I'm still hashing out where I want this story to go so please be patient with me.
XXXXXXxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 12
XXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bulma sighed as she ticked another day off of her list. Vegeta had been hiding from her for a week now. He would still come by and train Goku but before she could see him he would already be gone. Where he went to after his sessions was a mystery to her, even though she could feel his emotions, he wouldn't disclose anything else to her no matter how hard she tried to press.
Now, she stood out in the rain again. The cool water soothing her exhausted soul. How did this happen? Years ago, if anyone had asked, she would've said she found a nice human man to settle down with and have a couple of kids. However, Vegeta wasn't unwanted, just hard to pin down. A deep pain settled within her chest then, a hollow ache, and then warm arms were around her as the rain drenched them both. The sky seemed to swell and open up to drown them as if it felt their emotional storm.
"Where have you been?" She whispered quietly, the rain a steady staccato against the concrete and glass.
"I needed some time." He answered just as softly. "There are things in my past that I am not proud of. Things I regret and others that I wish would remain buried. When you saw my memories, they were ones I was not prepared to face again. Especially the demise of my father."
"And Goku?"
"The buffoon is still not quite ready for battle and the time is growing short. He needs to be able to remember but he just isn't grasping the concept. I wish that I had something that would fully awaken him. He's still more human than Mer and it's frustrating." He huffed out a breath before she felt her feet leave the ground. They were then inside her room and he was drying her off with a towel. "You're going to catch your death one of these days."
"I've been doing it since I was a child. I haven't got sick then, I won't now." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm more worried about you."
Her fingers curled around the pendent on her neck, twirling the metal symbol around like a touchstone. It helped her feel grounded in this mess, especially when he decided to take off without telling her.
"I can't help that I need space from time to time." He answered her mental barrage of questions. "I'm not a land-dweller, Bulma, and I never can be one completely. A part of me will always belong to the sea. This ache that you feel is the ocean's call. A call that I cannot answer and the pain is unmatched by anything else. I need to avenge my people so that the oceans are free once more. I need to train Kakarot, he needs to remember his purpose."
"Is there a way that I could help? Something that might jog his memory?"
"The only thing that would even remotely come close would be my father's triton, but that hovers over the broken throne which Frieza now sits on."
"What about the pendent?"
"It is a source of power, yes, but only a small one." He sighed. "There is no way to amplify it on the scale that needs to be set."
She smiled then and let out a hearty chuckle. "Vegeta, you're talking to a genius here. I'm sure I can whip up something with no problem."
"Woman..."
"Seriously, Vegeta, leave it to me."
"I just meant that the magic is Mer, not technology."
"Magic/technology, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I can create a device that harnesses the energy signature and recalibrate it to hold a charge. It doesn't matter about the innate properties, what matters is that the charge is big enough and be able to harness the output. You said your father had a triton right?"
"Correct."
She pulled out a fresh sheet of blueprint paper onto her large desk in the corner of the room and began sketching out some schematics.
XXXXxxxx
Vegeta watched in fascination as his woman started working on a device to harness the power of the pendent. It was a stretch, to be sure, but this drive he felt from her made a lot more sense now. Yes, he knew she was intelligent. It was one of the more intriguing qualities he loved about her.
The blueprint began to take shape and he read her scribbled script, using her fast-working mind to fill in the blanks. She created a triton shape with a base housing to hold the heirloom with a positive and negative connection. Then, there was a reservoir that he needed to charge with his energy so the device could then recognise the energy signature and begin the charging sequence. She was quite right, she was indeed a genius.
"Bear in mind that this is only going to be a prototype. I'll need to test that it can hold a charge before we actually try it out on Goku."
Vegeta rubbed his chin absentmindedly. "When will it be ready for testing?"
"Once I collaborate with dad and we figure out the best material to use to hold the energy sources. It might need to be something from your world and if that's the case, well..."
"I'll deal with it then, woman. I've evaded the tyrant for a long time before I came on land. I know where he is right now and I know where to go if the need arises." He pulled her into his embrace. "If you can pull this off you have just given me new hope."
"You can count on me." She returned his embrace and he felt a warmth within himself filling the gap and helping to ease the call for oceans embracing arms. There was a possibility this could work and he was willing to take that chance. It was all he had now.