Her Return

Chapter Twenty-Six

Vegeta woke up and glanced around the room for a moment. He went to sit up, but there was this extreme pain that shot through his stomach and up his spine and chest, making him lay back down. Then he felt someone's cheek resting on his hand. Vegeta looked and saw Aya resting her head on his hand as she slept.

He noticed that she was dressed in Dende's clothing. He smirked finding it rather funny that she had to wear the Kami's clothes since she was too small to fit into the armor that they had supplied up at the lookout. Even Dende's clothes were a little too big for her.

The saiyan prince slowly pulled his hand out from underneath Aya so he could get some feeling back into it. Looking at her, he spotted the tip of the stitches sticking out of the back of her shirt. He lifted it up a little seeing that there were three gashes that were stitched together tightly. He then shifted a bit getting onto his side pulling Aya's arm slowly to him. After seeing the homemade stitches Vegeta had to check his daughter for anymore injuries. When he pulled Aya's arm to his chest, he rolled up her sleeve looking at the bandages that were tightly wrapped around it, looking at the bandages there was still blood that freshly stained them.

As Vegeta put Aya's arm down, she moaned and turned her head in the other direction staying asleep. The saiyan prince put a weak smirk onto his face as he placed his hand onto her head.

It was another hour before Aya groaned again. Vegeta turned his head looking at her since he was staring at the wall on his left. He removed his hand from her head as Aya slowly lifted herself up yawning and stretching her arms out not realizing that Vegeta was awake. She looked up into his pale face that stared right back at her, Aya placed a small smile on her face.

"You're awake." She said grinning.

"I have been for awhile now." Vegeta told her.

"Oh…" Aya felt a little weird now, knowing that Vegeta was awake and she wasn't up to keep him company, "how're you feeling? Better? In any pain?"

"I'm feeling fine," he answered.

"Good." Aya nodded, but she could plainly tell that Vegeta was lying because she could see the pain in his eyes. Vegeta was still at risk at dying from his injury, and they both knew it. He was just telling her that he was feeling fine so that Aya wouldn't worry, which she did anyway.

"What about you?" Vegeta asked her weakly.

Aya blinked, "me?" Vegeta nodded, "fine, I'm going to start on my training soon," she answered him.

"How long do we have?" Vegeta asked, suddenly getting serious as if he was getting this information so that he could help.

"We have three days," Aya answered glancing at her hand seeing some blood dripping onto her hand from her bandages, she tore open a wound. "But that was yesterday," she said again looking up at Vegeta, "We have two days now."

"Then I better—"

"No." Aya said suddenly cutting Vegeta off, "you're not fully healed, and you won't be in two days so don't say you will be. The same with Goku." Aya glanced over at the goofy saiyan, who was still out cold.

"Then who's going to train you?" the prince asked. Aya turned her head looking at Vegeta. Mentally she laughed because he was always thinking about training or sparring, even when he was on his death bed.

"I'm using the Pendulum Room," Aya answered. "And facing Reiko's killer form."

"You've thought about this." Vegeta said quietly.

Aya nodded, "I did." She replied, standing upright slowly because of her back. "I'm going to go see if Mr. Popo cooked anything for breakfast, I'll bring you some." Aya turned around and walked out of the room, holding her right arm in front of her so that Vegeta wouldn't have to see the blood dripping into her hand.

Vegeta looked down at the floor seeing small traces of blood heading towards the door as Aya left. He sighed heavily, turning his head towards the nightstand next to his head. He blinked a little propping himself up onto his elbow carefully reaching over with his other hand and picking up the senzu bean that Aya had placed there the night before. The prince looked at the dime sized senzu bean for a moment, and then he lifted his head looking at the door.

Aya entered the Lookout kitchen. Sitting at the table stuffing his face like usual was Yajirobe. Aya believed that Yajirobe was most likely the only human male on earth that could beat a saiyan's eating habits. Bulla was seated in a regular chair and Pan was placed in a weird looking highchair, since she was the smallest (besides Bulla). All three of them were eating their breakfasts as Mr. Popo placed Aya's plate onto the table. Aya walked over picking up her plate looking at the black genie.

"Mr. Popo," Aya started heading for the doorway and stopping, "can you make me another plate? This one's going to Vegeta."

"Vegeta's awake?" Yajirobe asked swallowing a mouth full of food.

"That's what I said." Aya replied about to walk away when she heard Bulla talking to her.

"Can I see daddy?"

Aya turned her head looking over her shoulder shifting the hot plate into her other hand. She glanced at the white disk seeing that she had smeared some blood on it by accident. She would have to clean that up so that Vegeta didn't notice it.

"When he's done eating you can Bulla." Aya said placing a grin on her face. It's been about two days since Bulla had laid her eyes on her father. Aya thought that it would be good for them both to see each other to know that they were alive and well.

"Is Gwandpa Goku up?" Pan asked looking at Aya next. Aya turned around a little bit looking at Gohan's little girl.

"No," she answered, "but when Bulla goes to see her dad, you can go see Grandpa Goku." Aya grinned.

Pan smiled and continued to eat. Aya smiled as well as she walked out of the room and headed down the hallway. She knocked on the door to the room where Vegeta and Goku were located before entering. When she entered, she saw Vegeta sitting upright in bed with his arms folded on his stomach. Aya glanced over at the nightstand to see that the senzu bean was missing. She smirked a little bit, happy that he took it.

"Need help sitting up anymore?" Aya asked, playing around. Vegeta picked up on it, but he really wasn't in the mood to play.

"No," he answered shifting in the bed, "I don't need help."

"Even if you did you wouldn't admit it to me." Aya said to him handing the plate over to the saiyan prince. Vegeta took the plate from her and the silver wear from her next.

"You're right." he answered.

"Bulla wants to see you after you're done eating." Aya said to him. Vegeta looked at her, taking a few bites of the food before saying something.

"How's she doing?"

"Good." Aya answered seating herself in the chair that she was seated in before. "She's… taking this very well, Pan too."

Vegeta nodded, "they're saiyans of course." He added eating some more of his food.

"Saiyans or not," Aya started slowly leaning back in the chair, but sitting forward again when pain rushed through her spine. "They're still to young to be witnessing something like this. And I'm sure their mothers are on their minds considering where they're being held and who's holding them hostage."

Vegeta nodded, remembering that his wife was being held hostage by Kira and now Areiko. The prince finished his food placing the plate onto the nightstand.

"Aya," he started looking at her, "you do realize what you might have to do right?"

Aya gave Vegeta a weird look, "fight?"

He shook his head, "no, not that."

"Then what?"

"You know that you might have to destroy Areiko completely." Vegeta said looking at her seriously, even though it was hard for him since he was tired.

Aya was silent for a minute, "don't tell me you still hate her."

"Did I say that?" Vegeta asked folding his arms across his stomach again, "no. I'm just reminding you that you might have to destroy her completely."

"I…"

"I know Aya," Vegeta started, "you won't be able to do it, but that's only a possible option that you have. I never said that you have to do it. Because if I was you I wouldn't want too."

Aya looked at Vegeta weirdly; he was being awfully nice to her. It must be from the blood loss.

"Keep training hard in the Pendulum Room," Vegeta started looking in front of him at Goku's bed. "We're counting on you."

Aya grinned, "and I won't let you guys down." She stood up, about to walk out to get Bulla and Pan when she suddenly stopped. "Oh, I should change your bandage before—"

"No," Vegeta said quickly looking at Aya, "it's fine. Go get my little girl."

Aya looked at Vegeta weirdly. She found it to be kind of odd that Vegeta didn't want her to change his bandages. He probably doesn't want her to know that he took the senzu bean. Aya just nodded, not saying anything about it as she turned around and left the room.

Vegeta waited a few moments before he let out a moan of pain. He lifted his arms from his stomach. He moved the blankets to see his stomach covered in blood and dripping down his sides.

Areiko was seated in the dirt. Her right leg crossed over her left one, her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were closed with her chin resting on her upper chest. Chichi, Bulma, and Videl watched from their places on the mountain wall that they were chained too.

"What are we going to do?" Videl whispered, locked her eyes on Areiko. "Areiko completely betrayed us."

"No she didn't." Chichi said turning her head to look at her daughter-in-law. "Areiko hasn't betrayed us."

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked leaning forward against her chains to get a better view of Chichi, "you're making that sound like as if that's not Areiko."

"I don't think it is." Chichi said to the blue haired woman. "You remember three years ago, about that side of Areiko right?"

Bulma and Videl nodded.

"Well, I think that side of her evolved." Chichi explained looking down at Areiko.

"Evolved?" Videl and Bulma said in unison.

"Evolved as in… became a person that thinks for itself?" Bulma asked.

Chichi nodded.

"So basically you're saying that Areiko has split personalities."

Chichi looked away from Areiko, "that's exactly what I'm saying."

The mountain that they were chained against shook, scaring the women making them look at Areiko. She was still seated on the ground in the same position, but her head was turned in there direction. She glared evilly at them all, giving them a silent warning.

"Mror."

(Silence.)

The three women shut up, even though they didn't know what she had said. They stared at her waiting till Areiko looked away and closed her eyes again. She sat there silently and slowly fell into the world of her mind.

Areiko's darker half roamed in the darkness. She glanced around a few times as she walked forward. Lying on the darkened ground before her was her lighter side, the one known as Areiko.

She approached with caution, because she knew that inside someone's mind, they sleep lightly. The evil Areiko now stood above her better half looking down at her. Underneath her eyelids she could see Areiko's eyes moving about. Her darker half knew that she was having memories. But she couldn't tell if they were bad ones or good ones.

She knelt down whispering into her better half's ear. "I'll protect you Areiko," she whispered, "together, we'll become the animal. The unstoppable being. We'll become one, and destroy everything that tries to hurt us. I'm you're only friend here, and you're my only friend. I understand you, I know you. I can give you everything you want all summed up in one simple word: death."

Areiko rolled over mumbling, "death…"

"That's right," she continued, "death and I are you're only friends. Embrace us Areiko."

"Embrace…" Areiko mumbled again.

Areiko's darker half smirked, she was falling under her spell.