Have not been updating (sorry!) because... i don't know, just because. BUT, I'm on summer break now, so i'll (hopefully) have more time (And motivation). Reviews are much appreciated.

4. They struggle and it seems…

Vegeta woke up in the middle of the night, gasping hard and drenched in sweat. His nightmares had returned. Instead of the vividly defined battle scenes he used to dream about several months ago, he was now receiving only fuzzy images of enemies, flashes of light, and an overall sense of defeat and helplessness. The warning about the androids who were to come resounded in his head, the echoes of their voices repeating in his mind. He'd never really met these enemies yet, but his mind had created images of them for him: horrific beings that radiated power and threat. He could not lose to them.

He pushed the covers away from him and sat up, running a hand through his hair in an effort to calm himself. Even in his awakened state, where he was not vulnerable to the nightmares, there was still a haunting feeling surrounding him. He sighed and got up, striding over to the windows and pushing aside the curtains. It'd been a long time since he'd allowed light into his room. Sunlight, he didn't mind; it was moonlight that he'd shied away from for the longest time.

To him, the moon and virtually anything associated with it meant both good and bad. It reminded him of home, of course, of the power that those in his race had been blessed with. It was a symbol of strength for his people, yet, at the same time, it emphasized his individual weakness. The Saiyans were no more, and he, who'd once been the pride of his planet, a young prince who had so much potential, was now stranded among a pathetic, weak-willed race of humans. And the light from the moon only taunted him even more.

He glanced at the moon and took a deep breath, allowing the temporary rush of power to flow through his body. Then, with a wistful look on his face, he shut the the curtains again. The only light left in the room came from the crack under the door, where the yellow-ish glow of the lights in the hallway leaked in. But, for Vegeta's sharp saiyan sense, that was more than enough. He pushed aside some books on the couch and sat down, then began to read.

Bulma was back in the nursery again, another sleepless night spent on tending to an insatiable Trunks. He could wail and wail for hours and there would still be nothing to suggest he was the slightest bit fatigued. Bulma blamed it on the ridiculously large amount of endurance attributed to those of the saiyan race.

"See, this is why your father should make himself useful", she said aloud, "he could be up all night watching you and he'd still have more energy than any regular person in the morning. This is just so unfair". Trunks paused to stare at her for a moment, then turned away. "Huh, and Goku says it's because I'm the one who wants attention. Oh great, now I'm talking to myself. I've probably reached my limit".

Bulma placed her arm against the side of the crib and leaned her forehead against it, struggling for all of two seconds to keep her eyes open before giving in. She was tired. She had to admit defeat at some point.

Vegeta leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes, allowing the information he'd just read to sink in. He was learning more and more about the blasted planet called "Earth" with every passing moment. It made him feel more distant from his own home planet, or what used to be a planet, but at the same time, it intrigued him. Who knew such a weak planet, with such weak inhabitants, could have such detailed and complicated inner workings? He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment, opening his senses completely until he could clearly hear the crying of that little brat from down the hall. The woman had failed to do her job and shut him up, as always. Vegeta sighed, his eyes slowly closing again as he tried his hardest to block out the noise.

His mind was full of the diagrams he'd just glossed over, showing the way the Earth and the Moon lined up, the way they interacted. Solar eclipses during the day meant he would feel the moon's power even stronger that night, lunar eclipses meant he would have better control of his human self during the select time period. Even the time during which the moon rose and set had an effect on the life on Earth.

It was, of course, too much information for him to process all at once, and although he hated to admit it, even to himself, he had overworked his mind for the moment. If there was anything he needed right then, it was some harsh training to clear his mind. He briefly considered going to sleep, but all the noise coming from the nursery prevented any chance of that. So, he got up and left the room.

Vegeta spent the next four hours in the gravity room, trying to burn off all his anger and frustration, but failing miserably. It was no longer just a matter of having excess energy that he needed to channel out of himself; this was all in his head. He was finally reduced to sitting on the floor, back against the cool tiles that made up the walls of the chamber, and forehead pressed against his knees. His arms dangled on either side of him in a defeated manner and his eyes were squeezed shut.

The sun was rising now, bringing about the first golden-blue rays of daylight that streamed in from the windows beside the control panel. Vegeta squinted at the light and sighed. Time to sleep. He pulled himself up on his feet.

When he returned from the gravity room, he immediately sensed something out of place. The door to his room was closed and everything looked normal, but it wasn't. There was a faint source of life in his room, although it was so weak he couldn't tell if he was imaging it or not. Maybe it was just a bug. He opened the door and stepped inside, raising an eyebrow in question when he saw the woman sitting on his couch, two of his books in her lap, her eyes trained on him. He hated her eyes. There wasn't a single time where he could maintain eye contact with her without getting lost in those huge, blue … things. At times, he was convinced she was a witch who'd cast some ridiculous spell on him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, too tired to bicker. He was quite aware of how he looked at that moment, with his disheveled hair and tired, bloodshot eyes. If anything, she had the upper hand right then.

"These books that you're reading are quite, erm, interesting", she commented lightly. He could sense only confidence in her voice, but the scent of fear that radiated from her gave her away.

"I'm allowed to have my own interests, aren't I?" he retorted, sliding the towel off his shoulder and proceeding towards the bathroom door.

"Vegeta, are you…are you working on a project?" her voice was slightly timid now, treading carefully so as to not set him off on an anger tantrum.

He turned to her, giving her a hard look. There was something different in the way she held herself at that exact moment, a sense of curiosity and genuine interesting coming from her. He assumed it was the brainy, scientific side of the woman that was manifesting itself in her actions.

"Something like that", he responded vaguely. The possibility of requesting her aid flashed through his mind, but he quickly pushed it aside. Sure, she may have seemed interested and he was well aware of her mental capabilities, but she lacked the ability to see things the way he saw them. He knew she was stubborn and narrow minded, that she would be against anything that would make him stronger, more of a threat to her precious family and friends. If she knew what he really wanted to do, she wouldn't have allowed it.

"Can I guess what it is?" she asked.

"What?" He hadn't expected her to say that. He was pretty sure she didn't know the history of the saiyans or the intricate details of how their biological systems functioned; there was no way she could guess what he was trying to do.

"Did you know Goku had a grandfather? An adoptive one?" she asked, not waiting for him to reply, "But Goku killed him. He didn't know about it, of course, but over the years, with what information he's provided, I figured it all out. The tail, the moon, the big monkey you guys turn into…"

"M-monkey?" Vegeta sputtered, feeling ridiculously indignant. Of course, she was unaware of the fine points of the saiyan's lifestyle, but to use such a degrading term…

"Whatever it's called" Bulma glared at the interruption, "You're seeking that power, aren't you? But you can't just blindly use it the way all the other saiyans used it. See, that's how Goku killed his grandfather. He wasn't conscious during that time period, completely unaware of anything he did. And he had absolutely no memory of it either. So you want a way to harness that power without losing your mind".

"Unbelievable", Vegeta murmured quietly to himself, shaking his head slightly. It was a very general guess of what his plans were, but the woman had pretty much nailed it. Maybe she could read minds too.

"Am I right, Vegeta?" Bulma stood up and stepped closer, curiosity shining in her eyes. Vegeta stared back at her, trying to decide how to reply. He weighed the options in his head. How useful could she be if he really did request her aid? She had brains, and technology, and money. It would certainly beat sitting around and reading books and doing research on his own. But then again, that meant allowing himself to be vulnerable around her. It meant he would be sharing any information he had with her; not just the cold hard facts that were related to the biological workings of the saiyan body, but his own personal secrets as well. He decided it wasn't worth it. She meant nothing to him and he couldn't risk having a liability.

"No, you're completely off", he finally replied, "and it's none of your business". He stalked off into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, leaving behind a flabbergasted Bulma.

The hot water felt really good, each drop pelting angrily against his back, matching the way he felt. It bothered him that the woman had been correct, that she was able to read him so well. And it did sound like she was going to offer her help.

He wasn't stupid or anything, but he couldn't help admit there was still something missing even after all his research. He could understand everything there was to understand about the moon and he knew everything possible about the saiyan race, but he couldn't put the two together without seeing the image of the terrifying beast in his mind. It was true, saiyans fed on power, lived to kill, and were taught to have no mercy, but he couldn't get past the fact that once he entered into that destructive form, his mind would be gone. Would he trade control for power? Never. He'd done enough research to understand that saiyans fed on the power of the moon, and during the full moon, there was enough energy to catalyze a transformation. Since this was all true, he reasoned, then that energy could be harnessed, and it made sense that it was fully possible for a saiyan to retain his normal physical form while somehow still drawing on the excess amount of energy.

This, of course, was where he failed to get any further. He was convinced that it was completely possible, but he just couldn't quite say how to do so. Yet. The idea of asking the woman for help crossed his mind again and he toyed with it a little longer before pushing it away. Maybe there was some sort of technology in that gigantic lab of hers that could do the trick. Vegeta was never one to get into the whole science and technology field. He relied on pure, physical strength and instinct. Technology, in his eyes, was for those who had nothing better to resort to. And was this what he'd lowered his own standards to?

The confusing circle of thoughts only made his head hurt and Vegeta quickly shoved everything out of his mind for a moment, paused, and took a deep breath. It couldn't be that hard to ask for help. Really, even though he'd never done it before, it just couldn't be that hard, could it? He was well aware of his own, prideful nature and he embraced every bit of it proudly. It was part of his being royalty and one of the few traits that he could really call his own. Would he sacrifice it to reach his goal? And what about trust? Could he trust her to keep everything a secret for him? Could he trust her enough to provide any information she asked for? I guess I could just kill her if she doesn't comply, he thought.

Vegeta shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around him and walked over to the mirror. He looked slightly better, but still tired. Sleep. He would sleep, then he would go talk to the woman.

"This is an almanac", Bulma placed the thick book on the table, slightly displacing the fork that Vegeta was about to pick up.

"I don't care", he replied, grabbing the fork and stabbing the largest piece of meat on his plate.

"You don't even know what it is", Bulma retorted, pushing the book closer to him. Vegeta paused, mid-bite, and looked up at her, his dark eyes demanding an explanation. Bulma sighed, "An Almanac is an annual publishing of predictions. Like, it'll tell you the weather for everyday, how high the tide goes, stuff about the stars and planets".

Vegeta gave her a "so?" look.

"Right", Bulma smiled, "it also tells us when the moon rises". She continued to smile, waiting for the full implications of her words to sink in.

"How accurate are the predictions?" Vegeta seemed unfazed.

"Well, obviously, they're just predictions", Bulma replied, "but almanacs have been in use for the longest time. For so long, in fact, that they barely make these anymore. You know how hard it was to get ahold of one of these?"

"Stupid woman", Vegeta rolled his eyes, "if you can't rely on something completely, then why go through the trouble of getting one?" He turned back to his food, implying that it was the end of that conversation.

"Because it's better than nothing, isn't it?" Bulma crossed her arms. He may have decided he was done talking, but she still had plenty more to say.

"It's useless", he replied, not bothering to look up.

"C'mon, Vegeta, you can give it a try, can't you? Have some faith?" She sat down in the chair beside him, hoping to coax something out of him with her words. He paused, swallowed, then tilted his head up slightly so that his dark eyes bore into hers. "Vegeta, you wanted my help, remember? I'm trying to help you, and if you'd just trust me, just a little bit, things would be so much easier for the both of us", Bulma was trying out the tone she normally used on Trunks when he wouldn't stop crying. Would it work on Vegeta?

"Why'd you agree to help me? And why do you care so much anyways? It has nothing to do with you", Vegeta lowered his eyes and dug into his food again. It was much easier to talk and argue with her when she was putting up a fight. But, faced with niceness, which was completely foreign to him, he didn't know what to do.

"This isn't about me", Bulma sat back in her chair, watching Vegeta as he ate, purposely avoiding her gaze. "See, I figured, if you get stronger, even if it's like this, then we all have a better chance of defeating those androids, right? And I know, everyone's warned me that you're not to be trusted and that you can turn on us and blah blah, but Goku trusts you. And that's good enough for me".

"Is that the only reason you're helping me?" Vegeta looked at her again.

"I don't know", Bulma shrugged, "Just take a look at this, alright?" She pushed the almanac closer to him and smiled.

Vegeta opened his mouth to reply, when he suddenly stopped and turned to Bulma, an half annoyed, half amused look on his face.

"W-what is it?" she asked.

"The brat's crying".

"You can hear him from here?" she frowned, getting up from her chair. Without waiting for Vegeta to reply, she disappeared into the hallway, leaving Vegeta to his food. He watched her bounce away, slightly amused at the fact that, at the mention of her son, everything that functioned in her body sped up. It amazed him how worked up she could get over a small baby.

The almanac sat in front of him, inviting him to open the covers and look inside. What good was a book full of predictions? And hadn't the woman said it was outdated? With all the technology around them, what good would a book do? Still, when it came to projects and other things like that, he'd never known her to be wrong about anything. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt to listen to her.

I'm getting softer by the moment, he thought, disgusted with himself. He would have never imagined himself asking an earthling for help, yet here he was. Of course, he'd never imagined living in a house on this planet or creating a child with a weak human, but he'd done those things as well. Definitely getting softer, he sighed.

His heightened senses could easily take in everything around him, and, at that very moment, as it was quiet in the rest of the house, he could hear the one-sided conversations that Bulma was having with Trunks. Talking to a baby who couldn't understand or respond was a very silly thing to do, but for some reason, as he listened to the way she cooed at the baby and talked in baby tones, he couldn't help feel a small bit of pain in his heart. Of course, he'd never been allowed the luxury of affection and it was really a very foreign thing to him, but some part of him, as much as he wanted to deny it, was craving it.

"Don't be stupid", he quickly said aloud, feeling disgusted with the emotions that were slowly creeping up on him. "Just eat your damn food and then read the stupid almanac".

It was well past midnight and Bulma was still up in the lab, hunched over her table with a cup of coffee in hand. Trunks was beside her, resting in a makeshift crib that she'd thrown together so that she could attend to her child at the same time. He was surprisingly quiet; not asleep, but not causing a fit either.

Bulma paused from the books in front of her and turned to Trunks, smiling a little as she watched her son. She felt happier, as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders. And, to top it off, she knew exactly why she felt that way too. It may not have seemed like much to other people, but Bulma was extremely proud of the breakthrough she'd had with the stubborn saiyan. Requesting her help was a big step for someone with so much pride; it displayed the unspoken trust he had in her and the willingness to be vulnerable, even if it was just a little. Vegeta still kept to himself most of the time and was grumpy, but Bulma was convinced that she'd gotten her foot in the door and that things could only get better from then on.

She smiled at nothing in particular, then sighed, reminding herself that she was an adult and couldn't afford to act like a love-struck teenager. "Stop being so immature", she hissed at herself. Then, after thinking about it for a moment, she added, "still talking to myself, ugh".

Bulma shook her head and turned back to the work laid out in front of her. Vegeta had already established the fact that a full moon was ultimately the source of power for the transformation. This, of course, meant that a moon that wasn't full provided energy, but not enough for an actual transformation. Bulma sighed. Could there be some way to harness this energy? It wasn't something she, or any human scientist, could understand. The actual light from the moon was only a reflection of the sun's energy, so maybe, it was the sun that was indirectly fueling the way the moon affected saiyans.

Bulma gasped, a light bulb suddenly lighting up in her head. She quickly shifted aside the books in front of her and grabbed her laptop. She just had to check something up and…

"Vegeta! Vegeta! I've got it!" Bulma yelled excitedly, rushing up the stairs and bursting into the room, startling a naked Vegeta out of bed.