paused.  "Despite the fact that we are living in one of the most abnormal residence's in this entire planet, and we lead the most abnormal lives, this day – right now – is normal, just like any other day.  So you see why I'm nervous?  It's always normal when bad things happen.  It's from your own experience as well – you know it.  What were you doing when Raditz landed?  Having a normal reunion with your friends.  What were we doing when Frieza and his father landed on Earth?  We were having a barbeque.  And it was just a normal Budoukai when Babadi started all that trouble with Buu… and when… the leech appeared."  He still could not talk about Jita's death, even though he saw it in his head every day.

"Tomorrow will be a normal day.  So will the next day, until the leech comes.  The leech could come right now.  And are we prepared?  No.  The normality leads us into a false sense of calm, dulling our reactions and thoughts, even as it preserves our sanity.  Perhaps I could have done something more for Jita…" he paused, and only Bulma would be able to tell from the small signs of sadness that he was attempting to regain control of his emotions.  "Perhaps I could have," he continued, "if I hadn't been so caught up and secure in the normality and peace of the day."

"So that's why I'm like this," he finally looked at Bulma, who was rendered speechless.  "I don't want it to happen again."

"Vegeta…" Bulma began.

"You're right," Vegeta said easily, lying back down.  "I'm going to go out and train tomorrow, probably starting before you even wake up.  Even through the normality, I'm going to make myself prepared.  We can't be taken off guard.  If we are, especially with the nature of the leech's powers, it will spell disaster."

Vegeta stopped talking, seemingly spent of energy.  Bulma watched him, knowing this was one of the precious few times that he had come even close to pouring out his soul.  She knew not to ruin it with words.  Instead, she snuggled closer to him, and within a few minutes she actually felt an arm go around her.

She felt bad about how it was affecting Vegeta, but, guiltily, Bulma reveled in the normality of the moment.  It wasn't like they'd have the luxury of it any time soon.

.

The night was exceptionally quiet.

Not that anyone would be able to tell.  It seemed like the entire world – the entire universe was sleeping.  Of course, this was foolishness.  On half of the one planet it was daytime, so not as many people were sleeping.  But it wasn't the strict facts.  It was the mood – the atmosphere.

There weren't even very many animals making the usual noises.  Although there were very few animals that would make noise in the middle of the ocean, there hadn't been much noise in the desert, and not even a barking dog in the classy subdivision.  Even here, the sea was amazingly still as he descended to the tiny island.

Meanwhile, he crackled with power, though that didn't make very much noise at all.  It was a good thing too.  He needed to keep a low profile.

The energy was not all his, although he had plenty of energy already.  That he kept carefully hidden.  He knew that these warriors had been training for a year, and their ki sense was probably at its peak.  Though the scarred human, the three-eyes, and the kewpie doll had obviously not been training as hard as some of the others.  Their collective power was not as much as he'd hoped, and they didn't even feel him standing over them, slowly draining them of their power.

They were fools.

As were these.  The door creaked as it opened.  They had not locked it, feeling secure in the isolation of their island and their high power levels.

Holding his breath, he crept up the stairs, bypassing several empty rooms, some that looked as if they had once been bedrooms and now were storage.  He wondered how the previous residents would have felt.  With disgust at the apparent lack of respect for the possibly deceased former residents, he slid along the hallway to what looked like the largest bedroom.

It was the master bedroom, and there was soft snoring emitting from it.  He grinned.  Bingo!

He could see two mops of hair peaking from the blankets – one blonde and one black slightly tinged with gray.  They were both so peaceful.  He could make out a book lying on the covers between them, open face-down to hold the place.

First the android.

He moved slowly over to the right side of the bed, barely even breathing.  He didn't know if the android would have any extra sensors.  He'd been wondering if she even had any life energy, but those doubts had just been dispelled by the warm glow of it hanging over her as she slept.

That was why energy was easier to steal while the person was asleep.  A person only utilizes the minimum level of energy while he or she is unconscious, and state of actual sleeping will push the ki outward to surround the body while the mind is asleep.  He supposed that it was a primal protective measure.

Not that it could protect against a leech.

He held his palms outward, touching the warm field of energy mere centimeters above the cyborg's body.  He grinned as he felt it flow within him.  This was much more pleasant than actually sucking energy from an alert opponent.  And this energy definitely felt different.  It felt… nice.  He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the drawing of energy.

And then he heard the bed creak.

He jerked, one hand pulling away from 18's body as he opened his eyes.  Two glaring eyes under a mat of black hair greeted him.

.

Krillen had been having a rather pleasant dream… something involving Eighteen and a watergun.  Something seemed to stir him awake, however.  He was all set to explore the Freudian interpretations of the dream, and think up jokes to share with Eighteen later, when he saw a dark figure hovering over his wife.

He raised up slightly, the bed protesting as he did so, and simply stared at the figure, hoping against hope that this was a dream, and nothing was really happening.  The thoughts were dispelled when the figure's panic-filled eyes met his.

Somewhere in Krillen's brain, the realization of what was happening and the fact that it wasn't a dream connected to form a rush of extreme anger and power.  He couldn't really make out the nighttime visitor.  All he could make out was that it was standing over his wife with the intention of doing harm.  That was enough to make Krillen's ki spike to its highest.

He pulled back his hands and, realizing that the attacker was now too surprised to move, started to form his most familiar attack.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

The wave hit dead on, shooting the screaming figure through a shattering roof.  Krillen was on his feet by this time, advancing on his attacker.  He could hear sharp breaths, and couldn't figure out whether they were his opponent's or his own.

It was a full moon that night, and, though he had rarely seen him before, he knew exactly who it was.

"Jiten?!"

The boy, still smoking from the close-range Kamehameha and obviously in some pain, laughed harshly.  "So I'm remembered after all."

Krillen stared at the boy, trying to make out the laughing, if mischievous, child that had once seemed as innocent and both Goku and Goten when they had been children.  He could only see hardness in those eyes, as if the boy had turned into someone else entirely.

"What were you doing, Jiten?" Krillen said slowly and calmly, as he would any child who had gotten himself or herself into a dangerous situation.

Jiten crossed his arms and glared.  He was not very intimidating or daunting, but he looked more evil than Vegeta had ever thought about being.

"I serve a new master now," Jiten said with an excited, nervous whisper.  The energy is for him."

Jiten suddenly looked upward, as if someone was talking in his head and he couldn't pay attention to anything else.  He nodded his head and looked back at Krillen.

Krillen was trying to think of something else to say, hoping that he could reach some vestige of Jiten left within the tiny acolyte.

His thoughts were cut off by Jiten.  "Where are the dragonballs?  Probably at Capsule Corp… right?"

Krillen gaped at him, not sure of what to say.  What could he say?  Don't do anything to them… we're going to wish your father back with them.  Or perhaps he could tell him the wrong place and send him on a wild goose chase to save time.

Before Krillen could say a thing, Jiten had flown off with such speed as Krillen could never dream.

.

On the Supreme Kai's planet, somewhere in unknown space, Jita was kicking the Supreme Kai awake.  From the look in her eyes, he instantly knew.

"It has begun."

.

Reviewer thanks:

Lil Shady:  Wow… and that chapter was me writing flat and shallow characters!  Ha-ha.  Anyway.  Thank you for the praise, and I'm glad you enjoyed the reviewer special.  I am going to get to your new chapters, by the way.  I just forget whenever I actually do get online.  Anyway, see ya later!

ClassicDrogn: You know, I was actually flattered by the honesty of your review.  I rarely have people tell me that my fanfiction writing is slightly above the average writing of a paperback novel.  It tells me that you know good writing… anyway.  I don't know exactly what I'm getting at, but I guess you understand what I'm saying.  I'm glad you're enjoying my really long angstfest.

Nagash:  You know, when I began writing "The Soul," I didn't know that an original character (female Saiyan who happens to be the sister of either Goku or Vegeta) was an overused and tired idea.  I just had this idea for a character and went with it.  Sometimes I have trouble with dealing with the massive amount of character which Toriyama has provided us, but I'm trying.  Thank you for appreciating my efforts.

Howler:  I knew you'd like the review chapter, sweetie.  And I found out that I can write comedy on my own… mostly from your influence.  I always knew you'd be a bad influence on me.  Ha-ha.  Just kidding.  And I really didn't want to dwell on Piccolo and Pikkon all that much.  I did try to write a longer scene with them, but when it comes down to it, there's really not much for them to talk about.  And, one more thing.  HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER!  YA HAPPY?!  : )  Love you.

I know this chapter was a little short, but I found a good stopping place in the action.  I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible.