Unnerving calm

'I am Vegeta,' he simply answered while Bulma finally managed to get loose from him.

As her feet walked away from the man, her eyes stayed on his. Understanding this wasn't Vegeta at all. His eyes were void of all the emotions she had come to know so well.

Instead his eyes held something unnerving. Panic slowly overtook her as she tried to think of what to do. Never had she imagined losing him this way. He had just slipped from her fingers without her even knowing it. Who was this man before her?

'Vegeta?' Kakarot tried.

Bulma glanced at the Saiyan, hoping he would somehow know how to undo whatever had taken over Vegeta. But from his expression she could tell he was just as confused as her.
She sensed something different from him too. Quirking up an eyebrow when seeing how serious he was being. His usual grin was nowhere to be found. Instead a stern, steady look was on his face, matching his aura of control.

Her eyes went from Kakarot to Bardock, who looked more defeated than his son. His eyebrows were almost meeting. His eyes were full of anger. It made her wonder for a second what could have happened before they had come here.

'Bulma, why don't you go somewhere safe. A battlefield isn't the place for a woman like you,' Kakarot said.
'Yes, dear. Do what the monkey says,' Vegeta said.

Bulma quirked up an eyebrow at the remark but remained silent. Her eyes went from Vegeta to Kakarot but neither noticed her stare.

Both tensed up, ready to fight. Sensing the danger that hung in the air, Bulma took a few steps away from them and was relieved to see them both fly up to greater the distance.

Turning her head, Bardock had stayed put. His eyes were following his son. She could sense something was off. He was clearly ignoring her presence.

Feeling there was something horrible wrong, Bulma moved towards him. But as she took a step towards the Saiyan, he instinctively took one back, leaving the distance the same. He clenched his fist, as if he was trying to repress great anger.

'B-Bardock? What happened? Is everything alright?'

His dark eyes looked at her with doubt, clearly wondering if her questions were sincere.

'Please… Talk to me,' she tried.

'I lost my son.'

He bit out the words, clearly pained to say them out loud. The statement silenced her. Her brain immediately put the pieces together.

Raditz was dead.

They had never crossed paths again since Earth and she would be lying to say she found that unfortunate… But now that she had a child growing inside of her and she could suddenly grasp a glimpse of the tragedy of losing one. Good or bad, as a parent that made no difference.

Strangely her heart also felt some sort of relief. His grief meant Saiyans did care for one another. It gave her a feeling of hope. Hope that Vegeta would care about his son.

'He regretted going against Vegeta,' Bardock muttered, lost in thought. 'He wanted to go home, bring back the others...'
'We will,' Bulma said, her voice sounding weak. 'We will bring them all back.'

'So, here we are again. And I thought we had settled everything on Vegeta,' Kakarot started.
'Oh?' Vegeta said in surprise, obviously not sure of what he was talking about.

Noticing his strange reaction, Kakarot tried to figure out what could be going on. Bulma is right, he is under some sort of spell. Perhaps Ginyu is controlling him…?

Turning his head slightly, he took a good look at the Captain. The man was completely wiped out, barely breathing.

How could he possibly control Vegeta? That guy is hardly conscious… No, it must be something else!

'Come on, Saiyan! Show me what you got! I'm dying to try this body out to its fullest potential!'
'This body…?' Kakarot repeated.

Ginyu disappeared and reappeared in front of him before he could figure out what was going on. Hitting him straight in the stomach and then in the face, Kakarot was thrown down towards the ground. Quickly recovering from the blow, he managed to save himself from a nasty fall.

Hissing in pain and annoyance of Vegeta's dirty fighting, Kakarot realized he did not have much of a choice. He couldn't hold back despite the fact he found it ridiculous to be fighting each other when Frieza was around.

'Vegeta! Come on! We don't have to do this! I already told you that!'
'Oh! So, you lost back on Vegeta and now you are begging for mercy? Ha! I'll give you exactly what you deserve, you coward!'
'I didn't lose...' Kakarot muttered, realizing this really wasn't Vegeta who he was fighting.

Vegeta then again reappeared before him but Kakarot was able to block the attack this time, which gave him a nice opening to attack. Managing to give Vegeta a few blows that would be hard to recover from, Kakarot felt a weird feeling grow inside of him. Every time his fist met Vegeta's face, he had to suppress the strange feeling of reluctance.

It almost felt as if what he was doing, was wrong. At this point Vegeta was supposed to be fighting Frieza, not him.

Besides, he no longer felt the need to be in the King's way.

Yet their fight continued, understanding that this Vegeta could only be stopped by defeat.

Sweat was now dripping down his entire body. His breaths were ragged after the many savage combination of strikes. Taking in his opponent, he wondered how long he could last against him.
Because even though he had the upper hand, Kakarot knew the King was capable of so much more. It was almost as if his movements were restricted. He wasn't fighting like himself either. Vegeta was quicker, more determined. More vicious.

The man before him was clearly someone else.

'Who are you?'

Just as when Bulma asked, he did not answer. Only smirking in response. Vegeta disappeared out of sight again and Kakarot could barely avoid his attack this time around.

'Whoever you are, you're clearly not Vegeta.'
'Who else could I be then!?'

'We should get rid of Ginyu,' Bardock muttered. 'He's still alive. We shouldn't take any risks.'
'I-I don't want to stay here by myself!' Bulma said as he was about to leave.
'It's dangerous, stay here.'
'I'm a sitting duck if I stay here!'
'Then go inside the ship!'
'It's full of weird freaky-aliens in there! Hell no!'
Bardock's mouth fell open and for a moment he was speechless. Shaking his head in regret, he told her to stay close and be quiet.
'You are by far the most stubborn woman I've ever met…'
'I'll take that as a compliment,' Bulma dryly answered while staying close behind him and keeping her eyes on the fighting pair above them.

Suddenly there was an ominous silence. Like the calm before a storm. Silence was the envoy before calamity arrived.

Even she could feel how the battle would soon erupt again. More violent and destructive.

She knew Vegeta would win from Kakarot. He was more powerful than ever…
Never had she thought his power would not be his to keep. What if they could not bring him back? What if he stayed like this and became what he despised so much… Frieza's underling?

She shook her head and didn't let her mind dwell on it, closely walking behind Bardock.

As they reached Ginyu, who was barely breathing, the ground started to tremble. A white light high in the sky appeared and blinded them.

Bardock protectively placed his arm around her and shielded her face from the flying debris. It took a few long seconds for things to calm down again. Then, there was only smoke before them.

Bulma and Bardock exchanged a look, both wondering who would come out as victorious.
They heard Ginyu groan behind them. Bardock turned around and gave the captain a grin, amused to see him in such a poor state. Bulma on the other hand felt nauseous to see him like this.

His face was so swollen he could only open one eye. He had a deep wound across his chest, purple blood gushing out.

'So, it has come to this, Captain Ginyu… Executed out of pure pity by nothing but a filthy Saiyan.'

Bardock raised his hand and aimed at his heart.

'B-Bardock…'
'What is it? Are you going to beg for pity, now?'
'D-don't…' His one eye went to hers, 'Woman…'
Bulma let out a strangled cry, wondering why she had been so stubborn of coming along with Bardock and see this awful scene unfold right before her eyes.

But she couldn't stand being so close to Frieza's ship. The idea of falling back into the hands of Frieza, frightened her to no end. All she truly wanted was to be close to Vegeta right now...

Her eyes searched for him again, but he was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Kakarot.

'Bulma!'

Startled to hear her name, she turned around to watch Ginyu reach his hand out to her. Quirking up an eyebrow, her eyes met Ginyu's. He had a strange look in his eye, as if he was familiar with her.
Bulma immediately halted Bardock as he was about to end the man's life. 'Wait!'
'What the…!' Bardock muttered in anger.
'I never told him my name…'
'T-that's not me!' Ginyu breathed out as his eye went to something behind them.

Bulma turned around and saw Vegeta. As he wanted to fly towards them, he got attacked by Kakarot.

'B-Bulma… H-he switched bodies with me…'

'Vegeta!?' Bulma gasped while shoving Bardock aside.

Vegeta let out a deep breath and then gritted his teeth, calling Ginyu a coward. His focus still on the captain, who was fighting with his body. Bulma kneeled next to him, finally understanding what was going on.

'No way,' Bardock whispered in shock.
'How the hell do we undo this!?' Bulma yelled.

Bardock shrugged, uncertain what they exactly could do. It wasn't like Ginyu was going to switch bodies because they had figured it out. Bulma wanted to move but remained frozen on the spot, she simply couldn't stand the idea to touch Ginyu, even if it was Vegeta inside. A loud explosion erupted through the air again.

Everyone's eyes went to Vegeta and Kakarot, both still alive and still battling it out.

Bulma noted that was a bit strange because according to her calculations Vegeta should be much stronger than Kakarot at this point.

'How is that possible? Vegeta is supposed to be much stronger…'

Vegeta snickered while Bardock, clicked his tongue in understanding.

'Ginyu seems to be under the impression that when he's in Vegeta's body he'll be just as powerful as him. But it doesn't seem to work that way. It seems his own power is limited, even when in another body.'

'Damn you!' Ginyu growled at the Saiyan before him. No matter how many times he shot or tried to strike the bastard, he'd always come out unharmed.

'Perhaps you should quit while you still can, Vegeta,' Kakarot yelled.

He had noted Bulma and his father standing next to Ginyu. He had a faint clue of what was going on, considering they had refrained from killing the captain. He just needed to figure out how it was done, so he could undo it…

'There was a strange yellow light when Vegeta was battling Ginyu,' Bulma said while thinking back to the moment Vegeta started acting so strange. Or to put it more correctly, when Ginyu started pretending to be Vegeta.

'Yes…' Vegeta hissed in anger.

Bulma could hear he was in pain. A part of her pitied him; to endure the physical pain of another... Though she assumed it was mostly his proud that had gotten wounded and was now hurting him.

'If we could somehow manage to trick him into switching bodies again…' Bardock muttered.
'He's looking for power… We need to make sure he wants to switch bodies with Kakarot!' Bulma said, thinking out loud.
'Kakarot? What good will that do us!'
'Just when they are about to switch, we switch him back to his own body!'
'Good thinking but again, how?' Bardock asked.
'A little bit of excessive powerplay and… bait,' Bulma smirked.

She turned around to look at Vegeta in Ginyu's body, who had a puzzled look in his face.

'Don't take this too seriously…'

Kakarot took some distance as he had to think of something quick! Vegeta, or whoever it was, was going all out now. He didn't know how long he'd be able to last.

Suddenly his father appeared next to him as he wanted to question him, Bardock pulled him aside, out of the sight of his opponent.

'We need to make him believe you are the stronger one. We are going to make him think your winning,' Bardock said.
'I am winning!' Kakarot snapped, clearly offended.
'Yes, but not enough to make him want to switch bodies with you.'
'What!?'

Ginyu tried to keep his eyes focused but the damn Saiyan was too quick. Much quicker than before.
It was almost as if there was two of them! He could hardly take in the situation, let alone think of a decent attack!

Vegeta's body wasn't at all what he expected! It wasn't quite as good as he thought it would be. He was going to lose to this third class of a Saiyan! What a pathetic King!

'Vegeta!'

Ginyu kept his eyes on the Saiyan, who for some reason now had stopped attacking him. He was all out of breath and his body had taken quite some damage. Cursing his luck, he then noted how well the other Saiyan still looked. He smirked, he'd just switch bodies again!

'Vegeta!'

Annoyed at the woman's yelling, he turned to look at her and was startled to see her eyes on him. It took him a second to figure out that she was talking to him. Of course, I am Vegeta!

'Yes?' He sweetly asked, though still a bit annoyed at her interference.
'If you lose to Kakarot, I am so leaving you! I'll go with Kakarot, I swear!'

'Well, why didn't you say so right away?' he snickered. Bingo! Now I get the girl again!

Fate was clearly pushing him to switch bodies again. He couldn't help but widen his grin when seeing the arrogant Saiyan before him awaiting his next move like a fool. Once their bodies would be switched, he'd be as good as dead! Noticing how his current body wasn't quite worn out yet, he decided to bait the Saiyan one more time and get a good beating. Once they'd be switched, the Saiyan would be stuck in a body that was completely useless.

Kakarot took the bait as he expected. Foolish Saiyan!

Once Lord Frieza will return, we'll wish him immortality and then we'll be unstoppable. For a split second he thought of his fallen comrades. Jeice. Burter. Recoome… Guldo. I guess I'll have to assemble a new Ginyu Force now. Oh, well at least I'll have girl to keep me company in the meantime…

As he almost fell to the ground before using his last bit of power to save himself, Ginyu then flew to Kakarot.

The Saiyan gave him an intrigued look, clearly wondering what he was up to.

He snickered in amusement; it would be something that went far above his little monkey-brain.

Gathering his last bit of energy, Ginyu focused on the spiky haired man before him and as he was about to switch, the Saiyan grinned back at him. His vision then blurred, a normal thing to occur when leaving one's body.

When in his new body, Ginyu triumphantly started to laugh.

'I bet you didn't think that would be happening, eh!? Haha, you fool! I tricked you!'

As he opened his eyes, he saw the Saiyan still smirking at him. He frowned. Noting the Saiyan had grown a scar on his face suddenly. He was holding up Vegeta's body. His eyes widened in shock while he felt himself falling.

Someone grabbed him by his armor. Turning his head, he then saw the Saiyan he had been fighting this whole time. It was him who was holding him up while wearing the exact same smirk as his father.

'You two! You look so much alike I didn't even notice when fighting you…'
He then looked down, realizing something much more horrendous. He was in neither's body.
'Y-you tricked me!'

'Yes, we did,' Kakarot laughed. He then let go of Ginyu's body and destroyed him with a huge ki-beam.

'Careful, Bulma is down there!' Bardock yelled.

Kakarot shook his head and nodded to where the blue-haired woman was. She was standing next to the Dragon Balls. Her worried expression made his smirk disappear while he glanced at the King.

A strange mix of doubt and jealousy suddenly overwhelmed him. Normally he would try to manipulate the situation and turn it favorably around for himself but… everything was different now. His brother was gone. His entire race was gone… He was partially to blame.
He clenched his fist, reminding himself to try and hold on to the idea of becoming better than he once was. If he wanted things to change, not giving into his own selfish needs was a part of that.

Besides, she was never going to be his. No matter what he tried to do.

'Let's go before Frieza returns,' Bardock said. Vegeta hung limp in his arms, trying to fight off unconsciousness. If it weren't for his stubbornness, he would be out of it.

'What are you guys doing!?'
'Putting him in a healing tank, Bulma,' Kakarot answered almost singingly.

She rolled her eyes in response, 'I can see that! I mean, what if Frieza returns!?'

'I'll stall him,' Bardock sternly answered, not allowing her panic to cause a ruckus. 'You should get healed up too, Kakarot. We need to buy Vegeta some time.'

Bulma looked at Vegeta in the healing tank. He was still half-awake but had refrained from speaking up. Either it was out of embarrassment by being helped by the two or simply because he was not capable of showing any form of gratitude. Or maybe it was both.

A sigh escaped her lips, making her wonder where they stood now. Everything happened so fast. Frieza had told him about the child…

I didn't want him to know yet… I don't want to be a distraction. But I guess it's too late now…

Her blue eyes took in his stern expression. His still face told her nothing of what he could be thinking.

I can't help but wonder what your thoughts could be on the matter… Or have you given it no thought at all, Vegeta?

'Bulma,' Bardock said, snapping her out of her thoughts. 'Come over here.'

He had bandaged most of his injuries. Out of the three, he indeed was the least wounded one. Yet his expression held a look of pure agony.

While taking him in, suddenly her mind told her that perhaps he was dealing with a different type of pain that could not be physically seen on the outside. One that no bandage could help.

'Do you have any idea why the Dragon Balls are not responding?' he asked her.

Pushing the terrifying thoughts away, she shook her head in response.

'No. I've thought about it, but I can't think of any reason why this could be. Normally you just gather them, the Dragon appears, and you get to make your wish...'

Nodding, he shrugged and said that right now it didn't matter. All they could do was wait.

'What unnerving calm to wait in,' she responded.

Her surroundings were simply surreal. This whole situation was just completely bizarre!

Vegeta in a healing tank, in Frieza's ship no less. Kakarot trying to help them… The Dragon Balls not working. Just how many more surprised lay ahead?

'Bulma,' Bardock started, 'Do you realize you are carrying the heir to the throne?'

Feeling caught, she tensed up while her mind went in a frenzy after hearing his words. No, she hadn't thought of that. She had been too consumed with other matters to think outside of the situation they now found themselves in.

'I never really cared for much,' Bardock suddenly said. 'But my wife... She brings out a part of me… that no one else does.'

A bit taken back at his sudden openness, Bulma only nodded while taking a seat next to him and helping him place the last bandage on his arm.
'In turn, she cares for my sons… Losing her was painful. Losing my son was even more painful because I know she cared deeply for him.'

'I know Saiyans care more than they are willing to admit…' Bulma quietly said, understanding now where he was going with this. He wasn't fighting for Vegeta or the Saiyan Empire. But for his family. For his fallen comrades.

'Perhaps your son can give birth to a new Saiyan Empire,' Bardock said. His statement was shocking and soothing at the same time. Even if right now there was no Saiyan Empire.

'Your words left an impact on him. Kakarot was always a bit of a wild card. Even for me as his father, I found it hard to figure him out. But you gave him a goal. And I can tell, you did the same with Vegeta. I've never seen him so… determined before. I now truly believe he wants nothing more but to end the terror that is Frieza. It is an honor to fight with him.'

'I'm glad to hear all that… I…'

The words got stuck in her mouth and she didn't know why but she suddenly felt like crying. Bardock got up,

'I'll protect you and your child with my life.'

Her mouth fell open, but no words followed. Bardock did not look back, leaving her behind speechless and to dwell in the silence alone.

Letting her shoulders hang in defeat, her eyes went back to where Vegeta was. Hoping sincerely, he too would have somewhat of a positive reaction to their child.

Our child.

I don't think we are ready. I never imagined us having to be ready. We never envisioned anything. We just

felt.Looking at the beaten King, who was now clearly sleeping she let out a deep sigh.

Hurry up already. I want to speak to you. I'm driving myself mad not knowing what is on your mind… I need to know what you think. Or rather… how you feel.

Getting off the bench herself, she clicked her tongue. Sitting here and waiting around would do no good.
And she would simply drive herself mad at this rate!

Glancing out of the window, she saw the clear blue sky. Once the Dragon gets summoned it will turn dark…

She then clenched her fist.

I need to figure out how to use the Dragon Balls before Frieza returns!

Woman?

His vision was blurry. Focusing on her silhouette, he gave her a weak smirk. She answered with a simple yet devious smile of her own. One she only shared with him when being alone.

Or so he'd like to think that.

He watched how she walked towards him, completely uncaring about her state of undress. When her hands reached out to touch him, he closed his eyes. Her hands were soft as were her lips on his.
For now, he let her do whatever she pleased, not feeling the need to move. Even if she tried her very best, he could always make her submit to him within seconds.

But for now, he let her be in charge.

Grinning at her whimpering, he silenced her with his mouth.

Suddenly his mind reminded him there were other things to attend.

Vegeta frowned, trying to remember what that was. The damn woman was always so distracting.

Stop whimpering…

But she only continued, ignoring his request. Until she suddenly let out a muffled cry. His mouth wasn't on hers. His body wasn't doing anything. He was still sitting. His arms limp by his side.

Opening his eyes, he saw her blue ones. Wide in fear. No longer focused on him.

A white hand was on her mouth.

And slowly she was taken away from him. As he wanted to reach out and stop her, he found his arms were not responding. He couldn't feel his body. It was as if gravity was too heavy and he could not move a muscle.

His eyes widened when he saw the man holding her.

A tail wrapped itself around her body, pressing her tightly against his own body. His red eyes remaining on him the entire time.
Not blinking or showing any sign of emotion and with a provoking smirk that would not falter. Hardly acknowledging the woman, he held in his arms, Frieza reached out to touch her naked skin. Reveling at how this affected Vegeta.

Frieza, he cursed but neither Frieza nor the woman acknowledged his outburst.

She was trembling like a leaf while he continued to shamelessly caress her body. His purple nails contrasting sharply on her fair skin. Touching parts of her body that Vegeta claimed to be only his.

Wanting to get up, he tried to move but couldn't. It was as if his body was trapped.
His body refused obeying any command. He even wanted to scream out but… his mouth stayed shut.

Realizing in shock that every word had been inside of his head. His eyes went back to the woman's, who was pleading him to help her until she finally succumbed to the man holding her. Her eyes fell shut and he watched how she let her head rest on her captor's shoulder. Seeing a horrible change come over her.

Inwardly he screamed loudly, asking her why she would ever betray him so blatantly. It was impossible that the amount of anger he was feeling could not make him capable of any movement.

Yet he remained restricted in his sitting position.

Not understanding why, he tried to make sense of the situation. Suppressing his emotions completely, he took in the scene.

His eyes went to Frieza, who's expression never changed no matter how the woman responded. The woman lay limp in his arms, no longer aware of her surroundings. A pang of pain and shame went through Vegeta's chest, but he bit away the pain. Neither seemed to acknowledge his stare.

Once Frieza was finished, he placed his hand on her lower belly.

She's carrying your child.

What that his own voice? …He couldn't tell.

He could only watch the woman lay in his nemesis' arms.

I'll take good care of the both of them, Vegeta.

Widening his eyes at hearing Frieza's voice while seeing the white alien hold the same smirk, he then realized that this scene wasn't possible. None of this was possible.

Their surroundings made no sense. They were all floating in a sky that held the color of dawn.

Shaking his head, he told himself to wake up.

This instant!

Opening his eyes, his vision was blurry at first but soon a clear image appeared. He could move his body, feel his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Awake and still alive.

The white interior gave away on who's ship he was. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement.

Kakarot, your arrogant bastard…

Glad to be no longer hallucinating, and not in the mood to dwell on the meaning of his own imagination, he tried to focus on what was ahead.

Once this healing session was be over, he would be fighting Frieza.

Yet almost immediately his eyes searched for familiar blue hair. He didn't see her. Closing his eyes to focus on the energy surrounding him, he noted there was no one in the room with him but Kakarot. She was not here with him.

Where is that woman?

He must've been in here for a while because he was feeling a lot better and it was getting dark outside.

But Namek never has a night…

Understanding what this meant, his eyes went wide in shock and remembered seeing this oddity back on Earth. He just hoped it was the woman who had just summoned the Dragon and not his nemesis…

In a flash he could suddenly sense enormous amounts of power on Namek.

Only three more chapters to go!