CHAPTER 3

"Vegeta!" Bulma cried out as she ran across the lawn. Her speculations were correct, the gravity room was flipped over and in shambles.

What the hell did he do?

Bulma plummeted to her knees upon arrival. She began to search through the clutter. She wept internally knowing that she was picking up crumbs of something she had worked so hard on. Her fingers were sliced with every piece she moved. The adrenaline was stopping any type of pain that occurred in her body. She looked over her shoulder at Yamcha who was in shock at the scene in front of him.

"I knew this would happen! He's been trying to do the impossible!" Yamcha sternly stated.

He hated Vegeta more than ever, but did that didn't stop him from feeling the worry that rushed through his veins.

His brain told him to just walk away. Vegeta had never helped him in any way, he killed him in the past. The only thing that kept him from leaving was his beautiful fiancé that restlessly rambled through the scraps of the machine. He sure as hell wasn't going to do this for Vegeta. One part of his brain remembered the horrible way that Vegeta treated him. And the other felt told him to have compassion and help. Vegeta was a heartless murderer, and that would not ever change. But if Bulma asked for his help, he couldn't say no.

Bulma's tear stained eyes searched, "where is he?" She cried, "Vegeta? Oh... Oh, no."

After a few minutes, Vegeta's hand shot up from the pile, causing Bulma to scream and fly backwards into Yamcha. The air was thick and filled with the toxic chemicals that combusted during the fire. Vegeta outstretched his arm in vain, as there wasn't anything to grab onto.

The rest of his arm broke through the rubble and braced itself, so he could push himself to freedom. He managed to get to his feet. His body shook, and pain trailed throughout his body. Both Yamcha and Bulma could tell he could barely stand on his own.

Bulma's voice shook, "y-you... okay?" She managed to ask him.

Vegeta's eyes searched for the woman. All the immense pain caused his senses to diminish.

"Of course, I am," he said faintly, pain overwhelmingly present in his tone. He could see two people in front of him, he knew one was Bulma, and the other one ultimately had to be Yamcha.

Bulma gave a sigh of relief, at least he was alive. Immediately her tone shifted. He could have blown up her house! What the hell did he think he was doing?! She jumped up from the ground and took an angry stance.

Her fists tightened, and her brows furrowed. "How dare you! You jerk! You almost wrecked my house! What are you trying to prove?!" She glared at him, awaiting his response.

Vegeta attempted to stand up fully, but soon realized the mistake he had made. A second later, he fell backwards and landed on his back causing debris to jumble around him.

Bulma's demeanor softened, "what... Oh no!" She yelled as she ran over to his damaged body. "You're hurt!" She exclaimed as she put his torso into her lap.

"No, I don't need help. I've got training to do." He stated in a soft, frail tone. His eyes were barely open; blood trickled down his abused face.

Bulma's eyes were full of concern. He really didn't want to get beaten by Goku, but it meant so much to him that he would risk his life.

"You've got to stop training for a while! I mean look at you, you're a complete wreck!" Bulma's concerned words echoed through his ears. Why did she have to care so much? He was just a little beaten up, that's all.

Vegeta gained enough strength to focus on Bulma's glossy eyes. "But I feel fine... I am a Saiyan! I can take a little pain, it means nothing to me. And I have to get stronger than Kakarot!" He exclaimed with what bit of pride he could muster.

Bulma's eyes grew soft. She felt sorry for him, he was so stubborn. "Okay sure, we all know you are a tough guy, but you need to rest for a while." Bulma tried to coerce him into letting her help him.

Vegeta grunted, "I take orders from no one!" He then pushed himself off Bulma and tried to stand as he did once before. His knees became wobbly. Before he knew it, his knees gave out from under him and he plummeted to the ground.

"Oh no!" Bulma cried as she rushed to his rescue. When would he ever learn to listen to her?

-(L)-

Throughout the room, the sound of Vegeta's heartbeats chimed from the medical equipment. He was in bad shape. She almost forgot that he wasn't invincible; he pushed himself farther than his Saiyan body could handle. After so long, those endless hours of training start doing more harm than good.

Maybe she could put a cap on the time that it would allow him to train?

It obviously hurt him bad enough. He didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon.

As soon are he wakes up, he will persist on finding a way to train. Could she find something strong enough to sedate him if he did wake up? Surely his tolerance is close to the same as a human, right?

Bulma propped her head on her shoulder. She set up a desk by his bedside in case something happened in the middle of the night. She wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to him and she wasn't there. She blinked rapidly trying to hold back the tears. He was laying in this bed because of her equipment.

He looked pitiful with the machines helping him breathe. He had cuts scaling his entire body, some shallow, and some deep. His dark skin made every white bandage pop out like a pop-up book. The only thing that was missing from this situation was his signature frown. He almost looked peaceful, and his eyes were relaxed. His features were not that bad. This was the first time she could look at him and not be accused of lusting over him.

As if she would ever lust after him. Yes, he did have a nice body, but the rest of the package wasn't worth it. He couldn't possibly think of her that way because he was too arrogant to admit it to himself if he did.

Bulma was startled by Vegeta's stricken voice. He winced and squirmed in the bed.

Kakarot! I'll beat you!" Vegeta stuttered through the waves of pain.

She snickered. He was so competitive. Him and Goku were probably competing at something in his head.

"Bulma."

Her heart jumped out of her body.

Did he say her name?

This was a first, it surely wasn't 'woman.' She rose from her seat and carefully positioned herself at his bedside. She didn't want to wake him, this would be the only time he could recover.

"Bulma."

Her eyes shuddered as the words left his lips. He didn't speak anymore.

He must be having a bad dream.

"Bulma, honey?" Her mother called out. "Bulma, sweetie, are you okay?" she said as she looked over her daughter.

"Yes, what is it mom?" Bulma snapped.

"Well honey, Yamcha is upstairs waiting for you. Do you want to see him, or should I tell him right now is not a good time?"

Bulma scoffed. Not a good time, really? He must be oblivious to what's been going on.

"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes." She closed her eyes and sighed. Yamcha was far from being her priority right now. Yes, they were newly engaged, but it still didn't stop her instinctive side from taking over. She had to make sure Vegeta was okay.

Bulma turned her head in the direction of Vegeta one last time. If anything were to happen to him, she would not be able to forgive herself.

"Mom, please keep an eye out for me while I'm gone. If anything happens, call me."

Mrs. Briefs giggled, "Of course I will."

"Thanks." Bulma walked out of the room and headed toward the upstairs.

(Later)

He's was running endlessly through the dark. Grunting with every step he takes. When will it end? How long could this void be? Nothing was ahead of him, nothing behind him, there was simply nothing.

Vegeta panted as he continued to run forward. Suddenly, a bright ray of blue lights flashed in front of him. Soon, the lights transformed into a thick wall of clouds. Surely, he had to be dreaming right? Why would this be happening to him? Nothing was this interesting on Earth.

He ran and ran, through each set of obstacles that appeared in front of him. A set of deep red rings outlined the void, at the end, Goku stood with his back turned and his fists clinched. Why was he there? He turned to face Vegeta.

Vegeta let out an aggravated scream. "Kakarot!" He continued to run toward Goku. Every step he took seemed useless. He didn't get an inch closer to Goku.

"I'm stronger than you!" Vegeta called out, thrusting himself forward in hopes of making some ground in this endless tunnel.

He kicked at Goku with all his might, but he vanished. He had finally caught up with him, and now he has disappeared?

Vegeta stood panting in the place where Goku had once been. A bright white light appeared and there stood Goku and another kid with short purple hair. Purple hair? How weird.

Suddenly both men in front of him had a warm yellow tone flash over their bodies and their hair managed to turn from black and purple, to a platinum blond color. Could this power even be real?

"I am the strongest!" Vegeta yelled, but suddenly was pushed back due to the two's power levels.

"But I am the one with royal blood in my veins! FATHER!" His eyes watered as he collapsed and fell deeper into the darkness.

Vegeta's eyes popped open, his defenses fully aware. He looked around, realizing where he was at. He turned his head and saw the tiny figure of the woman. She was sleeping at his bedside.

What the hell did she think she was doing? He didn't need a babysitter.

It was for her conscience, not his. He lay back and calmed his aching body. Suddenly he lost complete control over his senses. His body started contorting and seizing, and the monitors cried throughout the room.

Bulma abruptly opened her eyes and jumped up from her seat. Panic set in, she knew she had to do something, and make it quick!

"Someone get in here, help!" She yelled over the medical intercom.

A team of doctors and nurses flooded into the room. They crowded over him, pulling out equipment.

"He is going into cardiopulmonary arrest, call a code, we need a crash cart!"

The voices rang through her ears.

"Call a code blue, he isn't breathing, and I can't find a pulse!" The first nurse responded. She pressed her fingers to his neck, hopelessly searching for a pulse. Nothing… She began manual resuscitation.

"Nadia, what's going on? What do you need?" The second nurse called out running into the room. She put her hand on the first nurses back to get her attention.

Nadia responded hastily. "I cannot find a pulse, and he is not breathing, call a full code."

"Call a full code? Okay." The nurse ran out of the room and pressed the red button inscribed 'code blue.' Over the intercom she called out, "We have a code blue in room eight, get down here immediately."

'Code blue, room eight.' Rang over the loud speakers, the sound of running and strolling equipment sounded throughout the hallway.

"I am going to infuse normal saline into the drip." The second nurse called out as she pushed a code of buttons on the I.V. machine.

Vegeta's lips were turning a shade of blue. His normal color was long from gone at this point. The doctor rushed into the room pushing a crash cart. Her white coat and stethoscope stood out like a sore thumb compared to the other two women. She stopped the cart and pulled a large white board from the side and rushed over to Vegeta's unconscious body.

"Will you help me lift him up?" The doctor asked pulling up his right shoulder. The three women turned him onto his left side and placed the board under him and turned him back to his original position. The doctor headed toward the cart to grab more equipment.

"Continue compressions. I'll get the bag." She said as she searched through the cart.

Bulma's eyes glistened with tears. She didn't know how to feel, everything happened so suddenly. She felt like life was going by her in slow motion. She tore herself from her thoughts and moved closer to the bed.

"Will he be okay? Please tell me he will be okay. I can't lose him!" She pleaded at the trio in front of her.

They ignored her cries and continued trying to resuscitate Vegeta. The doctor connected the lines to the oxygen and placed the ambu bag over his nose and mouth and began rhythmically pumping oxygen into Vegeta's lungs.

"Can you come help me? Take the mask and I'll continue with the pump." The second nurse jumped in and put her hands over the requested device.

After a few seconds, the full code team responded. Three women and one man ran into the room with additional equipment in their grasp.

"I'll put the pads on, you go get the chart." The man chanted as he placed the defibrillator stickers on the right of Vegeta's chest and the left below his heart.

"Hello everyone, I am doctor Len, I am the code captain. Let's stop compressions for a second to see what kind of rhythm we have." A second man responded as he pressed a button on the vital monitors.

The nurse responded, "It looks like v fib."

"Okay let's defibrillate at one-hundred and fifty joules." The captain demanded.

The nurse moved the knob on the machine and pressed a button to start charging.

"I'm clear, your clear, everybody is clear; Oxygen clear. Shock delivered."

"Nadia let's resume compressions. I need someone to administer epinephrine one milligram I.V. push. Can you let me know when two minutes has passed please?"

The nurse discarded the packaging around the medicine and began to prepare it for use. She popped off the safety tab and inserted the plunger into the already-measured syringe. She grabbed a swab and inserted the needle into the I.V. port. She followed behind with a syringe full of normal saline to push the medicine into the veins faster.

"Epi I.V. one milligram in." She responded to her captain.

"Okay, let's stop compressions and reassess the rhythm please."

The nurses looked over to the screen as they seized all actions.

"It looks like normal sinus rhythm now." Nadia responded.

"Okay if we could check the pulse and let's do a blood pressure please."

"Okay we have a pulse." One nurse chimed in.

Nadia reached for the blood pressure cuff and prepared it for a reading. She placed it on his upper arm and pumped the cuff to the required amount.

"Blood pressure is eighty-eight over forty." She responded as she removed the cuff and her stethoscope.

"Okay, continue with normal saline. We will run tests and monitor him closely. Good work everyone, we brought him back." The captain responded.

Bulma felt a spark of hope run through her body. He was okay, that's all that mattered to her.

Vegeta opened his eyes and saw Bulma's eyes filled with tears. She brushed them away once she noticed his eyes open. She ran to his bedside and embraced him into a hug. Vegeta's body stiffened.

He felt a warm feeling within his body that he hadn't felt in a long time. Well, every since his mother was killed. It was almost peaceful to feel contact with another person other than just sex, which he hadn't had in a long time either.

"I am so glad you are okay!"

Having no strength, Vegeta just remained as he was. His mother was the one who was soft on him, much to his father's disapproval of course. He was glad that his father was harder on him that his mother because it was a disgrace for a prince to grow soft. Had he have taken on the role of king, he would have had to have no weaknesses.

He noticed that Bulma's breathing became slightly erratic. The first tear broke free, and the rest followed in an unbroken stream. "I thought we were going to lose you…" Bulma said and laid her face onto his chest.

He allowed her to cry for a few seconds longer before he pushed her off him with what bit of strength he could muster. Must to her surprise, she opened her eyes and revealed the reddened areas that were once white. Vegeta scowled at the whole situation. He didn't need her or her sympathy, and he sure as hell was not going to entertain her crying session.

"Leave."

Bulma paused and let out a sniffle. Her eyes widened when she registered what he had said, and she wiped away the tears.

"Excuse me?" She questioned with a confused look plastered across her face.

Vegeta looked her directly in the eyes, "I don't think I stuttered. Get the hell out."

Bulma's eyes immediately filled with rage. "Fuck you Vegeta." She spat as she marched out of the room.

Damn woman…

(-)

One week later. That's how long it had been since the scare with Vegeta. She had let her sympathy for him slip out, and she regretted every minute of it. Of course, he would never appreciate anything that she, or anyone for that matter, did for him.

Jerk.

Although he wasn't completely healed, Vegeta was training to the best of his ability outside. He had no machine, so that's a plus. He can give his body the much-needed rest that he is too stubborn to realize. He didn't want to admit that he wasn't invincible.

Vegeta's body was aching from the pain, but he had to continue if he ever hoped to surpass Kakarot. He powered up and kicked at the air with all the strength he had. He had been working tirelessly since he was able to get out of that hospital bed. The one thing that kept his motivation up was the image of a low-class Saiyan going beyond what he thought was possible. It was an insult to his pride seeing such a sight, a sight that someone else can surpass him with such ease, it made Vegeta want to push himself to no end.

He wiped the sweat from his eyes and looked up at the clouds forming in the sky. The smell of rain tingled his senses, and the humidity in the air made his skin feel sticky. He began to spar with himself when he heard a faint knock come from the front door. He immediately identified the persons Ki as the weakling of the woman's.

Yamcha knocked on the front door while slipping his left hand into his pocket. Bulma must have been asleep again. He walked around the back to in effort to see if the back door was open. Yamcha stopped at the corner of the house once he saw Vegeta in the grass, training with his own energy blasts.

Yamcha knew that he wasn't as strong as Vegeta, he knew that he probably would never be able to even come close to matching up with him. But for Bulma's view of him, and his pride, he had to continue training like he would make a difference. He grits his teeth at the thought of Vegeta living in the same house as his girlfriend. Not only was Vegeta a cold-hearted murderer, he could easily force Bulma into doing something with him against her will. No one knew what he was capable of, they had only known him for a brief time, and most of that time was filled with reckless actions.

Vegeta stopped and turned around to make eye contact with Yamcha.

"I know you are amazed, but there is no need for a weakling like you to stare."

"Don't flatter yourself, I came to see Bulma."

Vegeta smirked and began to bounce an energy ball in his hand like a child's toy. "That's why you have been here for at least a good five minutes. Either way, you are pathetic."

Yamcha let out a frustrated sigh, "fuck off Vegeta, at least I am not a cold-hearted bastard like you."

Vegeta's smirk faded and his eyes darkened. "I would tread lightly human, you shouldn't forget who you are talking to."

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?" Yamcha snapped, purposefully trying to provoke Vegeta in efforts of saving what bit of pride he had left.

Vegeta disappeared and reappeared right behind Yamcha. He saw the slight tremble in Yamcha's stature. Vegeta had to give Yamcha a little bit of credit for having the balls to say the things he did, even after he had already killed him once.

After a few seconds, Yamcha realized that Bulma wasn't there to break it up like she usually was. It wouldn't do any good for him and Vegeta to get into a fight. Yamcha stepped back and raised his hands to Vegeta in a non-threatening way.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I'll just go."

Vegeta grunted and pushed past him, colliding with his shoulder and causing him to stumble a little.

"What a jerk…" Yamcha mumbled under his breath as he walked back to his car.

Back inside, Bulma's face was hidden under her fluffy purple blanket. Her curls escaped wildly from under the covers. She was sleeping soundly in her bed and had no intentions of getting up any time soon.

"Woman."

She didn't move, her breath remained rhythmic and uninterrupted. Her arms were lazily draped across her stomach, and her legs were intertwined in and out of the comforter.

He progressed closer to the bed until he was inches away from her ear. "WOMAN!"

Startled, Bulma's eyes peeled open, revealing Vegeta's usual scowl. He had sweat dripping down his chest onto his chiseled abdomen. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and rubbed it onto his spandex shorts.

"What is it Vegeta?" She said while rubbing her sleep-deprived eyes. "Is everything okay?"

His scowl increased with every word that she had said. "No, everything is not okay." He said with venom spewing from his tongue.

"What is your problem now, your highness?" Bulma mocked as she finished a well needed yawn.

"The problem," Vegeta paused, "is that your weakling is too busy watching me and interrupting my training instead of training for the androids himself! They aren't a fucking game, even though he probably will die in the first five minutes. He needs to let the people who actually matter train in peace."

Bulma remained silent, while staring at him with blank eyes. "Do you want the androids to take over the Earth, is that it?" He snapped, noticing her nonchalant attitude.

"Look here buddy! This is MY house and MY room. You have no right to barge in here, fix the problem by yourself." Bulma screamed as she snuggled back into the covers.

Vegeta smirked and his eyes revealed a hint of wickedness. She wanted him to handle it on his own, he assumed that meant any way that he possibly wanted. Even if he had to kill the weakling to get what he wanted.

Bulma saw the look on his face and immediately regretted what she said. "I'll talk to him."

Vegeta grunted and turned to face the door. Before leaving, he stopped in the frame of the door and slightly turned his head toward the blue-haired woman. "I'll need something properly train in by tomorrow," he demanded, "and I require more bots to be built. I destroyed the others."

Bulma's burning rage flared beyond reason. "I just recreated those bots, and you have already managed to destroy them?"

"Well it looks like you have a long night ahead of you. If you were as brilliant as you claim to be, you would build something that would be strong enough to withstand a medium-level blast!"

"How dare you!" Bulma screeched while clinching her fists. "You are such an ass! I have a life outside of your every beck and call you know?! Even Goku is able to train without equipment and he still manages to outdo you in almost every way!"

Vegeta's tone immediately changed. He grew colder and more impatient. He clenched his fists at the remarks that came from that blasted woman.

Bulma rapidly searched for what words to say that would cover up the wound that she just reopened. "I mean, he only surpasses you in a few ways, you could easily catch up, just give it time."

"You will not know the meaning of time if you ever say such a thing to me again. I guarantee that will be the last smartass remark that comes out of your mouth." Vegeta threatened.

Her eyes widened, "Vegeta, I didn't mean it like tha-"

"Tomorrow. No later." He demanded as he walked out of the room.

Damn woman…

The thought of such a fragile human saying things like that to him caused a pit of undying rage to form in his stomach. She spoke to him like no one ever dared to speak to him. No one had the stones to do such a thing on the other planets.

Although the woman argued with him, she was the only one that seemed to care about his wellbeing. He wasn't used to the compassion that these stupid earthlings exhibited.

What a waste of time.