A/N: Well, here I am again. Trying to get as much of this written as humanly possible before school starts, so bear with me if it feels a little rushed. I'm trying to protect the quality of the story with my cramped schedule.

I don't own DBZ or Evanescence.

Heart Virus

A soft breeze wafted the scent of flowers to the people dancing on the balcony. Bulma smiled up at her new husband, and Yamcha smiled back. The last five years had been rocky for them, but finally the two had become accustomed to each other, and with the news that Bulma was pregnant, marriage seemed like the only sane thing for them to do. Surprisingly, it had been Yamcha's idea… Bulma hadn't wanted to tie herself down at first, but Yamcha eventually wore her down. Now she couldn't be happier.

Not far away, Goku and Chichi were dancing together, Goku watching his feet carefully so as not to step on his wife's. The two of them had grown closer over the years, Bulma thought, and even though Goku was still a restless spirit, these times of peace had kept him home more often than not, and he had even been teaching Chichi a thing or two about fighting. Which had been good for Chichi… she had never looked better, and it helped her to stay busy. Even with the passing of years, one look into either her or Goku's eyes told you that they still thought of their son, almost all the time.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Yamcha asked her, and Bulma looked back up to him.

"Oh, nothing," Bulma said, smiling. "I'm just glad we're all here, that's all…" she said, trailing off.

"Goku!" Chichi cried out, and everyone stopped dancing. She was holding up her husband, who was slumped over her shoulder. "Help me, there's something wrong with Goku!"

Bulma was by her side first, and they laid Goku down on the ground. He still had a pulse, and his breaths were faint, but his skin was cold and clammy. "Call an ambulance, quick!" Bulma said, but Krillen was already on his way. "Everybody, stand back! Give him space! Yamcha, grab some wet cloths. Cold ones. Tien, help me turn him on his side. Thanks, Yamcha. It's okay, Chichi, he'll be alright. Where's Krillen?" Bulma was in fast mode, and time seemed to go by so slowly. Where was that ambulance? 'Oh, Goku, please be okay,' she thought to herself, shouting orders at those around her just as the sound of sirens began their approach.

A minute or two later, and the ambulance crew was on the scene. Yamcha had pulled her back out of the way, and now they just held each other as Chichi followed the paramedics who were carrying Goku to the ambulance. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and it was Bulma's mother who broke them out of their reverie with talk of bringing the food inside. Bulma nodded absently and began to grab dishes, not really registering all that had just happened. Vaguely she could make out the conversation Yamcha was having with Tien about senzu beans and whether or not they'd help. Shortly after, Tien left, and Chioutzu stayed behind… Bulma knew because he was helping her carry in food. It wasn't until Yamcha was there beside her again, holding her, that Bulma realized what had just happened. One of her friends had just fallen ill… the tragedy was happening all over again. An hour ago, she had been on top of the world… and now…

She looked up at Yamcha. "We… we should be at the hospital. With Chichi," she said, and he nodded in agreement. Krillen said that he would drive, and as they got into his old car, Bulma's emotions finally caught up with her, and she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Bulma… it's okay, it's okay, what's the matter?" Yamcha was saying. Bulma simply leaned into his chest and cried. She cried and cried, not letting up until it was all out of her system. Everything came out, all the stress and pain from the last five years, even before then, and she didn't even try to hold back. In time she realized that the car had stopped, that Yamcha was alone with her in the back seat, just holding her, and that they were in the hospital parking lot. Wiping her eyes, she smiled sheepishly at Yamcha.

"Look at me, Chichi's husband's the one who's sick, and I'm crying like a baby," she said in a broken voice.

Yamcha shook his head. "It's okay, Bulma. You've been holding a lot of that in, haven't you?" he asked gently.

Bulma's lip trembled as she nodded. "I guess I've been a little stressed lately. Oh, Yamcha… I don't want to sound selfish, but why did this have to happen tonight, of all nights?"

Yamcha smiled. "Don't worry, Bulma. Things will turn out okay. Goku will pull through this… he's pulled through a lot worse! You'll see, he'll be just fine, and soon enough we'll all be sitting around, laughing again."

Bulma's eyes shone, as her mouth began to curve into a smile. Yamcha always had a way of cheering her up, especially with that contagious smile of his. She leaned up and kissed him, then opened her car door and got out. "Chichi needs us right now," she said, and she and Yamcha headed to the front door of the hospital.

Kress scowled from his position under the space pod as Prince Vegeta tapped his foot impatiently. The ten-year-old Saiyan was putting the finishing touches on the circuitry when Vegeta spoke.

"Well, Kress, is it finished yet?" he demanded yet again. Kress fought the urge to growl at the prince as he closed the panel.

"Yes," he answered simply, and got out from under the hovering pod. "It wasn't the engine this time, the asteroid dust had compromised the circuitry. The extra plating I put over it should keep that from happening again," he said, but Vegeta cut him off with a look.

"I don't want to know what was wrong with it, I just wanted it fixed. Frieza has requested my presence immediately," he said, grimacing.

Kress nodded in understanding. From what his Uncle Radditz had told him, Frieza was even more impatient than Prince Vegeta. "It's all ready to go, sir," he said, and began to pack his tools.

Vegeta grunted and opened the door to the space pod. He was about to get in, when a thought made him pause. He looked over at Kress. "Kress… I want you to give this message to Nappa and Radditz," he said. The boy nodded. "Tell them to expect me back, or to contact them, within a month. If I don't…" he trailed off, scowling.

Kress's eyes went wide. "Prince Vegeta… are you expecting trouble?" he asked.

Vegeta merely smirked. "Always expect trouble, brat. Then you will never be surprised." With that, he entered the space pod and took off, leaving a mystified Kress standing on the dock.

Later that night, he delivered Vegeta's message to the others. Nappa looked at Radditz knowingly, and Radditz grunted back. "So… just us three, then?" he asked gruffly.

Nappa shrugged, and looked at Kress. "Hey, kid, did your uncle ever tell you about the legend of the Super Saiyan?" he asked.

Radditz snorted. "I only told Kress the legends that were true. The Super Saiyan is a child's tale," he said, stretching. They had just finished eating a very large quantity of food, and he was definitely feeling the effects.

Nappa scowled at him. "All Saiyan legends are based on truth," he insisted. Radditz merely laughed.

"So… you mean you believe in the Great White Oozaru? Or the one about the moon gods who eat cowardly children?" he asked, and Kress raised an eyebrow. Children-eating moon gods?

Rolling his eyes, Nappa turned back to Kress. "Legend tells of a Saiyan who surpassed the strength of all other Saiyans. He became so strong that his body transformed, and his hair became pure gold, and green fire came from his eyes. According to the legend, the planet Vegeta was at war with a powerful enemy, so powerful that no Saiyan could approach him without being blasted away. But one man, the legend does not say his name, trained and fought so hard, and became so enraged at this enemy, that he completely transformed, and was granted the power to completely lay waste to the enemy."

Kress thought for a moment. "And you believe this actually happened?" he asked Nappa. The question was not a skeptical one… he had learned long ago that Saiyans were capable of just about anything.

Nappa grinned. "Yeah, I do. So does Prince Vegeta," he said, shooting a glare at the skeptical Radditz. "Saiyan legends are all based on truth, whether you believe them or not. The point of any of our legends is that great things can be accomplished, and have been accomplished, if you train hard enough, steal yourself against doubt, and believe that it's possible. And no one trains harder than Prince Vegeta," he said, getting up. "Don't worry about him, kid. If he runs into trouble, he, more than any of us, will be able to handle it. He is the prince, after all." With that, Nappa walked to the door. "We leave tomorrow morning, bright and early. I'm gonna get some sleep," he said, and left.

Kress looked over at his uncle, who was smirking at the door where Nappa had been. "Super Saiyan, huh? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Uncle Radditz, why was Vegeta acting so strange?" Kress asked. "Do you think that… Frieza…"

Radditz shook his head. "I don't know, Kress. You heard Nappa, though. That overblown fool was right about one thing… if anyone can handle trouble, it's Vegeta." He stood up. "Go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

Kress shrugged. "I've still got work to do. The station manager wanted me to go over these specs once more before we left," he said, stifling a yawn.

Radditz scowled. "You outrank that asshole. What are you doing his work for?"

"I like the distraction," Kress said, smirking. "This new weapons system should rival even Prince Vegeta's Final Flash attack, and it's speed will be twice that of any other computer-operated system, once we get it to work," he said, barely disguising the excitement in his voice.

"You're a warrior, Kress, not a scientist," Radditz reminded him for the upteenth time. "And tomorrow, you have real work to do, even if it is less interesting than building super-weapons. The planet we are attacking will take all of us, and with Vegeta gone it will only be more difficult. You will need all of your energy," he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Kress sighed. "Yes, Uncle," he said, and stood up himself. Suddenly, he remembered something. "One more thing…" he said, and pulled a device from his belt, handing it to Radditz. Radditz looked at it curiously, turning it over in his hands.

"An energy absorber?" he guessed. He recognized some parts from the devices used in the station's jail cell. There was only one per station… prison in Frieza's army was more like slow execution, as the prisoners were never fed. It had to have energy absorbers, of course, to keep prisoners from destroying the cell. Kress's device was much smaller than the ones used in the cell, though, and was encased in some type of air-tight clear casing.

"It's an implant," Kress said, smirking. "Undetectable by any computer. The casing melds itself with the tissue, and doesn't show up on scans. It also has a zero chance of rejection by the body," he said, obviously pleased with himself.

Radditz looked at his nephew in surprise. It hadn't been long ago when they had had the conversation about power levels. It had been Radditz's belief that Frieza feared the potential of the Saiyans, as they always got stronger after every fight they lost. Over the years, Kress's power had continued to grow, so high in fact that it rivaled Prince Vegeta's, a fact that they hid very well. As they were sent on more and more missions, they had come to realize that they would never get strong enough to destroy Frieza if they were constantly holding back their power levels.

That conversation had been less than a week ago, and now it seemed that Kress already had the answer. He smiled. "Well, done, Kress. But, wait until after tomorrow's mission to test it… as I said, we will need all the strength we can get."

Kress nodded soberly and placed the device back in his belt pouch. He knew better than to over-estimate an opponent… he had a wicked scar over his left eye to attest to that. Radditz had refused to let him regenerate it, saying that it would be a constant reminder of his error. Kress's eye twitched just thinking about it.

Lying awake in his bed, Kress knew that, despite his uncle's wishes, he would get no sleep tonight. He had slept the night before, and he knew his body well enough to know he couldn't sleep two nights in a row. He wasn't really sure why this was… he suspected it was the nightmares that constantly haunted him. His mind refused to sleep, unless his body was so physically exhausted that it could do nothing else, and even then he only slept a few hours at a time. Often times he would attribute it to nerves before a big battle whenever Radditz asked, but he knew that wasn't the case. He was afraid to sleep, that's all there was to it.

Instead, he meditated. Closing his eyes, he cleared his mind of all else except for the upcoming battle. Simulation after simulation ran through his mind as he planned each move, orchestrated each counter-attack in his mind. Prince Vegeta wouldn't be there, so he wouldn't have to hold back as much, but Nappa would, and Kress knew he could not trust him to stay quiet to Vegeta. Tomorrow he would have to be very careful, especially if he were pressed. His energy level depended largely on his emotions, Radditz had told him, and so controlling his emotions was key. He couldn't let the fury of battle force him to betray his true power level.

Visions of women and children running away screaming broke into his thoughts, and he pushed them aside forcefully. He couldn't think of that now… he had to be focused, completely calm tomorrow. He could mourn the dead when he slept. If he ever did.

A/N: Okay, what do you guys think? I've been trying to give the impression of time passing without the "five years later…" thing at the beginning of the chapter. Tell me if I get too confusing… I want to be explicative, but in a subtle way, know what I mean? By the way, thank you very much for all your kind reviews. Don't be afraid to flame, just be specific. You know the drill. I have an outline, but I'm following it roughly, so if you have any suggestions (other than putting Videl in this story… it's just not going to happen, I'm sorry) for a part of the story that I haven't gotten to yet, please tell me, and I'll see what I can do. Um, also, I'm not turning this into a cross-over fic. I may write one in the future, but not this story. Besides, too much stuff happens in this story as it is, and a cross-over should start at the beginning of the story. Also, I plan to write a sequel to this story. I am looking for plot ideas for it… I already know who the main characters are, and I was going to put a confrontation between Kress and Kakarrot… what do you think?