Vegeta and Gotu flew silently back to Capsule Corp. It was late into the evening at this point, and Goku and Chi Chi had already returned home. Bulma and Trunks sat at the kitchen table, sipping on a steaming cup of tea. They had been waiting for the return of their spouses, fighting sleep for the last hour or so. Finally, the creak of the kitchen door signaled Gotu and Vegeta's return. Bulma perked up slightly.
"I'm surprised you're both still up after today's excitement." Gotu smiled as she rounded the corner, glad to see Trunks had waited for her.
"So, did you two find your answers?" Bulma asked.
Vegeta nodded. "It appears Gotu's wish to Shenron in the past was just dumb enough to work." He slumped onto the chair next to Bulma, arms crossed, looking unimpressed by their discoveries.
Gotu scowled. "My dumb wish saved everyone's hide, Vegeta."
"You say that as though you intended for everything to work out this way." He retorted.
"It doesn't matter what I intended. It worked." Gotu turned her attention back to Bulma and Trunks, who both looked confused and amused at the new relationship that had formed between Gotu and Vegeta during their time in the past. It was similar to the one Vegeta had long had with Goku.
"I wished to the Shenron of the past to help guide the timeline back to its original course. My wish was vague, so Shenron chose to guide both timelines back as though Vegito's time travel never happened. I figured Shenron had something to do with this, but I just didn't know why." Gotu finished. Trunks nodded his understanding while Bulma continued to sip her tea.
Vegeta growled. "Exactly. You were lucky."
"It sounds like we were all lucky, Vegeta." Bulma said, smiling slightly as Vegeta's eyes caught hers for a moment.
Vegito woke up confused the next morning. His mind had been full with strange dreams of his time in the past. Separating what was a dream from the reality of what happened was difficult. Somehow, looking back on his memories during that time was difficult. As he tried to recall them, they seemed fuzzy and distant. He stretched both arms above his head while the smell of breakfast met his nose. Bounding down the stairs, he began to notice laughter ringing through the halls. The kitchen was full of the Briefs' family and friends, not unlike the day of Vegito's sixteen birthday.
"I should have known… Grandma will take any excuse to throw a party." He mumbled to himself. Something held Vegito back from entering the room where everyone was gathered. Even though his good nature had been completely returned to him, he still felt guilty about the actions he had taken as the shadow Saiyan. This guilt made him feel distant from everyone. Silently, he snuck out a nearby open window.
He flew through the sky, rising to high altitudes and using the cold air that whipped his face as therapy. Coming to a large clearing he had been to a few times before while training with Vegeta, he landed. A nearby boulder became his resting place. The strange memories seeped back into his mind as he sat in silence on the cold rock.
So consumed in his own thoughts, Vegito failed to notice the subdued power level close by. One large, unearthly bright, green eye peered at him from behind a faraway tree. The girl was only slightly taller than five feet. Her features were feminine, yet hard, as though she was in serious contemplation over something. The only thing stranger than the color of her eyes was the matching hue of her hair. It fell straight, just past her shoulders, half pulled up into a ponytail. She continued to watch Vegito intently.
Sorting through the events of the muddled past he had visited, Vegito began to become more and more frustrated. He realized just how far the extent of his rampage against his family had gone, and he wondered how they had trusted him again so easily. Pulling his hands away from his face, he stared at his palms. The hands that had killed his father. Vegito had gone back in time in order to find a place where he felt belonging. However, all his trip had accomplished was even greater feelings of alienation at his home.
From her hiding place, the girl wondered what was going through his mind. The tormented expression his face wore seemed to be increasing as the seconds passed. She didn't know why, but she was inclined to believe she could help him in some way. Stepping away from her tree slowly, she approached him.
"Are you alright?" She asked, gentle determination in her voice.
Vegito jumped, surprised by her sudden appearance. He took a moment to take in her familiar face and voice before responding. "Who are you?"
She smirked. "You don't remember?" Vegito shook his head, confused. She did look oddly familiar to him, but he felt sure he didn't know her.
"I'm Aspara. You don't look well, Vegito." She offered no further explanation as he stared back her, stunned at the usage of his name.
A moment passed before he noticed the significance of what she was wearing. A deep black suit of spandex covered her entire body, except for her left leg. Her chest was covered by a white piece of armor with straps that went over her shoulders in square, gold links. She was in Saiyan armor.
Vegito tensed and positioned himself defensively.
"Why are you wearing that?!" He demanded.
"Think about it, Vegito." She stood resolute in her decision not to feed him the answer.
Vegito watched her closely, hoping for a better hint at where he should remember her from. He began to search his memory, but everything prior to his trip to the past seemed impossible to remember. It was like he had lived two separate lives. It was then he realized he didn't need to think back to before his trip. He watched her eyes carefully as he remembered.
"You were on planet Vegeta. You worked in the palace. I remember you from my time staying there. But… I didn't ever know your name, did I?"
She smiled and shook her head. "No, you didn't. You're right. I spent time working as a low level soldier protecting the royal family, which included you for a short time."
Aspara's elaboration brought back a flood of memories. Her eyes had often been there, in the background of the palace, watching him intently.
"But how are you here?"
"You didn't know it, but I overheard many of the discussions that went on while you were in your other form. I also heard the conversations that took place with your parents and grandfather when they came back to find you after you left for Earth. I knew that they planned to find a way to bring you back here, to this time. Didn't you ever wonder where your time machine was?"
Vegito had never planned to return to his home time, so he left his time machine in the hands of the Saiyan guard.
"I had it. And I decided to come back and see this world. I was curious about you and your family…" She trailed off at the angry expression on Vegito's face.
"Time travel is a terrible thing to tamper with. You shouldn't have done this. You need to go back." He said grimly.
"Go back to what? If I'm correct, my planet is gone. You're the only person left in either timeline who I know at all." Her expression became colored with anxiety.
"So, what do you want from me then?" He asked.
"We're both Saiyans. I just want to stay here, with someone else who might get what that means."
As she said this, Vegito realized just how similar their desires were and how much they might be able to help each other. 'To stay here, with someone else who might get what that means…' He thought.
"Alright, fine. But I live in my grandmother and grandfather's house. You can stay there, but they'll have to be okay with it."
"You don't mean Prince Vegeta, do you?"
Vegito laughed. "Yes, but, please, don't call him that to his face. We don't need it to catch on."
Gotu's last wish was granted.
