Chapter 16: Love Birds

The light patter of the fusion's boots were the only sound inside of the peaceful atmosphere of the Time Nest. Vegetto lifted his chin up slightly, glancing around and scanning the area with his eyes.

Grass seems to be even...no broken tree or buildings...

The fusion then suddenly stopped in mid stride, tightly shutting his eyes.

No...stop. No pragmatism...no pragmatism...

Vegetto then slowly opened his eyes, letting out a deep breath. His eyes followed the flow of the water in the small pond immediately, watching the wind ripple waves across its surface for a brief moment. His eyes traveled along with a single wave for a moment, watching it crash to the shoreline with the wind still lightly brushing against the blades of green grass next. His body began to relax slowly, still following along the invisible stream of air through it's contact with the grass until it reached the edge of the outer dome. His eyes continued to rise upwards, pretending as if he could see the wind riding along the grass towards the top of the dome for a brief moment. His head soon stopped, however, his attention having turned to the distant planets floating above in space. His breathing slowed a bit, his mind drifting at the study of the steady and relaxed flow of the clouds on the first world he came across.

Vegetto blinked hard, his breath quickening as he stumbled forward slightly from his suddenly weak legs. He shook his head for a moment, breaking out into a small scowl for a moment before a sudden memory flashed within his mind, Whis' voice ringing out.

You walk through life with a chip on your shoulder, and your nerves wound too tight. This tension makes it difficult for you to move and fight at your full potential.

The fusion paused, glancing down at the ground for a few moments as he dug deeper into his mind.

Being too relaxed can also be a weakness. If you let your focus waver...you're set up to fail.

Vegetto sighed lightly once more, turning his head upwards.

"Relax...but not too easily..."

The fusion then turned his gaze towards the small hut housing Kassava, his vision turning back towards the ground as he walked with a stern stare matching one of his fusees.

She endangered us all...jumped into things too quickly. We could've died...

His narrowed eyes lifted slightly, his expression softening a bit.

We had to go in anyway...even unprepared. Having Frieza there was enough...the situation was under control.

The fusion's gaze softened even more, his chest tightening at the following thought.

Besides...she learned her lesson. Just like you did on Namek...

Vegetto's eyes then narrowed once more into a fierce glare.

Her transformation though...how was that possible?! The Super Saiyan God can only be created through the ritual...and she was barely strong enough to be a Super Saiyan!

Maybe she gained the power somewhere else.

No! That's impossible! She's been with us the entire time...there's no explanation! There's no way she can be stronger than me!

Vegetto's eyes widened a bit, having come to a halt in front of the hut. He paused, nearly absent from his mind as he stared down in shock towards his tightly clenched fists, studying his tensed muscles that trembled slightly in their constriction. The fusion blinked hard a couple of times, his expression dropping.

Is that why this bothers me so much? The thought of her being stronger than me?

Vegetto inhaled deeply, stepping inside of the hut as lightly as possible. His heart began to quicken slightly once he was inside the dark and small hallway separating the rooms, soon arriving to the ajar door leading into Kassava's room. The fusion stopped in front of it, tightly closing his eyes and taking in another deep breath.

Instincts...trust your instincts...

Slowly lifting his right arm, Vegetto exhaled deeply as threw his fist forward against the door. His eyes widened in shock, stumbling forward from his fist having shot through the wood of the door and formed a large hole with a loud bang. The fusion yelped, tearing the door off the hinges by pulling his arm back and quickly steadying himself upright in the middle of Kassava's room.

The Saiyan female sat on the edge of her bed, having not even turned her head towards the sudden break in to her room. Vegetto held his breath, having waited a few seconds in silence to see her reaction, before rapidly brushing off the remains of the door onto the ground and patting down his gi.

"I...uh...sorry about the door."

No change came in Kassava's demeanor, but her voice trailed out weak and soft.

"It's not mine anyway..."

Vegetto glanced down at her reply, instinctively reaching back and scratching the back of his head with his right arm.

"Actually...it still is. I may have been a little too harsh for what happened in the time stream..."

Kassava turned her head further away from where the fusion stood, silent in response. Vegetto glanced around at the ceiling for a moment, nearly twiddling his thumbs.

"So...I like what you've done with the place...it's got a nice..well...red paint feel to-"

"What do you want?"

Vegetto dropped his arms, pausing for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"I want you to talk to me."

Kassava's head turned back towards Vegetto, her eyes visibly narrowed into a glare.

"Why? You didn't want to hear it when we got back to the Time Vault."

Vegetto's eyes narrowed slightly in response.

"I did, actually. But you were too busy getting upset when I questioned the validity of your story."

The fusion's eyes widened, quickly burying his forehead into his right palm for a moment before shaking his head once.

"Ok...ok. Let's not start this again."

He sighed heavily again, moving slightly closer to the bed.

"I know...you said you didn't know where the power came from. But you have to understand Kassava...no one has been able to access that power ever before."

The fusion slowly sat down next to the woman, trying to meet her eyes.

"Don't you think that's a little...strange?"

Kassava grunted.

"No? Maybe some of us just have a natural talent, huh? Why didn't you think of that?"

Vegetto's eyes narrowed for a brief moment in his distrust, but he let out another deep sigh.

"Look...I don't want to fight over this with you."

The woman turned to fully face towards the fusion, her glare strong. Her nose and cheeks were both as red as the whites of her eyes from her crying.

"Why not?! You seem to fight over everything else! You didn't want me to leave when I told you I didn't want to be here, you didn't want me to jump into the time stream even if I just wanted to vent my anger out on that guy for killing my brother!"

Vegetto frowned, watching her ball her left hand into a fist and strike weakly at the fusion's chest.

"The same brother you didn't want here to weaken your little club of powerful fighters! The one I can't see anymore because you didn't want to act when we had the chance!"

The fusion glanced down in response, fully bowing his head.

"I know...we could've helped him and now he's gone forever. And you're right for blaming that on me."

Vegetto glanced down, watching Kassava slowly inch towards him and dropping her forehead on his shoulder and sobbing into the top of his gi. The fusion's eyes darted around, his brain racing through his thoughts.

What do I say? What do I say?

His eyes turned back towards Kassava, his mind gradually slowing.

She may hate me...but at least she's still here. Maybe...she doesn't want me to go?

Vegetto's eyes widened for a second, a memory suddenly jolting his mind awake. His expression then slowly softened, having gently wrapped his arm around Kassava's outer shoulder.

"Kassava?"

The fusion paused for a moment, raising one eyebrow slightly when the woman didn't respond.

"Why didn't you want me to fuse with Frieza?"

Kassava glanced up, pausing for a moment to wipe away the tears from the sides of her eyes.

"Wh..what?"

"When you were helping me up. before you transformed. You said you didn't want me to fuse with Frieza...why?"

Kassava kept her head bowed, her grip on Vegetto's gi tightening. The fusion watched his clothes ball up more under her fist, turning back towards her when she finally spoke.

"I...I already lost everything else. I didn't want to lose you too."

Vegetto's eyebrow dropped, staring down in silence for a moment. His head cocked slightly to the right, peering over his own shoulder for a second before quickly bringing his head down closer towards Kassava's.

"Well...the feeling's mutual."

Kassava blinked, the statement having caught her off guard as her chin was pushed up by Vegetto's right gloved hand. Her eyes widened, the warm touch of Vegetto's lips connecting with her own buzzing her senses for a couple of seconds. She soon rapidly reached up, releasing Vegetto's gi and digging her fingers into his cheeks and pushing forward with her lips.

Vegetto broke away first, huffing lightly after the smack of their lips nearly echoed out from the break. The fusion fidgeted slightly, glancing away for a moment.

"Sorry! I uh...I shouldn't have been so forward..."

"No no...please."

Vegetto turned his head back towards Kassava, meeting her eyes. Her hands lightly traced along his chest muscles, her right snaking to the back of his head.

"I need this."

The fusion's expression softened, following her guiding head as the two connected into another passionate kiss, Vegetto soon pinning Kassava's back against the mattress using his weight.

In the depths of space

"The third phase has begun."

"Did she initiate it?"

"No...the Guardian acted on his desires. She has done well in baiting him...the connection has been made."

"And what of the child? Shall we dispose of it as well when it arrives?"

"The child must live. Severing the connection will cripple the Guardian further if he becomes attached to the family construct."

"He may become suspicious. The child may be conceived through the mixture of our energy with the divinity of our gods, but it will lack any physical traits of hers once it grows."

"It matters now. The Attendant saw to his mind for us; the Guardian will think twice on any and all suspicion now."

"We must also watch her. She may become compromised."

"She is a Master, connected to our minds and focus. If she attempts to stray, we will simply overpower her emotions. She knows the importance of this mission, and she will not break from it."

"Allow ten years to pass when the two decide to raise the child in the time stream. Then, we will strike."