Chapter 36: Back to Life, Back to Reality
On Earth (Two weeks after the Broly fiasco)...
The loud beeping sound of a generic, bedside alarm clock resounded throughout the small, single-person bedroom of one Son Gohan, causing its sole resident to stir under his covers. When the incessant noise failed to rouse the youngster after the first few seconds, the volume of its screeching suddenly grew even louder; so much so that it looked as though the glass of his window was about to shatter.
This sudden increase in noise finally pulled the demi-Saiyan out of his dream world who, after giving a low groan of discomfort, reached over and slapped a hand down on the piece of plastic to shut off the thing. Unfortunately, due to the force of his actions he ended up not only flattening the entire clock, he also wound up putting his hand through the surface of his desk, making a puncture hole.
Hearing the noise of the device die completely as it shattered into a thousand pieces, Gohan's head surfaced from underneath his blanket, revealing him in his Super Saiyan 2 state sweating bullets. He had nightmare about Broly killing everyone he card about, and then blacking out. Before he blacked out, he saw an illuminating shadow of a red velvet machine with blue gauntlets and golden eyes with his father's head along with his, Trunks, some other toddler with his fathers hair and Vegeta's corpses along the ground of the devastated Earth. And then came another figure, with metallic gray exterior made of Katchin and yellow eyes to boot.
A scowl framed his face while he slowly pulled his fist out of his now ruined bedside drawer. "Again? Ugh…" He really needed to ask Bulma if he could buy some of that Vegeta-proof-stuff she was designing for the guy to use around the house. Kami knew that he could really use with some of it…
Maybe even beg her for a Gravity Room he could set up in the backyard somewhere while he was at it.
Anyway, after destroying yet another ten zeni timepiece and ruining his table in the process, the Super Saiyan 2 sat up and stretched, feeling his muscles pop one after the other.
According to his count, it'd been close to three weeks since the Broly incident; making that two, potentially universal conflicts the Z-fighters had had to combat in just one year. But of course, the crisis had been successfully averted thanks to good old-fashioned fisticuffs, the earth was once again allowed to continue turning as if nothing had ever happened. However, the last battle was pure luck on the Z-fighters part. If Turles hadn't made the ultimate sacrifice, they would've all been decimated by the myth.
This went to show that even in peacetime, the Z-fighters couldn't slack off and should always be prepared no matter the circumstances.
It was probably the most ongoing trend for Gohan and his friends. All of them had saved the planet so many times and yet have received no acknowledgements for their actions. Though it didn't bother him or his family so much, since they preferred to peace and quiet, a couple of the others were feeling a little bit cheated out of their honors, namely Yamcha and Krillin. But, not being ones to hold grudges for the sake of well being and serenity, they let the credit-taking slide, and returned as productive, hard-working members of society.
Gohan in the meantime tackled his training regimens even harder than ever due to the humiliation they faced on Namek.
With the knowledge that there were even more powerful fighters out there in the universe than Cell, the boy resolved to make some much needed amendments to his previous routine, starting with his extended study periods. After telling his mother about the outcome of the Broly battle, the Son mother, satisfied with the progress her son had made in his education and studies, reluctantly allowed him to train more times during the week with the promise that he would be able to use his skills to provide a steady income for his family.
Feeling as if a great weight was being lifted from his shoulders, Gohan assured Chi-Chi that he would be able to get some part-time work at Capsule Corp with Bulma. With his level of skill, strength and knowledge, the boy was confident he would be able to fill up an entire roster of staff for the business, thereby saving them a lot on big projects.
Gohan also had the incredibly attractive idea of entering the World Martial Arts Tournaments to get some extra spending money for his family, since they could surely use it as they had used nearly all of the money Gohan had won for them five years ago.
Approving of his plan, Chi-Chi pretty much allowed Gohan free reign. So with an idea in mind and a new plan for the future coming to light, the demi-Saiyan spent a majority of his time training out in the fields. Goku trained with him at times, other times he was helping out Chi Chi. Sometimes, he'd train in Other World under the Grand Kai's tutelage.
Not only did it allow him plenty of opportunities to think, clear his head and make some independent arrangements for the coming years, it also gave him more time to become accustomed to his Super Saiyan 2 form. Having already stayed like this for a few days since his battle against Broly, Gohan was really starting to come into his own. However, he was nowhere close to mastering the erratic form. Electricty hadn't ceased, just suppressed.
Though he did experience sudden mood swings every now and then, his naturally kind side battling with the aggressive side of his level two state, he learned to get a hold of himself through quiet meditation and concentration. After long periods of settling his spirit and finding his true self swirling in the depths of all his monstrous power, the demi-Saiyan would then go out and do some physical exercises that focused on control above everything else, which really helped him in acquiring a firmer grasp of his Ascended Saiyan state. It also strengthened his body in general, as continuing to hold this form required a great deal of effort and focus.
Understandably, often he did have these surprising and unexpected bursts of strength, which led him to damaging one thing or another around the property.
This morning it had been his whole bedside station.
Granted it wasn't something as big as the dining room chair, the T.V remote, parts of the floor or the front door, it was still another thing broken. Hopefully he would be able to fix that sometime soon.
After waking up early that Saturday morning and noticing that it was still dark out, the transformed boy flexed his arms and, upon rolling out of bed, quickly slapped on his purple gi. Being sure to quietly tiptoe out of the house, the young half-Saiyan then retreated out onto his property's front lawn and, just like every other early morning, began a series of warm ups and stretching routines.
Going through the familiar motions of his father, starting with his legs, his arms, and then throwing a few light jabs and kicks for practice, kicking up a small gust of wind at the same time, Gohan then took off and headed into the hills. Being sure to put a big distance between himself and his home, the half-Saiyan quickly threw himself into several long rounds of shadow sparring. Holding his power at just the right level so that he didn't cause any unnecessary damage to the region, the spiky haired blonde's form blurred out and sprang into the sky, where he began his eloquent martial dance over the rolling fields of his homeland. Though he modeled his fighting style after his father, his was completely different.
The next few hours practically flew by at a reasonable speed, with Gohan jumping from close combat skills to ki control. He even spent an hour of fighting against himself through use of the Cloning technique, which he was able to pick up from Piccolo during the month of building the Infinity to help him with his sparring practices.
He was making cracking progress too.
Eventually, when the sun started to rise over the mountains, the boy ended his bout of fighting with his copies and promptly returned them to his body. After they jumped back into him from different sides and melded into a singularity once again, the demi-Saiyan continued on with a harder round of sparring, this time with a little more power in his blows.
Generating gusts of wind that cut across Mount Paozu's valleys and fields in all directions, the young Saiyan male blurred over the valleys and through the sky at terrific speeds, easily at mach 100. Eventually, after shadow sparring for several more minutes, the boy dropped to ground level and began back flipping rapidly across the terrain. Landing on his feet and sliding to a stop, the boy cupped his hands beside him and charged a blue ball of ki between his hands in an instant.
"KA-ME-HA-ME-" Its light blasting out across the grass, Gohan gritted his teeth before flinging his attack forward with a mighty bellow. "HAAAAAAAAA!" The blast rocketed from his hands and shot across the valleys, at first traveling in a straight line. But then, all of a sudden, the powerful attack started to curve and bend as the young Super Saiyan warrior took control of the beam's path and guided it safely over the hills and into the sky.
Bringing it around in a wide arc, he eventually brought the blast back down to the ground and directed it towards him. The blue energy wave honed in on his position, prompting the young warrior to spin around and catch the attack with his bare hands. The enormous attack slammed into his palms and burned into them with the ferocity of the sun itself. Eventually, after a full minute of struggling, the powered down Super Saiyan 2 then dug his fingers into the front of the blast and literally ripped it in half. The two parts detonated safely off to the sides with great force, shaking the countryside all around.
When the smoke cleared and the embers of energy faded onto the wind, it revealed Gohan standing perfectly unscathed in the center. Patting his hands down and dusting off his gi, the young warrior breathed a sigh of relief and went about loosening his arms and shoulders. "Good work out. But if I want to get stronger, I'm gonna have to do a lot more than that. I won't let what transpired against Broly happen again."
The demi-Saiyan dropped to his normal form and grabbed a timer. He set it to 30 Seconds. He lost the training drill if he doesn't see the timer at least twice in his base form alone. The half Saiyan hit start and almost instantly shot into the sky, ripping through it at full speed. Breaking the sound barrier by 120 times, at Mach 120, he passed the clock one time in 23 seconds. That left 7 seconds for Gohan to circle the Earth again. The hybrid had failed to break his goal so he subjected himself to more taxing drills.
Three years had passed since the untimely incident on Namek with the myth and the renegade. After recovering from the battle that scarred Namek forever, the Z-fighters learned a lesson. They had to get even stronger. Before the fight, the warriors were confident not many things in the universe could harm them. Until Broly came along, and not only defeated them, he crushed them, humiliated them effortlessly. He pummeled through all of them and it was a miracle the group had survived, and it was thanks to a renegade whom wasn't even on their side. Out of all of them though, Vegeta took the loss the hardest. At first, the myth had put him a state paralyzed with fear. The might prince had been on his knees, mesmerized by the legends sheer power alone. And then the humiliation from it all, making him look like a coward, a fool, a person that was all bark and no bite. It crushed his pride, and not only that, he was the weakest Saiyan on the Z-fighters. Goku surpassed both of the other Saiyans with his extra training from Other World while he was still dead, and Gohan was already stronger than him prior to the tournament. The newly resolved Saiyan pushed the hardest, way past his limits during the three years, thinking about Broly, Kakarot and Gohan as motivation. However, this caused his family to crumble in grief. The Saiyan hardly associated with them, just training, eating, training, sleeping, training and training again. It seemed the total humiliation crushed him and his pride, turning him into a training machine. Bulma grew sick of it, resorting to drugs to reduce her stress. Young Trunks suffered without his father to guide him, and Bulma intoxicants affected him worse. His mother was a drunk and his father didn't even acknowledge either of them. The five year old couldn't understand what had transpired though.
During the prior three years, the second son of Goku named Goten was born and is already a three year old. Goku spent time with his family the vast majority of the three years, taking care of Goten, helping around the house, and keeping Gohan on his toes. The Saiyan however trained in Other World on the Grand Kai's planet with the Grand Kai himself whenever he trained by himself. He always returned to his household everyday afterwards. Life was going good for the Saiyan and his wife learned how to fly courtesy of himself so they wouldn't need to buy a car. The control for the Saiyans in their Super Saiyan 2 states were nearly perfect, it just required an extra half a year or so on fine tuning. The eratic aura of the transformation made it very hard to control for extremely long periods of time. Their power grew in leaps and bounds, quadruple what they were against Broly, which is above the basic version of the Legendary Super Saiyan 2 state. If the mastered version of base Super Saiyan was a much more powerful variant to the regular Super Saiyan, then the same could probably be said for Super Saiyan 2.
For the first hybrid, he also felt impacted by the Broly fiasco. He felt he wasn't strong enough because he hardly trained after the Cell debacle was done and over with. He was beaten with ease by an adversary who's power dwarfed everyone's. After the whole thing ended and he recovered, he started training much more and more seriously, his power growing in leaps and bounds, though he wasn't as strong as his father quite yet. However, the demi-Saiyan had a life, unlike his elder Saiyan compatriots. He continued to study profusely, worked on projects with Bulma in Capsule Corp, helped out his mother in their rather large home, looked after his little brother and Trunks whenever he came over to play, and trained/hung out with Videl. The Demi-Saiyan, whom was 14 years old, a true Teenager, started harboring feelings for Videl. He knew it was puberty and his hormones, but he really started to like her more than just a friend. Though he was still too shy to admit it out loud. Speaking of Videl, she improved her power considerably, now on the level of Vegeta when he came to Earth under Gohan's tutelage. She also grew a few inches, standing at 5'5''. She also grew her hair out, letting it flow down to her shoulders. Her lady hood didn't go unnoticed as they started developing much more, already the size of a regular woman's. Gohan's voice also got considerably deeper, sounding less and less like a kid. Gohan also grew quite a bit, standing at 5'8", which is now a bit taller than Vegeta and taller than his mother or Bulma. He grew his hair upwards courtesy of Videl's influence, and it now looked like his hair from before in Super Saiyan 2. Just a little shorter, but just as wild as before. Goku also started teaching Videl the basics of the Kaioken, not the full version however. Gohan even got her started on GR training, getting her used to 5x Earth's gravity and working her way up.
The rest of the Z-fighters were training as well, but adapted to life of peace. Piccolo lived on the lookout, and consistently trained with Gohan whenever Goku had gone to train in Other World. His strength also grew to that of Cell's in his second most powerful form, when he absorbed Raditz, which was quite impressive for the Namekian. Krillin trained even harder but at the same time dated Android 18. The former monk recently married her as well as grew out his hair, showing that he shaved the majority of his life. Tien and Chiaotzu continued to train in solitude far away into the mountains. Yamcha got himself a date in Maron, Krillin's first girlfriend, and kept on training as well, pushing harder than his other human companions to reach their level of power so he wouldn't be demeaned as a weakling. Yamcha felt like quitting, but after hearing of the battle with Broly and how everyone got their posteriors kicked, he got back into training mode, determined to not be a weakling any longer.
So that was the gist of it. Peace has reigned on the Z-fighters for three years. But how long will it last...
In Mount Paozu's Mountains slopes during winter...
Gohan couldn't work up the nerve.
It had nearly been a whole 7 years since he met the dazzling, midnight haired girl, Videl. Her fiery spirit, raw tenacity, and stubborn attitude had done nothing but attract the teenager, having been fourteen for a bit more than 3 months. The only thing is that unti three years ago during Cell, Gohan had never lived or socialized with anyone his age, boy or girl besides Videl.
He couldn't ask Goku or Vegeta, the latter having closed himself off from the younger Saiyan and his father, and having little to no direct conversations with anyone other than Bulma. The former was nearly clueless when it came to handling girls.
He couldn't ask Piccolo for advise, him being...well...Piccolo, who had no helpful advice when engaging in conversation with someone of the opposite sex of any other race.
Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin, despite being partnered with their own romantic partners, had little advice that Gohan wanted to seek. All of their girlfriends were abnormal in some sense or another: Maron was a ditsy girl on the surface, while retaining a wise and precise side that had knowledge of many things, thus making her the perfect spy, that managed to give Yamcha the inspiration he needed to increase his strength and new found tenacity as a warrior; Launch was a Bipolar woman, who for all intents and purposes, had the rarest case of dual personality due to inconsistent sneezing; And last but not least, the beautiful Android 18, while the most reserved and seemingly normal of the three women, had a contained, nasty temper that rivaled any Saiyan's that Gohan knew of.
He thought of asking Bulma, but it'd be the same as if he asked his mom. Gohan sighed, looking over at Videl, whom held a crackling sphere of her own energy in between the palm of her hands. It was white, and thrummed like a beating heart, with occasional spasms of shocking tendrils, showing just how much she was pouring her energy into it while constantly focusing her own natural Ki that flowed within her body.
He knew, now was the time, while the thought was still fresh. He'd know it'd take years if he didn't take initiative now, rather than later.
Hesitantly, Gohan walked up to stand right next to Videl, the latter still squinting her eyes in concentration of the tasking procedure before her. Looking to the side, Gohan stomped his foot on the ground trying to calm down his anticipation. "Hey, Videl. What is that?"
"Oh, hey, Gohan," Videl spoke out with stress and concentration, not taking her eyes for a second off the ball of flowing energy in between her hands, "I'm trying to create my own signature move, or attack for that matter."
"That's great and all, what'll you call it?" Asked Gohan, examining the ki gathered in her palm.
"I'd like to call it the 'Exploding Comet'. The attack itself explodes into multiple burst of ki," Videl explained, her hair flowing with the breeze of wind.
"Well...I was wondering...uhhh," Gohan scratched the back of his head, blushing even hotter as he kept his gaze down at his feet, his periphery locked onto Videl's glowing ball of hot light. "Maybe...we could...uh...if its alright with you... do something together... just you and me."
Videl began to grind her teeth, annoyed by Gohan's sudden case of shyness, wondering what he could be talking about. All she could concentrate was the delicate task of continually harnessing her energy, maintaining it, charging it, and control her aura to keep balance. But all she heard was Gohan's voice, irritatingly distracting her.
"Gohan, please spit it out!" Videl spoke loudly, more harshly than she wanted to, due to the tenuous task at hand.
What she heard in response, however, wasn't what she expected.
"What I'm trying to say is... will you go out with me?" Gohan inquired calmly, his face alight with a visible blush.
What happened in response caused Videl's hands to suddenly lose grip of her energy ball, causing it to fire off like a cannon, and thrust into the horizon. In the distance, a collection of mountains combusted at once within an enormous explosion, sending a blistering wind emphasizing its distant grade of destruction. The name of the attack surely made itself present through the destruction.
Neither Videl nor Gohan noticed or cared about the distant, thunderous blast. Even as Videl stood to her feet, she couldn't help but don a similar mask of flushed cheeks to match Gohan's. Grasping her aloof hair, she began to fiddle with it as she spoke aloud. "Well...I guess...that would be fine..."
"Great." Gohan responded, though kept his eyes away from Videl's at the moment. "Then, would you like to go to North City's strip and just...hang out...there?"
"Sounds great!" Videl spoke suddenly, as she ran over to Gohan and jumped on his back for a free ride, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let's get going then!"
Gohan's eyes widened, suddenly feeling very awkward and hot inside at the same time. As her voice tickled his ear, he couldn't help but gulp down his nervousness, as a small fraction of his pride allowed him to not stop out of shock, but continue flying forward. The uncomfortable rush of hormones also didn't help him out, causing him to mentally hope she wouldn't notice how tight his Gi suddenly became.
"Alright!" Gohan spoke, enjoying the fact Videl helped him break out of his shell, taking the lead this time around. He still couldn't shake the feeling of the contact Videl was giving so he asked the obvious question.
"Uh, Videl? What are you-"
"Shhhh, silly. I felt tired after using all that concentration and energy on my own personal techniques. Besides," Videl added with a contented smile, "you're body is really warm and...relaxing, so I'll just lie right here for awhile."
Gohan couldn't bring up words to describe the feeling that welled up within his guts. He supposed this was what butterflies in his stomach was to feel like, for he never felt like spreading a happy grin as wide as he did now. Even as he sped at a small pacing velocity, he couldn't help but enjoy the moments that he was spending with such a wonderful girl like Videl.
"You want to turn up the speed?" asked the teenage Saiyan with a smile.
"Sure. I wanna see how fast and exhilarating a Super Saiyan is from a near first person perspective." Videl stated.
"Well ya might want to hold on tight!" Gohan exclaimed, flashing Super Saiyan and shooting off with a hyper sonic boom. To onlookers, the pair looked like a golden comet soaring through the atmosphere.
After they arrived, Gohan and Videl explored the cityscape of North City.
While it was a comparably advanced city, most of the buildings were at a much lower altitude compared to West and East Cities, having quite a few areas for entertainment and recreational activities. From food stands, to an amusement part, to a water park, arcades, and various places just to walk around for scenic pleasure, Gohan and Videl spent the majority of their day just hanging out like normal teens on a casual date.
The idea that this was agreed to being a date made Gohan, and even Videl's stomach's flourish with joy. Having a date in a casual, fun environment definitely broke down the mental and emotional walls they placed as mutual martial artists, and treated each other in a much more nonchalant manner.
As they walked down the sidewalk, with the Sun beginning to set in the horizon, Gohan stared off at the beautiful sunset while enjoying a cone of ice cream with Videl. Walking towards a curve back to the city, Gohan looked over at the dazzling radiance that was cast over the young girl, enamoring his eyes and make his heart beat against his chest.
That said heart nearly burst through his chest, as his head whiplashed to the side when Videl turned to look in his direction. Despite him not seeing her face, he could feel the knowing smile stretch across her face as she ate her ice cream with satisfaction. Before Gohan knew it, he felt his hand reaching out to grasp a hold of Videl's, squeezing it.
As his eyes met hers, they both smiled as they walked back into the festive like city, Videl returned the feelings silently by entwining her fingers into his own. The act of acknowledgement of his physical motion of sincere feelings to her being returned brought a sense of fulfillment like none other than before. He had gained his powers through nothing but pain, anguish, and desperation. But standing next to her, felt like he truly had something he wanted to protect and preserve. He couldn't quite comprehend what the feeling was though, it was a weird sensation to say the least. Well to him due to not having experience.
When they finished the ice cream, they went into the arcade for one more round of competition before calling the day. At 8:15 p.m, the duo walked out hand in hand. Gohan, feeling more confident then ever, walked out with a small smile. The moon shone brightly upon the ground, illuminated Gohan and Videl as they walked down the street.
Suddenly, Videl's cell phone buzzed with a 'Ding' sound. Checking it, she quickly shoved it down her pocket with a look of irritation on her face. Videl sighed in annoyance before speaking. "Damnit. Daddy wants me home soon, I gotta go before he throws a fit."
"Well that's a bummer, it was fun while it lasted." Gohan commented, rubbing his hair sheepishly while frowning. Onyx eyes met sapphire ones in a clash of affection.
"I couldn't agree more," Videl inquired. She gave Gohan a kiss on the cheek to show appreciation while looking him in the eye. This caused Gohan to blush scarlet before righting himself quickly. Luckily, Videl couldn't see it in the dark therefore she couldn't comment.
They shared one more glance at one another before the ebony haired girl flew into the dark sky with an illuminating white bluish glow. She then took off with a supersonic boom, ripping through the sky like a bullet.
Gohan warped to the sky and warped for a second time across the horizon towards his home.
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Vegeta reached for the off switch on the gravity machine, turning it off with a sigh. He had been at it for the past four hours, and yet, he felt unnaturally hungry for his shift. Grabbing a towel from the rack within the chamber, he began toweling himself off, realizing he'd need a shower the moment he'd get in the house. Grumbling he could only wonder how much stronger he truly gotten within the last two and a half years.
'An entire three years since I got humiliated by Broly and I'm still weaker than Kakarot and on par with his brat. I'm pushing myself the hardest, way beyond my limits, and I'm still on the damn back burner,' Vegeta realized bitterly, squeezing the towel as he exits from the chamber.
His eyes squinted as bright sunlight hits his retinas, making him shake his head as he walks begrudgingly towards the house, to scrounge up something from the fridge.
Considering how much work the past three years he placed into his training, he had been asking Bulma less to cook meals and started to just find quick edible snacks to take with him instead as he worked out in the Gravity Chamber. He even started sleeping most of the years in the chamber instead of the warm, comfortable bed that tempted him to relax and slumber with Bulma.
Due to the unmistakable evidence via Namekian ex guardian of Earth, he knew that Kakarot had been finding some way of training in a much more intense environment than what the lax one on Earth had to offer.
Vegeta had hardly paid attention until recently how absent the life and warmth he had in the past three years in comparison to before his sight returned to his rival. The one warrior, and outclassed low-life had beaten him in the most humiliating fashion. Time and again he missed opportunities to return the favor in a challenging light, but something always came up. And when Vegeta was a free spirit in hell, the low class got even more special training from the Grand Kai. Coupled with the fact that the palm haired Saiyan could still gain extra training from the Grand Kai pissed him off to no end. He now felt he would never catch up to his rival, but the prince would keep trying, determined to achieve his goal.
"I don't know what I'm doing anymore," Vegeta muttered lowly as he reached the house, opening the door to acquire his sustenance. And for the first time, he was blatantly exposed to the vices of his wife.
His nose, enhanced beyond what normal humans could smell, scrunched up at the scent of old alcohol and smoke flowing through the house. His eyes watered slightly at the stinging sensation they made to his eyes, causing him to growl with irritation, "What the hell is going on?! Is someone dead?!"
After following the trail of crumpled beer cans, wine bottles and cigarette buds, Vegeta found the source of all the mess and smoke-filled air. Bulma was sitting back on a chair, with a single beer can in her right hand, a weed bag on her lap and a cigarette in the other. The rosy complexion on her face and the half-dead look in her eyes dictated to Vegeta she was slightly buzzed while feeling slightly sedated by the effects of the cigars.
What infuriated him most wasn't the act of intoxicants being used so blatantly in overdose, but the fact she was doing it right next to a whimpering five year old Trunks.
"What the Hell is this all about, woman?!" Vegeta asked aloud in irritation, waving his hand at all the mess and the state she was in.
"Oh...hey Vegeta," Bulma spoke in a flat, monotone voice, sounding tired and frustrated herself, "finally decided to come in to recharge before getting back at it, huh? Well, help yourself to the fridge...its not like I cook here anymore."
"Bulma, what the hell's wrong with you?" Vegeta asked pointedly, raising his hand as his eyes widened with incredulous anger, motioning towards the irritated child standing within the play pen. "Why are you like this around Trunks? Do you not care what this is doing to him?!"
"Oh, he doesn't mind it," Bulma waved dismissively with her beer-grasping hand, looking over with a drunken smile at her child. "Isn't that right, my little man?"
Trunks shook his head vigorously, not liking the fumes of the intoxicants.
Shrugging, Bulma returned her attention to a heavily breathing Vegeta. "Well, he may whine a little, but its not gonna hurt him, right? Saiyan physiology remember." She said drunkly, not remembering nor care that intoxicants do harm them.
Turning away, Vegeta gritted his teeth as he spoke lowly, "I may not be the best father," he returned his gaze to look at Trunks' tear-eyed, irritated face, before meeting his wife's disgruntled visage. "But I know for a fact that stuff is going to skull-f*** him in the long run. If you know what's best for your...our...child, then you'll get rid of that stuff right now!"
Raising her left hand to take a long drag, Bulma exhaled blatantly, as she spoke with a venomous tone. "Make me you damn bastard!"
Vegeta didn't take long. Within the matter of a second, all of the cans on the floor and the fresh ones were placed into his arms, crushed into a small wet metallic ball. Grasping the pack of cigarettes, he threw out both of the waste products in the air and launched a ball of blue energy, turning it all into ash. Adding insult to injury, Vegeta snatched the beer can from her right hand and also threw it out, followed up with a blast of ki, and snuffed out her cigarette in her free hand. Then he picked up the weed bag and obliterated it to ash.
Blinking a few moments, Bulma began to absorb just what happened. When she did, she stood to her feet and shouted at the top of her lungs. "WHAT THE F***?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"I should be asking you that!" Vegeta pointed his finger at her with a dark glare displayed upon his visage. "Why are you acting like a complete slob and infecting our son with intoxicants like that?! Saiyan senses are enhanced from a humans, including smell!"
"Since when the hell have you cared?!" Bulma laughed bitterly, placing her hands on her hips. "Does smelling my breath and smelling my cigars bother you that much, Saiyan man? The Mighty Prince of all Saiyans cowers from drugs?!"
"You're drunk, woman!" Vegeta shouted.
Throwing up her hands up, Bulma began to tirade. "No shit I'm drunk! You know why? I haven't had a single moment of true peace and relaxation in over two years, thanks to you and you and your obsession!"
"Do tell, woman, how this is all my fault," Vegeta laughed derisively, crossing his arms over his chest as a smirk of amusement crossed his lips.
"You're not here anymore, you're just eating our food! You don't bother to take an ounce of care in raising your own son anymore, ever since your revival and Broly incident three years ago! All you do is train, train, eat, train, train, and eat! You don't sleep, and when you do, its not in bed with me anymore! Its as if any passion for doing anything outside of your stupid fixation with getting even with Goku has been sapped by seeing him surpass you even further AND the Broly incident! Soon, you'll not even remember our names, as the only name you remember is Kakarot, Kakarot. A name that shouldn't even matter to you like that anymore! I thought you had moved passed that, but that belief was shot out the window the moment you got your ass kicked!" Bulma finished shouting, heaving with great exertion as she glared at him.
Vegeta stayed silent, only settling with glaring back at her. The tension was considerable, and he swore he could hear sparks from how much animosity was being thrust into the air between them. He then finished with his profound growl as he unfurled his arms and walked right up into her foul-smelling face. "What my goals are and what your mundane ones are, range in importance from the distance between the stars to this mud ball of a planet. You've never grew up with the expectation of inheriting the throne your father suspected you to get by birthright, and then have that, and your whole race wiped out. You were never spat upon by someone who believed to be on top of the world and disrespected everything you represented. And that insult has gone unwarranted long enough. The moment I surpass Kakarot, I WILL have my revenge by defeating him," pointing his thumb at his chest with emphasis. "And I WILL not be stopped. Not by you, or my son, or anyone. This is my destiny, and you won't hold me back from it!" The prince transformed into a Super Saiyan involuntarily.
"Well, I'm not sure as hell stopping your obsessed, narcissistic, self-absorbed, immature, childish ambition, Vegeta!" Bulma spoke in a dry, flat tone, as she poked his chest with firm emphasis of her own, "you can have your petty vices, if you let me indulge in mine! Until then, don't even try lecturing me on what I should or shouldn't do, let alone parenting children! Poor little Trunks doesn't even have a true father!"
With a hiss, Vegeta turned on his heels and left Bulma in a huff. He blocked out the now apparent cries coming from Trunks' play pen, and the incredulous reality he now lived in. All the Saiyan could think about was anger and rage.
Grasping the handle of the door, he had to restrain himself from pulling it off the door as he opened it. Walking outside, he journeyed over to the center of the lawn, his breaths practically growing ragged with bottled frustration and rage. Raising his gloved hands up and lower his face to look at them, he glowered as he barely could close them into fists, clenching very tightly.
Then, pulling them back, Vegeta howled loudly. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!"
The force that expelled from his lungs shook the foundation of the entire city. Glass rattled, lawn ornaments cracked, and car alarms began sounding in fierce succession. By the time he stopped, all of the air had finally been released, and he felt his eyes close with some minute satisfaction.
Wrapping himself in an aura of Golden Ki, Vegeta launched himself off the ground and into the sky, flying farther into the downtown area of West City, hoping to clear his head and find some way to figure things out. Perhaps Bulma had been right? At the moment he didn't even care.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Half a galaxy away, a dark chamber lit up for the first time in decades. The final act of an ancient extinct alien race had been completed. A machine opened its yellow eyes for the first time ever. The red velvet machine with blue gauntlets, a pale face, and golden eyes sat up, fueled with hatred. Then another figure with metallic gray exterior made of Katchin and yellow eyes to boot arose. It had a golden inside mouth as well, along with black gauntlets on forearms and knees. The two machines had two different purposes but one common goal.
To eradicate the Saiyans by any means necessary.
A/N: And a new Saga begins. This Saga will have a darker approach to it, with an OC villain. It will incorporate less battling and more deception, diabolical concepts, different abilities and overall darker than normal, or at least I hope it is. Stay tuned for the next chapter and before I leave, I'll show you the Broly battle power levels.
Power Comparison:
Tier 0: Turles SSj2 (During Sacrifice)
Tier 1: Broly LSSJ2, Goku SSJ2 (Kaioken and Energy boosts)
Tier 2: Weakened Broly LSSJ2, Turles SSJ2 (After second Fruit)
Tier 3: Goku SSJ2, Gohan SSJ2, Vegeta SSJ2, Turles SSJ2, LSSJ Broly
Tier 4: Piccolo (After fusing with Slug), Goku SSJ, Gohan SSJ, Vegeta SSJ, Turles SSJ
Tier 5: Piccolo, Broly SSJ, Krillin (Super Kaioken x10)
Tier 6: Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Turles, Krillin, Paragus SSJ, Broly
Review Section:
C:Great chapter as always. Even though Turles's sacrifice was relatively obvious it was well done. Nice job on redeeming him. I hope you keep Broly dead instead of having him come back, like they did with the movies. I still love how Broly is super psycho. I love how Gohan reacts in the middle of battle to Broly's craziness, you do a great job to show that even though Gohan is a great warrior he is still a kid. Keep up the great work. Can't wait for Turles's storyline.
R:Definitely. Broly WON'T be coming back. If he did, it wouldn't make sense considering he was trapped in Turles vicinity and explosion. I'm glad you think I'm keeping the characters in character. Glad you loved the chapters during the Broly fight, and Turles will definitely get his storyline. We don't know what happened to the ruins of Frieza's intergalactic empire in space. Thanks for the review as always, keep them coming.
C:Awesome job.
R: Thank you.
C:You went above and beyond what I thought would happen with turles suicide attack. I thought it would be straight up turles eating the fruit then detonating. The battle that led up to that happening was damn good. It looked like briefly broly might cum back and win.
In response to the review where you said maybe far into the future you could make a story where the villians win their fights. Maybe you could expand on that and say take broly winning his fight and have broly go on to fight the remaining villians. Could be an interesting take instead of the regular one offs where the villians just wins their battle and it ends. Or z fighters fight said villain and the villain joins them and becomes good.
R: Very interesting prospect, I'm considering doing that instead. It could probably turn into spin-off series of this. And I couldn't have a Turles just straight up suicide move because it would've been for naught, Broly would have survived and killed the rest of the Z-fighters. Thanks for the review, I await your next one.
C:Once again u have done a great job and turles's sacrifice was really sad...i hope u update soon
R: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
C:Loved the chapter. The action was well written and very fun. And you're welcome for the Piccolo idea. :)
R: Thanks, I'm glad you think the chapter was enjoyable.
C: Would've been better with peanut butter, but I digress. Good chap as always, but the Broly fight seemed somewhat drawn out.
R: Sorry, I didn't have time to add peanut butter as I was writing. Thanks for the compliment and I agree the chapter was kind of drawn out. However, if I had Turles just do a suicide move, he wouldn't have killed Broly because Broly wouldn't have been pinned down or completely weakened. Then the sacrifice would've been for naught and the story would end due to everyone but Broly being dead.
C: Sad to see turles sacrifice and hopefully broly is gone for good but i have a question would you add more adventures or would you skip directly to 7 years after cell fiasco?
R: Glad you thought the sacrifice was sad and Broly is gone for good. And did this chapter answer your last question?
Stay tuned for the Next Chapter. Chapter 37: Undying Hatred. Until then, stay safe. Deuces.
