Chapter 6

a/n: This chapter is a lot longer than usual, and little more complex. I think it more or less explores Vegeta and the reason why he is the way he is. Would he ever give away everything for his desire for Pan? What is Bulma to him? Just a wife? We all suspect they share a deep bond of some sort, but does it have anything to do with Saiyan blood or more to do with an intense spiritual relationship? I hope you enjoy the chapter, more to come…. Promise! – funkypunk

"Fool" Vegeta cursed as he soared through the air, he wasn't aware he was going fast; he wasn't aware where he was going. Pan was so young, a tender creature but she was saiyan and strong, she bestowed courage and confidence in herself and that was where Vegeta knew the attraction was hidden. She was beautiful of course, but then so were a lot of females on the planet, yet none provoked his saiyan primal instincts to kick in so violently. Vegeta rubbed his forehead, trying to erase thoughts of her. Bulma had always been stubborn, rude and bossy; he never messed around with her because though she bestowed no great strength or power she was quite fierce, and underneath fragile. He remembered his first kiss with the blue haired woman, it had been a complete accident, he had walked downstairs in the middle of the night to get a drink, Bulma was awake as well and had bumped into him in the dark, she had mistaken him for Yamcha who was upstairs in her bed, then she pulled him towards her and kissed him wildly and passionately, her body pressing up firmly against his bare chest. Vegeta smiled, he wondered is she ever realised that was in fact him and not that pathetic excuse of a male she had once dated.

Vegeta could see Dende's lookout in the distance, he wasn't sure how he got there or why he was heading there but continued anyway and flew up the tower, passing Korin the great white cat, and up to the temple where Mr Popo and Dende were waiting to greet him. Vegeta landed on the surface and crossed his arms. Mr Popo stepped forward.

"Kami and I sensed your coming. I think you are troubled prince" Mr Popo bowed and stepped back. Dende said nothing, only leaning gently on his staff. Vegeta looked at both of them, Dende has grown a lot since the last time he had seen him and Mr Popo never seemed to change.

"Follow me!" Dende spoke loudly, startling Mr Popo and Vegeta slightly. Dende turned around and headed towards his temple, motioning with his staff for only Vegeta to follow. Vegeta hesitated, wondering if Dende knew of his guilt and sadness within. He was lead into a dark room and in the middle of the room was a small pool of water. Dende walked over to the water and tapped the surface with the end tip of his staff and ripples bounced playfully across the pool.

"What's this?" Vegeta asked impatiently, he was in no mood for games.

"You have faced a lot of demons; Vegeta" Dende spoke calmly, "perhaps the greatest is yourself. You see before you a pool of sacred water, it is sacred as it a gift to our planet from many gods. I believe that with meditation you will find some peace here."

"What? Should I take a swim?" Vegeta laughed and began to leave the room. Dende grabbed his arm strongly.

"This room makes me afraid, it is dangerous Vegeta. Not even Goku has experienced the powers in here. I wished to never bring anyone here but I know your soul is saddened and stained by the evil of your past, perhaps it is worth for you to investigate?" Dende let his arm go and waited for Vegeta's response.

The room had no name and had in fact only ever been used once in its history of existence. Dende wondered why the past God's of planet Earth ever bothered to create such a place as not even a being as pure hearted and innocent as Goku would survive the madness that could would take over his mind. Dende knew that perhaps Vegeta would be able to use the room and the sacred water to reveal his heart's past, the agony he had endured, his greatest desire of a future for himself and his family, and to realise the evil that was dormant in his soul and perhaps learn how to use it.

Vegeta looked at Dende, thinking only how useless a race the Namekians were, even Piccolo was considerably weaker than himself and Dende had little to no fighting potential. He gazed at the water, it was dark and showed to no reflections and he found it odd how Dende kept his distance from it.

"I don't think you have much of a choice Vegeta" Dende said.

"I will stay for a while in this silly room, but I assure you, there is nothing I am afraid of!" Vegeta laughed and sat down beside the water.

"Then when Bulma leaves you I suppose you will do just fine?" Dende lowered his head as he walked out, "there is more darkness inside of you than I though, it's always been there I suppose, since you first came to this planet…" Dende walked out of the room and shut the door with a loud bang. There were no lights inside, there were no sounds, it was a room filled with nothing but a pool of black water.

"Stupid god…Grrr…" Vegeta grumbled and rested his head in his hands as he sat cross legged on the floor. He tried to relax but the fact that the room's silence was starting to become unbearable caused Vegeta to start playing around with the many thoughts in his mind. Pan….

Suddenly the scared pool in front of him lit up and there, like a reflection of the outside world, was Pan, curled up in bed with Trunks' arm around her. She crying and Trunks was kissing her on her forehead and rubbing her back. Perhaps she had been with the him the whole time? Vegeta's eyes opened wide, on Pan's hand was a diamond ring, a wedding ring, around her neck among many bruises from a series of passionate kisses was an easily distinguished bite mark, his own son had taken away his young love, he had taken away everything….

Vegeta began to growl with fury and then the image in the pool changed; now Bulma was in front of him and she was dressed up beautifully in a long white gown. She was smiling and laughing and looked a little older than she did now. Vegeta felt his stomach churn as Yamcha entered the picture, dressed in the same outfit, he, the prince had worn on his wedding day. Yamcha walked over to Bulma and she threw his arms around his neck and kissed him, then Goku and Chichi appeared in the background, clapping and cheering them on. Trunks and Pan were there, Goten and Bra were holding hands and clapping as well, rice was being thrown up into the air…

"No fucking way!" Vegeta roared and stood up, his hair glowing yellow, his eyes turning green. He felt his whole body surge with a powerful rage, "nobody takes away what belongs to me!"

The pool changed. Vegeta powered down. The image showed a planet, one covered in smoke, volcanoes, and some grassland. There was battle troops set out across the lands. The image was blurred but Vegeta knew it was home.

"What the hell does this have to do with anything? I cheated on Bulma…but I didn't blow up my planet! Madness!" Vegeta leaned back and then felt his head hit the ground. He could hear voices. He knew it was impossible, he was the only one in the room but then Dende had warned him. He could hear cries, screams of men, women and children, it sounded like there were bombs going off…someone was attacking the planet he saw in the picture in the water. Vegeta sat up and looked in. There were lower classes Saiyans running about in chaos, and for a moment he though it was Frieza but then he saw an image of himself step into the image, laughing and cheering, throwing energy balls everywhere.

"I…what?" Vegeta remembered the moment that many of the lower class Saiyans who failed to complete several missions, not even meeting minimal power level requirements to fight behind the elite warriors, was destroyed, by his own hands. He remembered how his father had asked him to do it, it was his first task to complete as the prince of Saiyans and from that moment on he was feared for his ruthless behaviour and lack of honour and respect. He remembered back when he was merely adult, when he had longed for absolute power, to show his father that the legend about the Super Saiyan could be realised in him. He would have done anything back in those days to get whatever he wanted, even killing his own kind if necessary, killing other beings, planets and civilizations. He gasped and looked at his hands. Were they really the hands of a killer?

There were ripples in the sacred pool, Vegeta sighed, "no more". Guilt was heavy in him, more so than the shadowed evil that Dende had mentioned. His heart was pounding, his head hurting. He opened his eyes and the image before him shattered him. There was Bulma, inside the gravity chamber with him, back in the days when they were all training for the coming of the android attack; they were sharing their first kiss. Vegeta touched his lips, that moment his life changed; finally something was beginning to become more important to him than his own quest for the ultimate Saiyan power, something that was deeper than anything he had felt. Nobody had ever cared for him, least of all his father, and his only friend Nappa. Yet Bulma not only put up with his temperamental nature, but she looked out for him, tended to him, and not because it was her duty or because he asked her, she did because she wanted to, she cared for him unconditionally.

Vegeta splashed the water with his hand and stood up. He agreed with Dende, this room did bring out his inner fears, he felt afraid to go back to the pool to see what else it would show. He felt like he was left with a burden, a choice, he had to decide how much he had changed since all those years ago when he slaughtered many Saiyans because of power. If he had changed, as much as Bulma thought he had, he would stick by her. If he felt inclined to chase after what was possible, he would take Pan and keep her. The thought seemed enticing and also disgusting; doing so would destroy his son, his wife and mate and eventually his soul. He walked over to the entrance of the room and opened the door. Dende was waiting outside, sensing the prince had had enough.

"Well?" Dende stepped forward cautiously.

"Don't let anyone near that room" Vegeta growled and then took off into the air. He like Pan but his son loved her. He wanted to see Bulma, he knew he didn't deserve to be forgiven but he would wait. He knew he had to face Pan, could he do it without thinking about that one passionate kiss they had shared? Would he desire another?

He felt vulnerable, hopeless but he would face the ones he had hurt none the less.

"Bulma…"