A/N: DB/Z is owned by Akira Toriyama only. Sorry for taking so long! Damn, I haven't much of an excuse, except I haven't been in a writing spirit once again. But I'm slowly getting it back! Thanks for being patient, and I hope you read and review! Thanks!
I Pray
Goku rose to his feet; his wound pounding out from the pain. He winced slightly; his eyes staring in disbelief.
"Vegeta? What are you doing here?" Goku questioned.
"I work here" he told him before smirking arrogantly as always.
"You work here? Why?" Goku asked outraged.
"Because, fool, here I have respect! Here I can do whatever I want!"
"What are you talking about? You had respect in our village!"
"No! YOU had respect! It was YOU who everybody loved and wanted! It was YOU who took everything from me!"
"I didn't take anything from you Vegeta. The people have always just trusted me more because unlike you, I helped them and supported them. What the hell did you do? Nothing! That's what!" Vegeta snarled.
"SILENCE! It doesn't matter anymore. I have what I want…and now…I can have my revenge" he spoke in a dark tone. Goku grit his teeth. He could really do without this right now.
"Vegeta, I really don't have the time for this"
"I don't think I care…" Vegeta spoke back. Goku frowned harder.
"There are innocent people out there Vegeta! I need to help them!" Goku shouted, "You and I can settle this another time!"
"No we can't!" Vegeta yelled back; his voice just heard over the sounds of machinery and artillery, "You WILL fight me now! Understood...Kakarott…" Goku winced.
"Don't call me that" he told him calmly.
"Why not? I thought you loved that name" Vegeta answered with a smirk.
"You know very well I don't so just can it!" Vegeta sniggered.
"What's the matter Kakarott? Can't handle the truth?" Goku growled, "Obviously not" Vegeta answered.
"That was a long time ago, Vegeta, it's in the past"
"No…It's here in the now and it will be in the future! It will always be here! Because it's in you!" Goku tried to shake away the words used against him. But it was to no avail. Vegeta was right.
Goku was an orphan; found wailing in the desert, most likely abandoned. But he wasn't an ordinary child. Though human, there would always be something within him that made him something else….something more….a monster…
When Bulma found him as a baby, he was barely alive. He was cold, thirsty and unfed. But with a little help he was nursed back to health and he was well and kicking just like any other baby. But one evening; as Bulma and her mother were cleaning him…they noticed something was terribly wrong with this child…
Doctors had tried to help him, and specialists…everyone Bulma could afford to get; analysed the child…but it was unclear to what the problem with him was.
Something had happened to him…something bad had happened to him before he had been found. There were strange markings upon his lower abdomen and also upon his head; markings that were burned into his skin…markings that were scarred across his body – irremovable…
The child had a mysterious power within him; his strength and ability was 10 times more than that of a normal baby. He had strange mood swings; sometimes quite drastic almost ending up with someone getting hurt. This baby was far from normal…yet this baby was human in every shape and form.
Goku peeled up his worn dirty shirt to see the markings just poking up from the top of his pants. Whatever was wrong with him, it wasn't normal, he had known that for a long time and he had felt and seen the changes between him and others his age. He frowned…there was no escaping such a life; such a mystery….he would always be this…thing….this monster…Kakarott….
He shook the thoughts out and glared at Vegeta.
"I don't have time for this, but if this is the only way to get you out of my way then so be it" Vegeta smirked.
"I'm glad you're thinking straight, Kakarott…Very glad"
000
The surviving prisoners had followed their leader – Yamcha to the main doors where they hoped to escape their prison once and for all. But Yamcha had brought them to a halt; the positive thinking gone; now replaced with doubt as he viewed the outside world before him.
Just how was he going to get the people out of here without them getting killed?
"Yamcha" came a quiet call from his side, "Come on bro, what are you waiting for? We gotta go, man!" Krillin told him.
"But look at it Krillin…we don't stand a chance out there"
"Hey! And you say I'm always negative! It's me who usually says that kinda crap"
"Yes, but this is serious. Too many lives have already been lost…I'm not prepared to loose anymore" Yamcha told him straight.
The helicopters fired without stopping down at the armies of villains below them. It was noisy, the huge guns banging away with every bullet; almost deafening the good guys below.
One of the men aboard Helicopter 149; picked up his gun; ready to take the rope and jump down into the crowded war; but something caught his eye.
"Sir!" he called loudly; catching the attention if one of them men beside him, "Down there, sir! There are people down there!" he shouted, his index finger pointing towards the opening of the palace. The man smiled.
"That's them! That's gotta be them! The prisoners from the village! Alright, get this chopper down there! Let's give them a safe passage out!"
"Yes sir!" answered the pilot.
"Look!" called Krillin; pointing up at the approaching flying machine, it's coming to help us!"
"Great! This could be or chance!" The helicopter immediately began to fire at the opposing men; leaving a safe trail for the prisoners to run out onto.
"Alright Yamcha, let's do this!" bellowed Krillin, and with speed Yamcha, Krillin and the many prisoners ran out from their cover and out onto the battlefield.
000
Goku winced as he was punched and thrown against the stoned wall. He straightened himself up; his fist connecting with Vegeta's jaw; a small yelp coming from the older man's mouth. But then he smirked at the younger man.
"You're going to have to do better than that" Vegeta told him gruffly and with power he grasped hold of Goku and threw him roughly to the floor. Goku winced and held his side tenderly. It just couldn't get any worse could it? Suddenly Vegeta was at his side, and all of a sudden Goku felt immense pain upon his back.
He screamed out; his back arching and his finger nails digging into the dirt.
"Oh I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Vegeta asked him with a smirk still etched on his face. Goku frowned deeply; his nails digging into the dirt deeper and harder as his anger rose with the pain.
"Never mind, Kakarott, it's not the end of the World. We are only going to take over it, not kill everyone, so don't worry. And I'll also do a kind deed and let your friends die with you, so you can all live happily ever after in Heaven" he told him before throwing his head back in laughter. Goku closed his eyes tight; his veins boiling. He couldn't take anymore of this. His friends were going to need him, the people to.
Like a bolt of lightning Goku rose to his feet and raced over to the laughing Vegeta and began to pound the blood out of him. He punched him, kicked him, and threw him to the hard dirt smothered ground. It was Vegeta's turn to cry out.
"You fool!" he winced out as he crawled to across the ground, soon getting to his knees.
"You'll pay for that"
"Bring it" Goku returned with a smirk.
000
Yamcha and Krillin rushed the long line of survivors to the far end of the grounds where a metal barb wired fence stood half open.
"Come on! Everyone go! Go! Go!" Yamcha shouted at the top of his voice. The helicopter pilot smiled as he seen the people escape and turned back to where the fight was still continuing.
000
Goku and Vegeta fought on, with kicks, punches, wrestles and hits with any object they could find. Goku had Vegeta on the floor; his hands securely around Vegeta's neck and he wasn't going to let go. Vegeta gasped for breath; shock evacuating from him at Goku's strength. But at the corner of his eye he could see something…a broken pole, sharp on the one end. He grit his teeth and forcefully kicked Goku off him. Goku stood up, but before he knew it Vegeta had got up and rammed something razor-sharp into his shoulder.
Goku screamed out his pain once more as Vegeta pushed him brutally against the wall; the pole impaling through the wall's surface. Vegeta sniggered as he held the sharp pole in place; his hands pushing it in deep and deeper every now and then.
"What's the matter, Kakarott? A little stuck?" he asked him. Goku growled; trying to get free, but the pain was too much. Vegeta laughed loudly; it was apparent he was winning here, but suddenly his laughter stopped as a gun shot went off.
Goku's eyes were blurred but after a few seconds he could see what had happened.
"Chichi?" he called breathless. Chichi was stood in the door way; her frame shaking slightly; a small pistol in her grasp aimed at Vegeta.
"You…bitch" Vegeta cursed as he held his leg devastatingly on the ground. Chichi soon straightened up and rushed to aid Goku.
"Oh Goku!" she cried; her lips kissing him all over his face before coming to rest on his lips. He returned it, quite grateful it was somehow helping to diminish the pain. She pulled back hastily; her eyes full of worry as she saw the pole.
"It's ok" Goku told her in ragged breathes, "I just need you to help me pull it out" she swallowed but nodded and took hold of the weapon.
"Ready? 1. 2. 3!" and sharply she pulled the object out of him. He bit his lip, only just containing the cry that wanted to erupt.
"Oh Goku" she cried, the tears coming, "Are you going to be alright?"
"Yes" he replied, "Don't you worry about me" he told her to ease her worry.
"Kakarott…" came a call from the side of him.
"Kakarott?" Chichi repeated.
"Long story" Goku told her. Vegeta rose to his feet and limped forward slightly.
"Don't think your going to get away so easy" Vegeta warned him. But it was at that moment a bomb hit the building and crashed right through to the cells; where it exploded sending the three to the ground. The walls crumbled down and so did the ceiling, leaving piles of debris everywhere. Goku rose to his knees; Chichi beside him; luckily unhurt from the blast.
"Come on Goku, let's go, please" she begged him, tugging on his un-harmed arm. Goku stood up with her; his eyes scanning the rubble. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.
"Goku! Come on! We have to go!" she told him once more; her hand taking his and pulling him.
"Ok!" he replied following her out. Their hands fell apart and Goku stopped to look behind one last time. He frowned; but felt a small loss within him.
"Goodbye Vegeta" he said quietly before following Chichi out.
000
By the time they reached the outside; there was hardly anything left of the palace. It was a complete ruin now; with hundreds of men running about it.
"This way!" Chichi shouted to him as she led him away. The two reached Yamcha and Krillin, who stood waiting for the two.
"Goku! Your arm!" Yamcha said in a worried voice.
"Don't worry" Goku assured him, slightly out of breath, "I'll be fine"
"As you can see, we can't get out that way" Krillin told him. Goku looked over at the gate and was shocked to see it all covered and blocked with rubble from the explosion.
"The people! Where are they?" Goku suddenly demanded.
"They're fine! They got out in time" Yamcha told him calmly, "Now we have to find a way out" he told him. Goku sighed; his eyes searching for another way out. When he found one, he smiled.
"There! We can just dig our way out!" he said; pointing to another barb wired fence. It led back to the village, but it was the long way round.
"Good eyes!" Yamcha said; grinning madly. The four raced over to the fence, and immediately they began to dig up the earth beneath the fence with their hands.
A few minutes later the hole was big enough and carefully Goku crawled under half way to check it.
"Alright" he said, "You first Chichi" she got to her stomach and shuffled under the fence; Goku's hands pushing her gently through. Krillin was next, then Yamcha, and then himself.
Once on the other side, the four began to run as fast as they could down the sandy plain; their minds on one thing – to get home.
Chichi began to run but as she stepped forward there was a loud click. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and looking down. She pulled her foot back slightly to see what it was, and when she saw it, she swallowed in fear and carefully put her foot back.
Goku ran as fast as he could; looking behind every now and then to check on Chichi. But when he noticed she had stopped; he came to a halt and turned back.
"Chichi?" he called loudly from his spot, "Chichi what's wrong?" Yamcha and Krillin came to a sudden stop also, their eyes looking back curiously. Just what was wrong?
"Chichi?" Goku called once more, afraid of why she wasn't replying.
Chichi raised her head; a smile on her face; yet the fear was evident from her face. Goku became nervous…something was terribly wrong. She looked back down and he followed her eyes…he gasped and suddenly caught sight of something in the ground beside him.
"Mines" he whispered in disbelief. Yamcha and Krillin looked around and spotted them to. How they missed them they never knew.
"Shit! That was luck I tell you" Yamcha commented loudly, scooting closer to Krillin.
Chichi looked back at Goku, a warm smile yet a frightened one on her face.
"Chichi…no, don't you dare!" Goku ordered her as she slowly walked forward to avoid the mines, "I'm gonna get you out of this, don't you dare move your foot!" he told her with a croaky voice; the fear now within him. But she continued to smile; the tears falling down her dirty face.
"I'm sorry" she said.
"Chichi! NOOO! CHICHI! DON'T YOU DARE!" He screamed with everything he had as he began to run towards her. But it was too late.
She removed her foot…