Six reviews, yowza! I'm so happy :D Anyway, I'm really excited to do this story! Oh, and if I didn't mention this before, the story isn't really an AU. I mean, in a way it is, but then it also does somewhat follow the anime. It's just my interpretation of the three years before the Androids come. Again, thanks to all of you who reviewed, it means sooo much!
Oh, and a special thank you to lilpumpkingirl for being the greatest beta! This story wouldn't have its success without your help!
"Anybody's who ever gone through a hard time - any outsider's perception, no matter how much information they're given, they have no idea what a person's life is like."
~Amy Grant
"Bulma, for the love of Kami, why don't you just get rid of him? He's a murderer!" Yamcha said for what felt like the umpteenth time having just spent an hour and a half insisting that his girlfriend get rid of the thorn in his side.
Bulma sighed, balling her fist. It was little wonder that she didn't just right hook him. "Yamcha, for the last time, I'm not kicking him out. My mom would kill me if I did, and plus I'm not going to let him be alone, at least not anymore."
"He's used to it. It wouldn't make much of a difference if he was here or not. He constantly secludes himself from everything and everyone." Yamcha argued, taking a seat on the couch.
"Well, if we don't show him that we gladly want him to be around, then he's going to keep secluding himself," Bulma explained, setting two glasses of lemonade on the coffee table.
Yamcha huffed, turning his nose up at what nonsense his girlfriend was speaking. "I still say you get rid of him. He's not the type of person you all should be around."
"I'm not kicking Vegeta out, and that's final!" Bulma snapped, making Yamcha's eye widen. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed before apologizing, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that, but I meant what I said. Just give him another chance."
"It's okay. I mean, I'm not going to change your mind any time soon, so let's try to enjoy each other's company." He suggested, making Bulma smile.
Her smiled turned into more of a cute, yet sexy smirk, "I know exactly how you can keep me company."
"Hmmm, I think I can happily oblige to that." He smirked, leaning into meet her lips with his own. For a few seconds, their lips were complete synchronized with each other's while Bulma's hands gentle caressed his arms.
"Bulma! Bulma, sweetheart...oh my." Bunny said, making Bulma and Yamcha jump apart.
I've been dating Yamcha for ten years, and yet Mom still knows how to kill the mood. Then again, I should have seen this coming, Bulma thought, wiping her drool off her bottom lip. "Yes, Mom?"
"I'm just delivering a message. Your father would like you to meet him this afternoon at the main building." Bunny told her.
"Oh yeah, I have that meeting at two," She muttered, turning her gaze to Yamcha, "Think you can occupy yourself until I get back?"
"Yeah. I'm sure I can get some training in." Yamcha replied, shrugging.
"Okay, well I'll be watering the plants if you need me." Bunny chirped, leaving the room.
Bulma let out a small sigh. "Now that my mom delivered her message, why don't we get back to where we left off?"
"You don't even have to ask." Yamcha smirked, before devouring her lips again. Though there were plenty of times that they made out, Bulma had to admit that making out with Yamcha never lost its edge. It always made her feel excited and aroused. It was no wonder that they hadn't begun having sex on the couch. With his tongue entering her mouth, it made her go into a small hypnotic daze. Bulma hadn't been paying much attention to anything until she heard someone begin to shout.
"Woman! Woman! WOMAN, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Vegeta's voice bellowed through the house, until he was close to approaching the living room.
Bulma jumped at least ten feet out of Yamcha's arms, until she was standing up straight enough that her back could start cramping, "I'm right here. Do you need help with something, Vegeta?"
"Why else would be seeking you out, woman? Certainly not for some mindless chat you humans often waste your time with." He sneered at the absolute idiocy of it. Snorting as he cracked his neck, he stood there with his arms crossed and scowled at her from the doorway at her, completely ignoring the other man in the room. "As it would turn out, woman, your feeble bots were disintegrated because they lacked even a third of the speed to keep up with my own."
Bulma fought the urge to roll her eyes as she let her tense muscles relax and retorted, "Whatever, Vegeta. I'll build you some new bots that will be significantly faster, but you're going to have to wait three hours and then some before I can start building them."
"That's preposterous! I need them now, woman!" He shouted, gritting his teeth.
Oh how this man was infuriating and couldn't help but think, Kami, if he weren't a Saiyan I'd highly consider torturing or killing him. "Look, Vegeta, I have to leave soon and help my dad. I can build your bots as soon as I get back. Until then, entertain yourself with some sit ups or something."
"Don't mock me, you miserable wench! Build me new bots or I'll gladly put you in a coffin." His voice rumbled furiously as he uncrossed his arms and clenched his fist.
"Hey, watch who you're talking to, you fucking bastard!" Yamcha shouted, quickly rising from the couch to defend his girlfriend.
"I suggest you stay in your place, Scarface, or I'll gladly kill you as well." Vegeta spat, venomously.
Oh Kami, help us all! Bulma slightly massaged her temples, "Stop arguing! Both of you! Now, Vegeta, I do have a life and it doesn't consist of tending to your needs twenty-four seven. Now, if you can't wait a couple of hours, then you're just shit-out-of-luck."
Vegeta nearly blasted a hole in the nearby wall when the rage hit him. How dare she talk to him like he was a piece of trash? He was the Prince of all Saiyans and no one would dare talk to him that way and live to tell the tale. No matter how much she pissed him off constantly, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. What was that all about?
"Like I said before, create new bots or die." He grumbled, abruptly calming leaving the room.
Strange. Normally he'd break something or get exceedingly livid. Why the hell would he go easy on me? Bulma wondered, turning to face her boyfriend. "I'm sorry about that."
"No, it's okay. I'm just glad he didn't hurt you. I still don't get how you can live with that guy." Yamcha commented knowing it was pointless to push the subject again, embracing her.
She looked out the window at Vegeta who was throwing himself into a series of punches and kicks, taking out his recent frustrations. "I don't know either, but in a way I feel that if we turn him away, we're no different than anyone else who's casted him aside. He's been alone his entire life, and he needs someone to show they care."
Yamcha smiled, while stroking her arms. "You've always been that way, B. You can always see the good in everyone, even if they're people like Vegeta. That's why I love you so much."
"Thanks. It feels nice when people recognize my good deeds." She replied as she shifted, cuddling more into his chest.
"Well, I better go babe. You have to get going and meet your dad, so I'll be back later." Before bidding her good bye, he kissed her cheek and walked out the room.
Really, thank you, Yamcha. She smiled to herself as she ascending the stairs to her room.
While Bulma had yet to return to Capsule Corp, Vegeta decided to take a break from training and meditate on the top of the compound. His previous confrontation with the woman remained bothersome to him. It wasn't like they hadn't argued before, so what was it about before that made him so livid? The prince took a couple minutes to reflect on his past arguments with the woman. What was different about today that wasn't like any other day?
Then it dawned on him. Clearly, the new variable in the equation was Scarface. Any other time he bickered with her, the weakling wasn't around to cosign for her. What made him even madder is that he always tried to assert some sort of dominance over the woman, but it wasn't like it was working.
I despise that pitiful weakling. Always getting in my way and can't seem to keep his damn mouth shut. If I wouldn't have to hear that woman complain about it, I'd be torturing him by now. He needed to find a way to get rid of the weakling, but without killing him. What were his weaknesses? There was the woman, but he couldn't consider her a liability since she was the sole factor in his training. The idiot also showed off his egotistical attitude, but had nothing to show for.
About five minutes later, he felt the woman and the old man's ki's approaching. He looked over to his right and saw her looking around, as if she were lost.
"Vegeta...Vegeta, where are you? I have the bots!" Bulma shouted, letting her sore feet relax in the cool grass. She cursed herself for wearing four inch heels.
"It's about damn time." He told her, landing behind her.
She let out an awful screech that made his ears starting ringing, "Damnit! Vegeta, don't sneak up on me like that! I could have had a heart attack or a stroke!"
"Don't blame me for your lack of awareness. Now where are my bots?" He demanded, wanting nothing more than to get out of her presence.
"They're out by the gravity room. You're welcome." Bulma barely brushed past his shoulder as she walked into the compound.
"Stupid, wench," He muttered to himself as he walked towards the gravity machine to begin his training regiment again. The world will never know why the Saiyan prince managed to tolerate humans.
...
Later that night, things with the Briefs and Vegeta finally settled down for the evening. However, Yamcha was still lurking around the compound. He noticed that the gravity room was completely vacant, giving him the perfect opportunity to check it out. No longer would Yamcha feel like a string bean in comparison to the Saiyan that he hated.
"Yamcha, I really don't think this is a good idea. I don't want you to get hurt." Puar suggested, feeling highly skeptical about the situation.
Yamcha chose to ignore his friend's doubt. "No, Puar. If Vegeta can train at three hundred G's, then so can I."
"I just hope you know what you're doing." Puar mumbled, watching him walk into the capsule.
After looking around the huge dome, Yamcha was surprised at how plain it was. It didn't seem very special, so it confused him how Vegeta managed to get any training done in this thing.
Then again, I don't think he's mentally stable to begin with. He found the control panel and gave it a long hard stare before he set it to three hundred times Earth's gravity. He could hear the robot voice explaining the details of the simulation. Once everything began, Yamcha immediately fell to the ground.
Wha..wha..What the hell? Kami...I...I..can't breathe...and I feel like I weigh about ten tons. Yamcha could tell if he didn't shut the simulation off soon, death would be inevitable. It took everything in his power to drag himself back towards the control panel to shut it off. He could barely reach it and was already too tired to stretch further.
I have to get to...this panel...before I die. With one last push, Yamcha slammed his hand down on the emergency shutdown button. After pulling himself together, Yamcha quickly left the gravity room. He had no idea how Vegeta could handle such brutal training.
"Yamcha...Yamcha? Are you okay? You look terrible." Puar said, noticing Yamcha's look of relief.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, blowing out a long breath. Well, those Saiyans are really hardcore when it comes to training and fighting.
With that thought in his head, Yamcha took off back home. Hopefully, he'd never have to go through the same experience ever again.
While soaking in a warm bath, Bulma was thankful that she had Friday's off. Not having to fix the gravity room for the last three days felt really awesome because it meant she didn't have to listen to her Saiyan house guest complain or threaten her life, for the time being. The only thing that was left for her to do was decide what she was going to do with her day. She thought of going shopping since she needed to restock her inventory of clothes, but she also wanted to catch up on some reading since there were novels she hadn't finished.
Ugghhhh, what is a girl to do with her day off? Bulma huffed, while drying herself off in her huge, purple body towel. Ehhh, if I went shopping I could get my nails done. They are in need of a new coat...except I don't know if I should go with black or navy blue.
Once she was out of her bathroom, Bulma shook out her long, straightened blue locks. She could hear the gravity room running with the balcony door cracked open. She always wondered how he held up in such high levels of gravity. He always talked about how Saiyans thirsted for battle and how he and Goku were similar in that respect. It didn't make much sense to her, but then again there were many things about Vegeta that she didn't understand.
She opened her door a little more so that she could get a better look at the gravity room. He just so happened to be walking out of the sphere shaped simulator. While the wind drifted through her hair, her bright blue eyes began to linger on his muscular physique. His shoulders were endless and everything that was toned was in all the right places.
He's fucking gorgeous beyond belief! Wait...what? Since when did I think that ass hole was gorgeous? Euhhhh, I'm probably flustered from my bath. She quickly shut the door to her balcony. Yeah, like she'd give him the chance. They had absolutely nothing in common anyway, except the fact that they were both intelligent. Other than that, he hated her and she couldn't stand him.
Well, I guess it doesn't have to be that way. It's just so damn difficult to deal with such an arrogant personality, especially one that clash with my own. She carefully put her bright coral tank top and oversized olive colored cardigan on with her light skinny jeans and moccasins. After shutting her door, she met her mother in the kitchen, noticing the piles of food sitting on the table.
"Oh! Good morning, sweetie! How are you?" Bunny asked, washing her hands.
"Great! Not having to fix that gravity room has been such a relief. If I can make it until tomorrow, it will be officially a week since I've last fixed it." Bulma explained, reveling in her happiness.
"Good for you! Oh, I should probably finish cooking. That young man needs his energy." Bunny soon left her daughter at the table and continued to her cooking.
I swear if she wasn't married to dad, she'd be all over Vegeta. Bulma shuddered at the image of her mother being a cougar. She went to chill in the living room with her copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula until breakfast was ready. She was at, what she thought to be, the best part of the story, where Dracula and Mina make passionate love after she finds out that her friend was killed by him. Just as she was about to turn the page, she heard a door slam open. She didn't even have to look up from her book to know who exactly it was.
"Woman!" An enraged Vegeta was standing a few feet away from where she was seated on the couch. His face was at least four different shades of red and he was growling like a caged animal.
Awww, man. I was just getting used to this whole thing about NOT having to fix the gravity room. Damn him! She dog-eared the page that she left off on and set it down gently. "Is there something wrong with the GR?"
He noticed the slight displeasure in her voice, but brushed it aside. "Fortunately, no there isn't. That incredibly bothersome mate of yours was in my gravity room. His disgusting smell is everywhere and I can't focus!"
"Wait...Yamcha? In the gravity room? I never told him that he could go in there. He'd get squashed like a fly in there." Bulma remained slightly confused. Why would Yamcha go in the gravity room? She told him that it wasn't safe for him, since he'd only trained at ten times Earth's gravity with King Kai. "Oh, and the smell shouldn't be too much of a problem. There's a button in there to fumigate the gravity room, so that should take care of it, even for your heightened sense of smell."
"Hn. Just make sure you keep that imbecile out of my gravity room, or I just may be in the mood to lock him in there until his lungs collapse." He sneered, before being smacked in the face with the swinging kitchen door.
Bunny appeared in the living room as happy as can be. "Bulma, breakfast is done. Where's Vegeta? I could have sworn I heard him a minute ago."
Bulma busted into fits of laughter. It took her a moment to sink in the fact that someone as strong as Vegeta got wacked in the face with a swinging door. "Mom, you just smacked him in the face with the door."
After the door finally stopped swinging, both women noticed Vegeta holding his nose. He snapped his nose back in place, while noticing there was no blood on his hand. Only Bulma seemed to have notice his eye continuously twitching; meaning he was at a new level of mad.
"Oh, hi, Vegeta...," Bunny smiled, still oblivious to the prince's pissed off demeanor.
"Just move out my way!" He snapped, walking through the door.
"Oh, Kami, that was great! This is the best day off I've had in weeks." Bulma sighed, ceasing her laughter.
"Bulma, honey, I don't think it's very nice of you to laugh at him. The poor thing is injured." Bunny responded, scolding her daughter.
Vegeta? A poor thing? Not likely. I think its karma biting him in the ass. Bulma shrugged slightly before joining Vegeta at the table, with him already stuffing food down his throat. How things never ceased to amaze her.
After learning from Bunny that Bulma went out to run errands, Yamcha went out to the gravity room. He needed to set the record straight with the Saiyan prince. Ever since a few days ago, he was angered by the fact that Vegeta was so disrespectful to Bulma and just let out death threats so casually. She bent over backwards for that piece of shit, and has even defended him against Yamcha himself. Oh how badly he wanted to tell Vegeta that no one gave a fuck that he's a prince of a now non-existent planet.
Someone's got to tell that ass hole where his place is, and it's NOT on a high pedestal. Yamcha began kicking the gravity room really hard, until Vegeta approached him from behind.
"Can I help you, pest?" The prince asked, making Yamcha jump.
"As a matter of fact, there is something you can help me with. Stop threatening Bulma or you'll be sorry." Yamcha threatened, sizing up the shorter man.
He can't remotely be serious, can he? It took every ounce of self control Vegeta had to not laugh at him. This weakling threatening him? Either he suffers from legitimate brain damage or he's just incredibly senseless.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the day that you ever cause damage to a warrior my caliber is the day that hell freezes over three times. Leave, weakling, before I change my mind and kill you where you stand." Vegeta sneered, walking back into the gravity room.
"Yeah, a warrior that has nothing to show for." Yamcha mumbled, walking away. Little did he know that his slip of the tongue would scare him shitless.
...
After returning from a great shopping trip, Bulma grinned from ear to ear as she dropped all her shopping bags in her room. She was even more satisfied with her fresh manicure; black and zebra print. Before she could even plop herself down on her comfy queen sized bed, she heard a loud crash coming from the backyard. She knew it wasn't the gravity room, because the ground hadn't been vibrating like an earthquake, but it sure was loud. She quickly ran downstairs and out the back door to the backyard. What she saw almost horrified her. The tree in their back yard was now reduced to a stub, with the other part of the tree a few feet away from her mother's garden. Vegeta and Yamcha were in an intense fight, one which Vegeta was winning. Ki blasts were flying every direction imaginable. Bulma found herself ducking from one of Vegeta's.
"What the hell?" Bulma shouted, ducking from another blast.
"What's the matter, weakling? Can't keep up?" The prince mocked, after sending Yamcha flying just a few inches before Bulma's feet.
"STOP!" Bulma shouted, coming between the two men, "Why the hell are you two acting like caged animals again?"
"It's simple. Your sorry excuse for a mate asked for a fight, so I gave him just that." Vegeta explained, spitting some blood out. He wasn't going lie to himself; the weakling had pockets of strength, which was enough to make him bleed a little, but the prince only gave credit where credit was due.
"This ass needed to be set straight, so that's what I was doing." Yamcha added his two cents, snapping his shoulder back into the socket.
Bulma shuddered at the popping sound. I swear I need to stop hanging around so much testosterone.
"It's not like you changed anything." Vegeta murmured, rolling his eyes.
Yamcha nearly hissed at him. "You want some more?"
"With pleasure." Vegeta smirked, charging up his energy.
"No! Yamcha, I can defend my own pride and honor without your help, you idiot. I think its best that you leave." Bulma told him, as she took her anger out on her sweater as she straightened it.
And again, she defends him, even when I'm trying to help her. Yamcha huffed arrogantly. "Whatever. See you...whenever."
Bulma was slightly shocked at his tone of voice. His good-bye sounded really sour and hateful. Sure, they pissed each other off, but this particular time he sounded more than just pissed off. She walked back inside the house pondering if she should let the thought stay dormant in her mind.
"After all I have done for you, monkey, you still have the audacity to betray me...,"
The same voice continued to echo through the prince's head. He lay in nothing but darkness and cold air. He could feel his own sweat freezing into the atmosphere. He could see nothing; feeling and hearing were the last senses he owned.
"I'll show you what happens when you dare turn your back on me, you piece of trash!" Before he knew it, a familiar laser pierced a hole right threw his heart. Rather than him dying on the spot, Vegeta could only feel himself losing blood.
Suddenly, a bright light could be seen. Was it the sun? Whatever it was, it caused Vegeta to squint. After being pulled closer to the light, he could see two figures standing before him.
"Ka..ka..Kakarot?" He gasped, noticing that same boy right beside him.
"Hmm, poor Prince Vegeta. Hasn't even ascended to what he desires most. Too bad I got there first." Goku said, smirking, as his eyes narrowed into turquoise slits.
"Just think. What if it slipped that the last royal Saiyan hadn't ascended to legendary power, but instead someone of lower blood had instead? What would that look like to the people that you could have possibly ruled over?" The boy questioned, while the shining yellow light surrounding him increased its intensity.
"No...no...No..NO! I WILL...I WILL DEFEAT YOU, KAKAROT!" Vegeta shouted, before he felt his eyes collapsing, signaling his final words.
He quickly sat up from his bed, gripping the soft sheets in his right hand. Another dream about his failure to ascend to a Super Saiyan. Vegeta's eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. Six o' clock. Since when did he go to bed that early? He then remembered he hadn't been to sleep the night before, so it must have happened out of being tired. He threw the sheets off of him and headed straight for the gravity room. There was no time for rest. He needed to train, to ascend and become better than Kakarot, as he should be.
I will NOT stand to let that low class trash be ahead of me! He thought, shutting himself in the capsule shaped room. Who knew when he would stop.
...
Around eleven that night, Bulma was tucked cozily in her bed with her copy of Antony and Cleopatra. It was such a great story of love, tragedy, the struggle of political control, and opposition. Bulma never knew why she had a propensity for enjoying Shakespeare's tragedies, but they ended up being good stories nonetheless. And just then she was at her favorite part, the part where Antony dies in Cleopatra's arms.
I have no idea why, but every single time I read this part of the play, I tear up. Bulma wiped away a stray tear. She couldn't imagine someone dying in her arms. Just the mere thought made her blood run cold. All the gory images, like her hands being covered in blood, guts being splattered everywhere, she couldn't bear to think of it. She considered her life to be sheltered, until her teenage years. She always felt secure and protected, so it was hard for her mind to wrap around the image of battle and sacrifice like in the story. In a way, the story reminded her of Vegeta and his family. Vegeta's father fought to keep his political control from Frieza, but unfortunately he was overpowered, and his only son was taken from him and his mother to some sadistic tyrant.
I guess I could show a little more empathy to him. It must be hard to deal with not having any happy memories in your life. It's no wonder he still remains so bitter. Then again, empathy is probably the last thing he'd want from anyone. Before she could turn the page, she heard a loud knock on her door that alarmed her.
"I'm coming." She said, walking quickly to the door. Once she opened the door, she noticed a small trail of blood all over the hallway carpet that led to her door. The shock took over as she saw Vegeta lying outside her bedroom door with a huge gash in his arm, while he fought to keep his eyes open.
Well, this was quite the long chapter. Sorry, it's been a while since I've been able to write while being in college. As far as the next chapter, that's when things will start to get intense, but it's going to be a few chapters before anything serious happens. Until then, have fun reading and reviewing!
Cherriez