Secrets Revealed

Goku looked from the tall, bald saiyan, to the short, spiky-haired saiyan, to his oldest friend, Bulma. He was confused and tense. He was fighting one moment and the next the little guy was acting like a wounded animal with Bulma trying desperately to help him right after he threatened to kill her. Nothing was making sense. The fighting came to a standstill and there was no explanation why except that, perhaps, Bulma finally got through to the short one somehow. What she did, he didn't know, but he doubted it was enough to make the reprieve in fighting very long. He looked behind him and saw Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Gohan cautiously making their way over to where he was standing a few feet away from the strange reunion, if that was what it was.

"Hey, Goku, what's going on?" Krillin asked as he came up to stand alongside his best friend.

Goku chuckled and rubbed his head. "I'm not sure, really."

Piccolo rolled his eyes. "That's a surprise. She knows that guy from somewhere?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so." Goku shrugged. He still didn't like Bulma being so close to the enemy even if they weren't presently threatening anyone. They were talking in some weird language that seemed oddly familiar, but he still couldn't understand a word of it.

Krillin, hiding behind Goku, beckoned to Bulma to come over and talk to them. She looked up at the saiyans, but they weren't paying her any mind, so she got up and quietly padded over to her friends. "What were you thinking coming here?" Krillin hissed.

Bulma stomped her foot. "Oh, please! Not you too! I'm tired of you guys thinking I can't take care of myself. Look, I'm fine, ok? We just had a little misunderstanding earlier." Bulma rubbed her throat again, remembering Vegeta's strong hand squeezing it.

"What's going on, anyway?" Goku asked.

"Well, they're talking. I guess Vegeta finally recognized me or something and now he's talking to that bear over there about it. I can't understand a word of their language. It sounds more like growls to me."

Tien snorted. "That's probably what it is. They're beasts."

Bulma frowned at him. "Don't talk about Vegeta like that! I know he's not the nicest guy, but I can promise you he's not like this by choice."

"He seemed to be enjoying it to me," Goku piped in.

Krillin nodded sagely. "Yeah, and that big guy definitely got a kick out of beating me senseless."

Bulma crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her friends in turn. "Whatever. Where the heck is Yamcha?"

Krillin's mouth dropped open. "B-Bulma? Don't you know?" He glanced over his shoulder, and when he turned back, his brows were furrowed and his mouth turned down. "The big guy killed him."

"What?" she shrieked. "No! You're wrong, he has to be alive!"

Gohan sniffled. "It's true, Bulma." The young half-breed hadn't had much time to get to know Yamcha very well, but he knew he was a good guy and he was a friend of his father, and that was enough for him to feel attached to him. Through the shock and fear of battling the saiyans, he had hardly gotten a chance to think about the fact that he witnessed someone dying earlier, but now that there was a break in fighting and the topic came up, he felt terrible grief.

Tien, Goku, and Krillin were feeling the same thing. They were close friends with Yamcha, and knowing they had been unable to save him was eating at them. Their guilt grew into anger. There was a noticeable rise in temperature around them as their ki flared. They didn't want to stand around waiting to see what would happen next. They wanted to fight the monsters who came and killed their friend with no just cause. Never mind the fact that the saiyans were there for their own revenge for the death of their comrade, Raditz.

Bulma didn't want to believe what they told her at first. Yamcha was somewhere else, it was that simple. Where he went, she didn't know, but he had to be alive. She couldn't bear the thought of him being dead. She was in love with him and she still hadn't married him. They decided to wait until after the saiyan threat. Well, Yamcha had to make it through the battle with the saiyans so he could marry her. It was that simple. He had too much to live for to be dead. She shook her head, wanting to stay in denial, but when she saw the grief on all her friends' expressions and saw their tightly clenched fists, she knew it was true. She felt tears forming, and though she tried to hold them back and stay strong, they started falling.

"Yamcha," she whispered. "No, Yamcha. Why'd it have to be you?"

Goku took a deep breath and slowly released it. He had to keep a clear head for the fight. "Don't worry about it, Bulma. We'll wish him back with the dragon balls. I promise."

There wasn't much comfort in his promise. Of course there was the hope that she would be with Yamcha again, but that meant waiting a whole year to see him again. During that time he would be dead. Dead! It wasn't quite the same as knowing he was away on a long trip or training somewhere in the wilderness for a year. No, he was in another dimension, and there was the chance that he couldn't come back if something was screwed up with finding the dragon balls or making the wish. Still, the hope was enough to take the edge off her pain for now. Bulma nodded and brushed her tears away. Goku was right. They would wish him back and everything would be as it should be.

Bulma went back over to the saiyans and planted her hands on her hips. They were still talking in their weird language, and from what she could tell Nappa was explaining something while Vegeta was listening and growing increasingly furious. He obviously didn't like whatever Nappa was telling him. Bulma hated to interrupt – really, she did – but she had a bone to pick with the saiyans: They killed her fiancé.

"How could you?" she spat venomously. "You killed Yamcha, you brutes!"

Vegeta quirked an eyebrow at her. "What the hell are you moaning about, woman?"

Bulma balled her right hand into a fist. "I'll tell you what I'm moaning about! The man this big idiot killed was my fiancé! I was going to marry him!"

"And I should care?" he growled.

Bulma screamed her rage and feinted a right hook. When Vegeta blocked it she brought up her left leg and kicked his unguarded groin. Had it not been for his armor, he would have been in a good deal of pain, but as it was, he only felt a minor bit of discomfort.

"Do you want me to kill you?" he roared.

Flames of red ki burst up around Goku as he shot forward and knocked Vegeta away from Bulma. He didn't have time to react before the saiyan prince was back on his feet charging at him with fists raised ready to strike. He was thrown on the defensive, blocking and dodging kicks and punches so fast he could have sworn Vegeta had more than four limbs.

"Would you two stop it?" Bulma shrieked. "I can't take this anymore!"

In the fraction of a second that Goku was distracted by Bulma, Vegeta grabbed his arm, wrenched his shoulder from his socket, and hurled him into the ground. He cupped his hands at his side and started gathering energy for a Gallic Gun. The violet energy grew in his hands until its light was brighter than the sun. He was done fooling around with the third-class. It was time to end the fight.

"No! Vegeta, stop!" Bulma ran over to Goku and stood over him. She held her arms out at her sides and glared up at Vegeta. "You're going to have to kill me to get to him."

Vegeta scoffed. "Is that supposed to stop me?" He held his hands in front of him, ready to fire his beam of ki. He didn't give a damn if the crazy woman wanted to sacrifice herself to save the pitiful excuse of a warrior. That was her problem, not his. Besides, he would probably end up killing her eventually anyway. She was annoying beyond belief.

"I know you won't hurt me," she said confidently.

Goku struggled to sit up. "Bulma, get out of here! How many times do I have to tell you?"

She shook her head, but didn't take her eyes off Vegeta. "Sorry, Goku, but I don't take orders. I'm not leaving. You two are going to stop fighting this instant."

Bulma had to squint to see Vegeta behind the ki held in his hands pointed directly at her. She refused to look at the light. It would do nothing to firm her resolve. She looked beyond it, looked into Vegeta's onyx eyes that, unfortunately, reflected the light in his hands. He looked like a madman. Still, he hadn't fired. That gave her a boost in confidence. He could have released his attack long ago, but he was just waiting, watching her. Something had to be holding him back.

Indeed there was. Vegeta honestly wanted to punish her for her audacity, her insolence, her everything. She was driving him crazy and he had only met her a few minutes ago. Well, he might have met her a long time ago, but he couldn't remember it so that was irrelevant. Still, it must be their first meeting that was restraining him. He had to admit he was impressed with her courage. There she stood, facing certain death without so much as a tremble of fear. She was either a complete idiot or she really believed she held some sway over him. Maybe she did. He was willing himself to fire his Gallic Gun, but it wouldn't leave his hands. He felt sweat dripping down his temples as he fought with himself on the inside. He wanted to kill her, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't cooperate. It wouldn't attack her. But why? What was it about her that made him so reluctant to hurt her?

"Vegeta, I don't think you should hurt her."

Vegeta looked over at his bodyguard with teeth bared. He was already frustrated with himself, why did he have to deal with Nappa's stupidity now? He growled and clenched his hands into fists, dropping the gathered ki. "Why the hell not?"

The earthlings followed Vegeta's gaze and saw Nappa had an expression of deep concentration. That was new. He sighed and, rubbing his head with one hand, closed his eyes and said nothing, but Vegeta's eyes didn't move from him. They looked back and forth between the two saiyans, wondering what was going on. They saw one of Vegeta's eyebrows slowly raise and his mouth opened until he was gaping like a dead fish. Something must have been going on between them, but no one knew what.

Nappa pushed memories across their mental link. Memories of Vegeta's outburst when Frieza threatened to have 1076XR purged. Memories of Vegeta trying to fight Frieza, then Zarbon. He showed Vegeta his radical increase in ki, his fearless attack on the tyrant, the way he refused to be kept down even when he was badly beaten. He even revealed the brief mental conversation he had with Raditz about what was going on. Vegeta was attached to someone on the planet where he had been stranded. He was willing to die to save whoever was there.

It was hard for Vegeta to believe. How could he have ever allowed himself to become attached to anyone, especially someone weak like an earthling, possibly the blue-haired woman? It made no sense to him. He hated weaklings. He never concerned himself with anyone but himself. He lived to survive, not to save others. But what Nappa was showing him couldn't have been made up. It was too real. It stirred something deep in his mind. He couldn't quite place it, but it was familiar. It really happened. He was attached to an earthling. And, considering how he knew the woman's scent and the way she acted so friendly toward him, it was probably her. Nappa was right. He couldn't kill her. He would be torn apart inside if he did. Apparently something in him still remembered her even if he had no conscious memories of her. And anyway, if what Nappa said earlier was true, Frieza intended for him to kill everyone on this planet eventually in the hopes that it would somehow break him. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't kill the woman. She was important to him. Whether he liked it or not, there were attachments that couldn't be easily broken.

"Damnit, what am I supposed to do then?"

Nappa shrugged. "You'll have to break the bond somehow."

"How?"

"I don't know. We'll figure something out."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and lowered himself to the ground. Maybe he was attached to the woman, but he highly doubted he was attached to Kakarrot. He had no qualms about hurting him when they were fighting. Actually, every punch and kick he landed felt rather satisfying. He didn't want to stop beating him up. Rather, he wanted to continue their fight to the death and get proper revenge for Raditz. He stalked over to where Bulma was still standing with her arms out as if to protect the saiyan behind her.

"Get out of my way," he hissed.

She looked him directly in the eye and frowned. "No way. There's no need to fight."

Vegeta put his hands on Bulma's shoulders. "Excuse me, but I have a debt to collect," he said with mock politeness. He roughly pushed her aside and grabbed the collar of Goku's gi and pulled him up to his feet. "Now then, where were we?"

Bulma regained her balance and jumped on Vegeta's back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and with all her strength tried to choke him. Obviously asking nicely wasn't going to work. Vegeta was surprised by her strength, but it wasn't enough to hurt him. He pulled her arms off his neck and dropped her on the ground. "Woman, I would suggest staying out of this."

"You don't have to hurt him! You want revenge for Raditz, right?" Bulma stood up and dusted herself off when she saw she had Vegeta's attention. "Well, there's no need for it. He's not dead."

"What do you mean he's not dead? Then where the hell is he?"

Bulma inched around Vegeta, again putting herself between him and Goku before answering. "Well, you see he's back at Capsule Corporation. Piccolo really did a number on him during their battle and I've been taking care of him. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Vegeta stepped closer to her until his face was inches from hers. She would have backed away, but then she would have tripped over Goku's prone body.

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, sort of. I mean, he's well enough, but, um, he's in a sort of coma. It's not like I could trust him. He kind of wanted to, you know, kill everyone."

"Funny how I don't blame him."

"Yeah, well, you're here now so I guess I can wake him up. That is, if you'll tell him not to hurt anyone. I'm not going to let a psychopath loose on the planet."

Vegeta again considered killing the woman. How dare she think she has the power to make demands like this? If he wanted, he could blow up the whole planet with her on it! That'll show her. Yet, the thought of hurting her made his stomach turn. No, he couldn't do it. Neither could he let Nappa or Raditz bring any harm to her. He grit his teeth and nodded.

"Good! Then I guess I can take you to the compound and we'll get him back up to speed and you can all be on your merry way, which doesn't include killing anyone. Great!" Bulma started walking toward her jet, but she found herself swept up in Vegeta's arms and they were airborne. She shrieked and threw her arms around his shoulders for safety.

Behind him, she saw Nappa coming after them, followed by Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and Krillin. Gohan must have stayed behind with Goku. Well, Master Roshi could fly them to Capsule Corporation in the jet. It wasn't as if she could go back to help. She squeezed her eyes shut and held on to Vegeta tighter. He was flying much faster than she had ever gone with Yamcha or any of her other friends. It was terrifying.

"Do you know where to go?" she yelled over the wind.

"Hn." Vegeta couldn't really explain it, but he felt like he knew the way to the Capsule Corporation compound. He flew northwest. Even though he didn't exactly recognize the territory, he still knew where he was going as if there was some autopilot in his brain directing him. He must have traveled the planet while he was on it last time. He was running on memories he wasn't conscious of, memories that didn't require awareness. They had been flying for a few minutes when he felt Bulma relaxing in his arms. She still held on to him, but it was obvious she felt safer. That disgusted him. She should be afraid of him. Everyone feared Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. But not this stupid woman. What happened between them all those years ago? Why did she trust him? Why did she care about him? For that matter, why did he care about her? He wished he could remember.

It was nearly an hour later that they reached a large city. Vegeta felt strangely comfortable there, at least until he flew over an area with lots of trees and a lake in the middle. When he saw it, he felt an overwhelming need to protect the woman in his arms. He shook his head until the feeling passed. There wasn't anything threatening her, and even if there was, why should he be bothered with her welfare? Because he was attached. He figured he must have been terribly foolish to allow himself to ever form any kind of attachment with anyone on the mudball. Especially this female. She was nothing but a nuisance. He wanted to hate her. Only a minute later he saw a large, domed building down below. Without being told he knew that was his destination. He dropped out of the sky on the front lawn and set Bulma on her feet. The others all landed around him. The earthling warriors obviously didn't trust him, and Nappa would stick by his side through anything.

Bulma quickly removed her arms from Vegeta and put some space between them, a light blush tingeing her cheeks pink. "Well, I guess you remembered the way, huh?" She cleared her throat and spun around on her heel to march into the compound with the band of warriors close behind.

The first thing Vegeta noticed when he went inside was the smell. He didn't think he had ever smelled anything like it before, but it was distantly familiar and enticing. It was some sort of food, but what kind he wasn't sure. He would have to investigate later. Right now his first concern was seeing Raditz and verifying that he was alive as the woman claimed. When a door on the left opened he nearly bowled Nappa over when he shot backward in surprise.

Through the door came a very slender woman with a pile of blonde curls on her head. Her eyes were closed, but she had a beaming smile. "Bulma, honey, is that you? I thought you went to visit your friends."

"Yeah, Mom, I did." Bulma glanced over at Vegeta and back to her mother. Should she tell her now? She decided to wait until everyone was together so she would only have to explain it once. "Mom, we have some company. Would you mind bringing us some refreshments? We're going to the infirmary to visit Raditz."

If it was possible, Mrs. Brief's smile grew. "Oh, of course, honey! I just finished baking some cupcakes."

"Thanks, Mom." Bulma breathed a small sigh of relief when her mother disappeared into the kitchen. She continued down the hall and led the way through the compound to the infirmary. She was still a little uncertain about rousing Raditz from his coma, but Vegeta was definitely stronger than him and apparently the prince, so she had nothing to be afraid of if Vegeta agreed to keep him from harming anyone. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to his room and went inside.

Vegeta followed her in and nearly knocked her over when he saw Raditz lying on the bed. He went to his side and shook his shoulders to wake him up. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Vegeta, I told you, he's in a coma. I can bring him out of it as long as you keep your word to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." Bulma crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the table next to Raditz's bed.

Nappa went over to the other side of the bed. "Prince Vegeta doesn't have to promise you anything."

"He does if you want your friend to wake up," she snapped. She received a glare from the giant saiyan that made her want to eat her words. Even so, she didn't back down.

"Enough!" Vegeta barked. "Wake him up now before I blow this planet to oblivion!"

"Hey, you better take that back," Tien said, stepping forward to confront the saiyan prince.

Vegeta sneered at him. "Or what?"

Bulma pushed her way between them and shoved both of them a step back. "Stop it, you two!"

"Why are you protecting him?" Tien demanded.

"Oh, as if I need her to protect me," Vegeta snarled.

"Shut up!" Bulma kicked Tien's shin and elbowed Vegeta in the chest. "I've had it with you!"

"How dare you –"

"Don't you 'how dare you' me, Vegeta," Bulma hissed, poking him in the chest. "Now both of you calm down before I put you all in a coma!"

Vegeta batted her hand away and turned back to Raditz. He was practically blinded with rage. The woman had no right to talk to him in such a disrespectful manner. She was breaking down his pride in front of these inferior warriors. "Well, get on with it!"

Bulma scowled at him before going around to pull the IV out of Raditz's arm that was supplying him with the coma-inducing drug. She knew he wouldn't instantly regain consciousness, but it would be soon. Until then, Vegeta and the other saiyan would just have to wait a while. She put a bandage on Raditz's arm and sat on the edge of the bed. "It'll be a few minutes before the drugs wear off."

"Hn."

"You always were a big talker," Bulma grumbled.

No one else said anything for a few minutes. The tension was thick in the air; the earthlings wanted to get the saiyans out of Capsule Corporation, and the saiyans were waiting for their comrade to wake up. They didn't believe he was in as good condition as the woman claimed. It was hard to keep a saiyan down for a year. Something else had to be going on. But there was nothing for them to do besides wait.

The occupants of the room jumped when the door opened. "Oh, there you are," Mrs. Brief said as she came in. She was pushing a cart with a tray of cupcakes, a pitcher of lemonade, and several glasses on it. "I brought your refreshments."

"Thanks, Mom," Bulma said. "Has Goku come yet?"

"I haven't seen him, dear." Mrs. Brief started pouring lemonade into the glasses. "Are you expecting him?"

"Sort of."

Mrs. Brief handed the lemonade to everyone gathered in the room. She stopped when she gave Vegeta his glass. He wasn't quick to accept it from her, and when she finally shoved it into his hand, the first thing he did was sniff it, as if expecting to detect the scent of poison. She thought that was a rather odd reaction to have to a plain glass of lemonade. Her eyebrow quirked. "You sure do look familiar," she finally said.

Bulma laughed nervously and pulled her mother away from the saiyan prince. "Yeah, he should. I'll explain when Goku gets here. Why don't you give everyone cupcakes?"

Though the cheerful homemaker was sidetracked, Vegeta kept his eyes on her. She, too, seemed familiar. She was a very brazen woman. Learning she was the blue-haired woman's mother came as no surprise, aside from the obvious lack of intelligence she had. She was also much less confrontational. He decided he preferred her company, especially when she gave him a chocolate cupcake. He was wary of it at first, but after the first bite he quickly finished off the whole batch of them. He wouldn't have even cared if they were drugged. The fact that he felt he could trust her made him feel uneasy. He hadn't trusted anyone besides Nappa and Raditz in his life. At least, not since he was taken away from his home planet.

"So why is everyone here?" Mrs. Brief asked her daughter. She looked around the small room, now cramped with the large group of people in it.

Bulma raked her hand through her hair. "It's kind of a long story. You see that little guy with the spiky hair and the big bald guy with the mustache? They're here for Raditz."

"Oh. Oh! Are they the saiyans you mentioned?"

Bulma sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I took Raditz off the drugs keeping him in a coma. He should be waking up soon."

"Is that safe?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

Vegeta heard the first part of their conversation, but stopped paying attention after a while. It was nothing new or interesting to him. He left Nappa to watch the others and make sure they didn't try to spring an attack on them while he closed his eyes and retreated into his mind to monitor his mental link with Raditz. He hadn't felt anything from the long-haired warrior since his battle a year ago, but now that he was supposedly able to come out of his coma, he wanted to be aware of him regaining consciousness so he could stop him before he started firing ki blasts and throwing punches at anyone close enough to hurt him. He meant to keep his word even if he resented having to give it in the first place.

He didn't know how much time passed before he felt a stirring on the other end of the mental link. After being a vegetable for so long it took a while for the haziness in Raditz's mind to lift. That gave Vegeta ample time to order him not to hurt anyone around him, especially the woman with blue hair. When Raditz opened his eyes for the first time in a year, he was visibly angry, which wasn't unexpected considering he was being held in a coma. It was just another form of imprisonment. Saiyans hated being caged; they would sooner be killed in battle than taken as prisoners. Despite his rage, though, he did not lash out at anyone, even when he saw his younger brother standing on the opposite side of the room. His ki flared with his rage.

"What the hell is he doing here? He should be dead."

Vegeta looked over at the tailless saiyan, who he hadn't noticed come in, and shrugged. "He was. They brought him back."

"Damnit! He doesn't deserve to live."

"I am well aware of this."

"Then why haven't you or Nappa killed him yet?"

The saiyan prince sighed. "It's complicated, but I promised the woman we wouldn't hurt anyone here."

Raditz's eyes shifted to the blue-haired woman. He quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"As I said, it's complicated." Vegeta abruptly cut the mental link. He didn't want to answer any more questions Raditz might have regarding the woman and her friends. He was ashamed of himself for having such an enormous weakness because of his past foolishness. He didn't want to talk about it.

Raditz sat up in the bed, ignoring the way it made his head swim. "Hello, brother," he growled.

Goku frowned. "Hey, brother."

Mrs. Brief looked back and forth between the two third-class saiyans. "Bulma, honey, you never mentioned this young man was Goku's brother."

"It doesn't matter, Mom," Bulma groaned. "Where's Dad?"

"In his lab."

"Good." Bulma walked to the phone and dialed the extension to her father's laboratory. She twisted the cord around her finger while she waited for him to pick up. It took him four rings.

"Dr. Brief speaking."

"Hey, Dad," Bulma said. "I need you in the infirmary right away."

"Is something the matter, dear?"

"Sort of. Please hurry."

"I'm on my way." Dr. Brief hung up the phone and immediately left his lab.

Bulma hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. Her eyes turned up to the ceiling as she silently prayed to Kami that things would go well when she explained her history with Vegeta to her friends and the fact that Vegeta was one of the killer saiyans to her parents. She didn't even have Vegeta to back up her story because he apparently couldn't remember a thing about his time spent on Earth as a boy. That was just great. She was alone on this one in the middle of a bunch of men pumped up on testosterone and adrenaline who wanted to beat each other silly. Fantastic. She shook her head as she returned to her mother's side to wait for her father to come.

Mrs. Brief leaned over and whispered, "I can see why you brought them home. The one with the hair sure is a handsome young man."

The blue-haired woman blushed as she peeked over at Vegeta. She hadn't even noticed what he looked like. To her, he was still Vegeta, her sort-of older brother with a bad attitude and sharp tongue. But now that her attention had been drawn to it, she couldn't help but notice how attractive the Prince of all Saiyans really was. She liked his deep widow's peak and how purely black his hair was. His eyes were even darker. Frightening, yet beautiful. Her eyes moved up and down his body. He was short, but he was built like a god. His tight bodysuit left little to the imagination. She blushed deeper. "Now isn't the time to think about that, Mom. Besides, I'm engaged to Yamcha. Even if he is dead for a year…"

"What do you mean Yamcha's dead, sweetie?"

"I'll explain when Dad gets here."

As if on cue, Dr. Brief came into the small room. He shut the door behind him and looked around at all the visitors. He had to do a double take when he saw Vegeta. There stood a man he hadn't seen before, but he looked so familiar. How could he not? It was hard to forget such features as a tall flame of coal black hair, sharp, black eyes, and such a severe widow's peak. He gaze shifted down, taking in the man's body. He was wearing some kind of armor, a full bodysuit, boots, and gloves. And around his waist was something brown and furry. He stuffed his hands in his pocket as he walked across the room to stand next to his wife and daughter.

"Alright, well now that Dad's here," Bulma mumbled. She cleared her throat. "First, Mom and Dad, you remember Vegeta, don't you?"

Dr. Brief's mustache twitched as his suspicions were confirmed. He nodded to his daughter. Mrs. Brief was a little slower to make the connection. Of course she remembered Vegeta. How could she forget him? She still thought of him as her son. She looked over at the man with the tall hair and started connecting the dots in her mind. Now that she was thinking about it, he was impossible to mistake. Even after nearly two decades had passed, he looked almost exactly the same. His features, especially his eyes, were harsher, but through that she could see the homeless boy her daughter brought home all those years ago. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Vegeta?"

Bulma smiled a little. "That's him, Mom. He finally came back, just like he promised."

"Oh, Vegeta!" Mrs. Brief launched herself at the saiyan and wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly despite his struggles to get away from her. She heard his warning growl but ignored it, not thinking twice about hugging a mass murderer. To her, he was the same little Vegeta she had known when he was a child. "You came home! You finally came home!"

Hearing the growl, Goku moved to keep Vegeta away from Mrs. Brief, but Bulma grabbed his arm and held him back. "Don't interfere Goku, he'll recognize her. He won't hurt her."

"But Bulma!"

"Wait," she said firmly.

Vegeta tried to pull away from the crazy blonde woman, but she was immovable. He had as much success when he tried to push her away. He was stunned when he felt her small body shaking as she sobbed. But he didn't smell any fear on her. He was completely confused. Why was she crying? Why was she holding him? Why was she doing both at the same time? He looked over at Nappa for help, but he could only shrug in response.

"Woman, get off me."

"Oh, but I missed you so much, Vegeta." Mrs. Brief only held him tighter.

He put one arm awkwardly around her and patted her back. There wasn't much else he could do with her. He looked over her shoulder at the other woman. She was smiling at him. He snarled at her, but she was unabashed. Stupid humans. Vegeta sighed. Maybe they all knew him from when he was stranded on the planet. Maybe he knew them. Hesitantly, he sniffed Mrs. Brief's neck. His nostrils were filled with the scent of cinnamon and sugar. It brought with it another wave of almost-memories. So close, so out of reach. He sniffed her neck more, inhaling as deeply as he could, trying so hard to find the memories. It was maddening. Before he really knew what he was doing, he had both arms around her as he drowned himself in her comforting scent.

Bulma chuckled when she saw what was happening. He was remembering, kind of. "Well, anyway. Vegeta stayed on Earth with me and my parents when we were kids. I was only nine years old. I invited him to stay with us in April and he stayed with us until late September. I never knew he was an alien or really much of anything about him, but he was a good friend to me. He played with me and he even saved me and my mom from being kidnapped – twice. He went to school with me for a month in the fall. He's the one who got me started in martial arts. If it hadn't been for him I never would have taken up fighting."

"So you really did know him?" Goku asked, pointing at Vegeta. "Why didn't you ever mention him before?"

"Well, I guess by the time I met you it had been so long ago that I didn't think about him as much." Bulma looked down at the floor and drew circles with her toe. "It's funny. I did think you and he were probably connected somehow, what with the tails and superhuman strength and all. I never would have guessed you were an alien species."

Krillin laughed. "It is pretty wild. You transforming into the giant ape thing should have been a dead giveaway." He slapped Goku on the back.

"Giant ape?" Goku asked.

The short man covered his mouth with his hands. "Nothing, Goku. Giant ape thing? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Smooth, Krillin," Bulma murmured.

"You mean the oozaru?" Raditz interjected. "Not like he can transform anymore without his tail."

"Would you shut up!" Bulma screeched.

Raditz snapped his mouth shut. He was too surprised by her outburst to speak. Nappa started laughing while Goku's friends tried to cover the strange conversation by taking it in ten different directions at once.

"Now hold on everyone, let's just calm down," Dr. Brief said, his soft voice somehow managing to rise above all the others. He held up his hands to stop the myriad conversations and restore order.

The others all looked at him and gave a collective shout, "No!"

Vegeta felt strangely relaxed with the blonde woman. Being in her arms gave him a sense of security unlike any he felt when he was alone, no matter how strong he became. It was unreasonable, he told himself, but he didn't care. He felt safe with her, and he wanted to protect her. For some reason, with her, he didn't resent it as much as he did the blue-haired woman. It felt natural to want to defend her, to keep any harm from ever coming to her. He didn't listen to all the noise around him. None of that mattered, not when he was with the blonde woman. He very much wished he could remember her so he would know why. There must have been something special about her for him to feel so strongly even when he had no idea who she was. All he knew was her scent, and that was enough to make him care for her.

When the others stopped shouting, Bulma continued, "So that's the story about how I know Vegeta. You'll have to take my word for it because he doesn't seem to remember it. I'm not sure how he could forget almost a whole year, but he did." She shrugged one shoulder.

Nappa and Raditz exchanged a glance, then looked over at Vegeta. Their eyes widened. Was he purring? Was that his tail wrapped around the woman's wrist? Something strange was going on. Vegeta didn't remember these humans, but at the same time he was acting as if he did. Well, it was true that a saiyan never forgets anything that ever happens to him. Even if his explicit memories were taken away, he would still have his implicit memories intact.

"Should I tell them about the experiment?" Nappa asked Raditz.

Raditz looked around the room. He didn't trust any of them aside from his comrades. Did they have any right to know? He looked again at Vegeta. There was obvious attachment there. He was acting as if he was with his pack. Or, more specifically, his mother. Raditz shifted uncomfortably. "Do what you think is best. I don't think Vegeta will mind. Have you told him?"

"Not completely."

"You might as well explain it in full now."

Nappa nodded. He rubbed his head, wondering where to start. "Vegeta can't remember you because of something that was done to him after he returned to Frieza."

A hush fell through the room when Nappa spoke. It was the first time they had heard him say more than a few words at a time when he wasn't taunting them. And he didn't sound terribly angry this time, either. He still didn't look or sound like he was happy to be speaking to them, but at least he was saying something that might be helpful in understanding Vegeta.

"Frieza wanted to send a purge team to this planet after Vegeta told him how he got away. Vegeta had formed… attachments… with someone here and he tried to fight Frieza."

"Who's Frieza?" Bulma asked.

The two saiyans cringed. "Don't worry about that right now," Raditz said.

Bulma huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. Go on."

Nappa sneered at her before continuing his story. "Frieza saw that Vegeta's power increased when he threatened this planet, so he had one of his scientists take his memories away. I'm not sure exactly how it was done, but through some crazy experiment Vegeta's memories of here were taken away. They're still in his brain somewhere, but he can't find them. Supposedly Frieza wants him to get them back sometime later. After he's destroyed this mudball."

"My word. That's awful," Dr. Brief said. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and put one in his mouth without lighting it. "Perhaps there is some way we could help, if we could figure out what was done in the first place."

Bulma rubbed her chin. "I don't see why not. What was done can be undone."

The two scientists nodded in agreement. If they could somehow decipher what was done to make Vegeta forget his time on Earth, then they could probably reverse the effects. They wanted Vegeta to remember them. They were happy enough to have him back anyway, but it would be a better reunion if he actually knew who they were. At least he wasn't still trying to kill people. That was a step in the right direction. It was terrible to know that this Frieza character, whoever he was, probably the one responsible for all the abuse Vegeta suffered through, would have something so inhumane done to him. Messing with a person's mind was worse than any physical damage. It was abominable. They reached their conclusion without much hesitation. They were going to figure out what was done to Vegeta and bring back all his lost memories.

A/N: I hate virus scans that freeze up my computer when I'm trying to make changes to the chapter before posting and then they're all lost. Anyway, today I was figuring out the days for posting chapters and I found that the story (as planned) will be completed on September 1. I'm working on writing chapter 56 right now, so hopefully that'll be done soon. Oh, and over 100 people picked me as a favorite author? I'm flattered. Thanks, guys!

For those who care, I'm also trying to write another chapter of Guardian of Vegeta-sei. Working through writer's block ain't easy. I could use a beta for that story. And Power. Speaking of, if you haven't read that one, I would suggest it if you like M-rated dark fics not likely to have a very happy ending.

Beta'd by lilpumpkingirl.

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