It takes a lot to become true friends. And it takes a lot more to support them and guide them, especially from behind the closed curtains, where no one will see you. For all your efforts, Infinite Pen, this fic is for you and you only.
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ju-ju beanz: in the next chapter you will find some explanation regarding Vegeta killing Nappa.
VeggieBlueRaven: we fan-girls just love to see Veggie suffer, don't we? Well, this chapter will (hopefully) make you happier…
Icarus: yes, they do look similar, that IS the whole point behind King Vegeta shaving his beard.
Shahi: Vegeta finding out about Goku 'pat-pat'-ing (?) Bulma is, in my opinion, reason enough for him to be desperate to beat Goku, even with Babidi's power. It was bad enough that Vegeta could not kill him right then as Goku was already dead. Lol.
Smallbluecapricorn: realistically considering, surrounded by a prude mother insisting that he is a 'baby', an asexual Namek and a 3-year old brother, Gohan could not differentiate between a tomboy and a boy. Afterall, being home tutored and away from kids his age, he really didn't know much about those things.
I noticed your support for all new DBZ fics and thank you for all that. You are very kind.
Infinite Pen : (you already know whatever I have got to say…) What I want to know is, when are you going to post the… (wink)?
chibi dende: thank you for the encouragement.
The Darkest wizard: sorry to disappoint you, but no sparring between Veggie and his dad. I had considered that tempting idea, but decided against it coz in his skill and strength Vegeta far outclasses the King. Besides, I am saving their reconciliation for later…
Lady Lianna Kari: Veggie darling got just one more reason to hate Goku. And this time, a valid reason.
the SaiyaChik: thank you for your support, hope you find this chapter entertaining too.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO FIND THIS FIC WORTHY TO BE ADDED IN THEIR 'STORY ALERT' BUT UNFIT FOR A SINGLE LINE FEEDBACK.
(YES, I AM BEING SARCASTIC)
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Disclaimer: Even the computer I am using now is not mine.
FAMILIES
CHAPTER 6:
Yamcha was running late. Not late for the 'picnic to celebrate one week of the Dead Saiyans' arrival on earth', but Trunks had asked him to be there at least two hours before the party started.
"Hey hotshot, sorry I couldn't make it on time…"
"Don't sweat it; I know you are always late, so I asked you to come earlier than needed. Say what, you actually made it on time. Anyways, have you brought what I asked you to bring? "
"Sure, kid. But do you really need that much?"
Trunks smirked and went off to complete Phase II of his mission. It was not difficult to sneak into his father's bathroom while Vegeta was training…
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Krillin, 18 and Marron were the first to arrive to the party. Then came the whole Mt. Pao battalion. Bardock was eager to meet Bulma and Dr. B. as they were working together on a certain project. Today was the day when they would officially announce the results. Next came Yamcha and Puar, closely followed by Roshi, Oolong and Turtle (Turtle had to be carried, on his own; he would have taken a whole week). Piccolo was the last to arrive, after Tien and ChiaoTzu.
Bulma and Chichi set up the large barbecue (that was for breakfast, with so many Saiyans around). The good hostess had made special arrangements for Piccolo too – 5 bottles of water from 5 different rivers. Roshi got his face smacked by 18 for pinching her rear and Goten was impatient to see Trunks.
As if on cue, the lavender haired four years old came out. But something was different about him – his hair, usually parted in the middle, was upswept in a flame-like manner, like his father's and grandfather's. King Vegeta smirked.
"So you want to look like your ancestors, boy?"
"No, I want my father and me to look similar."
"So, is there a difference?"
"Of course there is!"
"What, boy?"
"You will see." Trunks smirked.
Bulma came to tell that the barbecue had been set up. She saw Trunks and observed,
"You know what; you should cross your arms on your chest to enhance the effect."
"And don't forget to scowl…" Krillin added.
Trunks did that, and everybody (including Chichi and Tien) roared into laughter. But the volume made little Marron cry. There was a quick way to stop her tears, and Krillin and Gohan knew that.
Krillin: (ridiculous pose) Recoome
Gohan: (ridiculous pose) Burter [Marron stopped crying]
Bulma joined in: Jeice
Yamcha added: Guldo [Marron giggled toothlessly]
Radditz caught on: Captain Ginyu
Together: We are… (Trademark formation) the Ginyu Force!
[Marron clapped enthusiastically]
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"What are those?" King Vegeta asked.
"Man, you don't know? Those were Frieza's cronies and they behaved like circus clowns" Krillin immediately shrank back in fear that Vegeta's father may not take kindly to be addressed so casually. He was Vegeta's father after all. But surprisingly, the King did not get violent.
"I never met Frieza's henchmen personally, and never even heard of such almost-dairy-product names! Why do you all not fill me in?"
"They usually worked for Frieza in the shadowy areas. Not that they were very sound in strategies, or brilliantly intelligent, but their powers were almost mythical" Radditz explained, "They were mutants, with capabilities inexplicable by warriors like us, who fought with ki, or in hand-to-hand combat. I mean, how can you counter time-flow manipulation and body changing abilities? And their capabilities were blown out-of-proportion, I myself had never fought them, but from what I gathered in the H.F.I.L, they were there on the original Namek?"
And everyone who was there on Namek, or fought the Ginyu members at King Kai's, started with their accounts.
The barbecue was in full swing, Piccolo was drinking from the bottle labeled 'Nile'. Trunks was checking frequently for Vegeta's ki – his four years old worth of patience was wearing thin.
Bardock was growing impatient too, to announce the results of their experiment; Dr. B cleared his throat as most of the people were finishing their breakfast.
"I will now call upon our guest scientist Mr. Bardock to present the results of our experiment: How Could Gohan and Future Trunks, the Half-Blooded Saiyans, Become Super-Saiyans with more Ease than their Full-Blooded Fathers.
Everyone paid attention, both to the topic, and also to the scientist, who happened to be their most simple minded friend Goku's father. Even Chichi sat straighter – after all, this father-in-law of hers WAS her baby Gohan's makeshift Science teacher (!)
Looking extremely pleased with himself, Bardock gave a long and boring lecture on the genetic compatibility, similarities and differences between Saiyans and Humans. Then he went on to the mutations and adaptations that take place in the hybrid. Then in a dramatic gesture he revealed that the Magical Substance that enhances the excitability of the hybrids is an epinephrine called adrenaline.
"In my entire career of life and death, I have never seen something so incredible, that can work wonders especially with a particular trait of my family – to be a berserker" he finished with glee.
"What! Goku – a berserker?" Yamcha asked incredulously.
"Why not?" Bulma countered. "Obviously the level of external excitement will be much lower in Saiyans as they lack in Adrenaline. Consider this, Bardock pushed himself beyond his limits when his team mates were killed and when he was the only one who knew they had to stop Frieza. Goku always found new strength when in a tight siuation, he was fighting with everything he had on Namek, but went Super only when he saw Krillin, err… you know what I mean. And then Gohan against Cell – that was not just growing in power, but thanks to Adrenaline, becoming a whole new fighter altogether."
Suddenly, there was a rush of energy – an insanely enraged Vegeta was holding Trunks by the scruff and snarling. But something was terribly different about the Prince – his hair colour matched his son's, just as Trunks' hair style mirrored Vegeta's. Everybody was too stunned even to laugh. The similarity between them was uncanny. Vegeta dragged Trunks away for his punishment as swiftly as he came to get him.
"Well, he did say 'I want my father and me to look similar', and he proved his claim, as any Saiyan Royal would…" King Vegeta mused.
"I'll go and try to retrieve my son while he is still alive" Bulma went on to her mission.
"Um… King Vegeta, I had expected you to be a crueler and wilder version of Vegeta, but you are not so…um…" Yamcha ventured.
"I myself do not know what is wrong with that boy; we Saiyans are rough and unfriendly in general, but my son is like an alien to me also".
"It's Frieza. He did this to the Prince." Radditz sighed.
"What happened?" Tien had, at last, felt comfortable enough to participate.
"Ask the Commander (Nappa). In a way, he too is responsible."
"You know he is not in any condition to speak rationally, so you explain" Bardock told his son.
[A/N: due to Nappa's unstable mental condition, he had been deemed a potential threat and therefore left inside with lots of food]
"Well, 5 is a tender age to be at Frieza's…"
"Why was he given to Frieza at such a young age?" ChiaoTzu ventured.
King Vegeta looked guilty, "Well, my Queen had just died giving birth to our second son, and I was going mad with the grief, a wailing newborn, politics, and Vegeta becoming more and more moody and uncooperative. And 5 is not that young an age for a Saiyan. Moreover, for a long time, Saiyan soldiers had been working for that lizard as it gave them the opportunity to gain strength and embetter their skills as fighters. How could I foresee the Future?"
Radditz explained how being the Prince of All Saiyans had heralded non-stop taunts from others, and instead of breaking down, the child had worn that Mantra as a psychological shield – 'I am the Prince of All Saiyans'. They were, as per the agreement, not allowed to return till Vegeta was an adult. To keep his moral strong, Commander Nappa fed him with all sorts of stories about heroics and heroic codes of indifference and non-attachment. Being an underling, a common soldier, Radditz could not do anything about it. Then he had seen, participated in, and undergone so much torture and pain, he had retreated inside that shell till it became his skin, till his face grew to fit the mask of being the ruthless killer – the Prince of All Saiyans.
At this point, Bulma came cradling a bloody mass that had purple hair, Piccolo immediately gave him 2 senzu beans, and patched him up.
Vegeta was too angry to come for launch, she informed them, and so she would serve his food inside.
At the mention of lunch, quite a number of stomachs grumbled. Bulma and Chichi went to make the necessary arrangements.
Trunks found his hair was limp again.
"Do you have any more?" He asked Yamcha.
"Nope, I gave you my entire stock of hair-gel in the morning only, kiddo!"
"Trunks, I like you this way better." Goten informed him solemnly. "I don't like you looking like Uncle Vegeta."
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The Eating Carnival started, Piccolo took a sip from the 'Yangtze' bottle, and Bulma took Vegeta's food to him.
[A/N: I am skipping this particular description of Saiyan eating, some may find it funny, I find it nauseating]
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Every little edible scrap had been cleaned off, and Piccolo had finished his 'Mississippi' bottle.
Trunks and Goten went off to play, Marron settled down for her afternoon nap, and the grown-ups were growing bored.
"I am amazed that arrogant, hot headed son of mine managed to get a mate, an intelligent and beautiful one at that!" Exclaimed King Vegeta.
"Yeah, I know, kinda hard to believe… even now…" Yamcha mumbled.
"Ah, I know! We can have a wonderful time watching those two falling in love" Mrs. B chirped happily. She went inside.
"Well, she has a large collection of 'Vegeta and Bulma videos' from her hidden cameras in all sorts of unlikely places, those can help you understand their relationship better." Dr. B. explained.
Mrs. B. set up the Mega Theater System, and everybody made themselves comfortable with popcorn, Cheetos and Doritos. Piccolo got the 'Ganges' bottle out.
[A/N: the video will be described in 'bold'; the conversation of the audience will be described in 'normal']
Scene #1: The Namek children were playing around merrily and Vegeta was sitting under a tree when Bulma came out on the huge grounds and went to Vegeta.
"Hey, Grumpy"
"…"
"Hello, I'm talking to you!"
"Hn!"
"Excuse me, Your Shortness!"
"What?"
"Such pathetic communication skills!"
"Well, Frieza didn't actually groom him for social interactions, especially with females."
"I'm asking, why are you sitting here all alone? Don't you have anything better to do?"
"I have, but your fool of a father hasn't yet fitted the Gravity machine to go upto 300 times and it is already 2 days since we came from Namek!"
"Vegeta…"
"Now what?"
"You're cute." She winked and pranced away, leaving a slack-jawed, flabbergasted Saiyan Prince behind.
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Scene #2: Moori was practicing golf, the other Nameks were cheering, Bulma went over to the door of the humming GR and knocked loudly and repeatedly till Vegeta stopped the machine and emerged, in tattered spandex shorts, rivulets of sweat running down his toned, muscular body.
"You're hot!"
"Of course I am, I am the Pri--"
"VEGETA! You are supposed to return the compliment at least, like tell me how beautiful I look"
"Why should I lie?"
"But he called her 'gorgeous' on Namek" Gohan supplied.
"Oh, that boy was quite shy in the beginning" Dr. B. commented.
"Anyways, I came to call you for dinner."
(grunt)
"Tomorrow one Namekian year will be completed, you know, and with their Dragon Balls, we will wish Goku back. You will need your strength when you fight him, so come in and eat."
"Listen woman, I WILL beat Kakkarott, and I WILL be the strongest warrior in the universe!"
"Yeah, yeah! Don't forget to bathe before you eat, you stink! And call me if you need any help in the bathroom…"
She blew a kiss at him and went away, he blushed magenta.
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Scene #3: The CC drawing room, Vegeta in that infamous pink 'BADMAN' shirt, Bulma on a couch in front of the T.V.
"Calm down, Veggie, that boy is a Super Saiyan too, just accept it."
"It was MY destiny… how dare they! How DARE they! You! It is your doing in some way!"
"Have you gone mad? How can it be my fault? What can I possibly do?"
"You are a witch! You tricked me!"
"What are you saying? How can I be a witch? What makes you think that I am a witch?"
"Your hair – you have even changed its shape! And it's BLUE! Everybody knows that hair should be black or brown!"
"Oh, shut up, Vegeta, hair CAN be of different colours – Mom's is blonde and Dad's is lavender. Even that boy's is lavender. "
"Exactly! That proves that there is some treachery involved in this!"
"But even Saiyans' hair is supposed to turn golden when they transform – look at Goku!"
Running out of responses, Vegeta stormed outside, muttering to himself.
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Same scene, fast forward a few hours. Bulma has fallen asleep on the couch, T.V still on, when Vegeta returns from his training, wearing his Saiyan armour, in an attempt to console himself
He was about to slam the door shut, but upon seeing Bulma, closed it softly and top-toed to her.
All three of Tien's eyes stopped blinking so as not to miss any action.
He softly took off his gloves.
18 sat up straighter.
He extended his hand towards her.
Chichi tried to cover Gohan's eyes, Gohan tried to squirm out of her grasp.
Vegeta poked at Bulma's hair to see what it really was.
Then with a surprised expression, he started feeling the texture.
Next he lifted some up to inhale the scent.
At the pulling of her hair, Bulma woke up and her blue irises looked directly at his black ones, at only 4 inches distance.
Both blinked simultaneously.
Both screamed simultaneously.
Vegeta sprang up abruptly, and was going away, when Bulma caught his glove-less hand. He stilled.
"What are you afraid of, Vegeta?"
"I am the Prince of All Saiyans. I am not afraid of a pathetic blue haired human female."
"Rii..ight, and what exactly are you supposed to do with females?"
"Why? Blast them, of course!"
"Radditz, why exactly does my son exhibit such warped views regarding females?"
"Sire, Frieza was afraid of the last three Saiyans breeding and rebuilding the lost empire. So female company was made unavailable to us… the Prince had, out of natural curiosity, sought a female out when he was 16, but we were able to intervene and rescue him before it was too late. That female was fully poisonous. Then the Commander (Nappa) made him…what we saw just now."
"Vegeta, are you a virgin?"
"Woman! Stop asking such…such vulgar questions!"
Vegeta ran out of the room, Bulma chased after him.
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Scene #4: In front of the space-ship, Vegeta fully geared to go off-world, a visibly pregnant Bulma wishing him good-bye
"Wo-Woman, when I return, I want to kill you myself, with my Super-Saiyan hands."
"That jerk!" Yamcha still found it unacceptable.
"Don't worry Veggie, I will take care and you will find me and the baby well when you return. And I have COMPLETE confidence in you that you will achieve your goal."
Vegeta nodded, indicating that he actually meant what Bulma understood.
Mrs. B. wiped her tears and sniffed fashionably.
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Scene #5: Baby Trunks' bedroom, Vegeta looking at the sleeping child in order to distract himself from a lacy lingerie clad Bulma
Most people blushed, Roshi's nose started bleeding.
"C'mon, don't be so mean…I want to see it…"
"The energy is too intense. I will blow up the brat too."
"Oh, Goku did it during the time he was lazing around right before the games – in fact, he and Gohan stayed in that state all the time. Are you saying you cannot control your power like they did?"
"I can't believe she is using my husband and my son like that!" in her rage, Chichi forgot to keep Gohan's eyes covered.
"Grr… I can do anything that moron and his son did! But why do you want me to do it, Woman?"
"Because it is supposed to increase the volume of your body mass."
"What purpose will that serve?"
Being too engrossed in the recording, no one noticed Bulma and Vegeta join them in person, after she had just fixed his hair.
"Because, moron, I want to see if it increases the mass of A-L-L the parts of your body!"
BOOM!
In place of the T.V. set sat a smoking heap of blackish junk.
Everybody turned to see a fuming Vegeta marching off again.
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The party had more or less been successful. The guests had returned home. Everybody was ready to call it a day.
Bulma's bedroom, 11:59:30pm
"Veggie, do you remember?"
"What?"
"How shy you used to be when you were still a virgin…"
Bulma's bedroom, 12 midnight
She sighed and took out another back-up house capsule to replace the ruined one.
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And one more thing – watch once more the end of the movie Bardock Special from 41mins 32secs to 42mins 11secs. It's just 39 secs, guys, and it is so heart-wrenching – little Vegeta, wearing his pride like the cape on his little shoulders, continuing to eat when he is given the news of his planet's destruction, he cannot afford to stop the sound of eating, lest Frieza knows he has got to him. When he is told that he was the only known survivor, all he said was "Oh, really?"
The shadows around him grew, and right at the center of the piling corpses, in the blood red Royal Cape sat the Prince of an extinct race. He sat there all alone.
Okay, we all know how much you enjoyed this chapter, in fact, you loved it. So scroll down to that li'l- - R E V I E W- - button and hit it!