Five glomps to BluEydMnstr for her continuously ruthless beta-ing!

Chapter Eight

Small hands rubbed bleary eyes as the white-yellow rays of mid-morning sunlight filtered through the window and onto the young boy's sleepy face. Isaka blinked a few times and stretched lazily, but as soon as his drowsy mind caught up with both the time and his surroundings, he scrambled out of bed and ran straight to the window.

Just as he thought. It had to be at least ten o'clock, perhaps even a little later, although Isaka was almost willing to believe that his eyes were deceiving him. After all, it had been... actually, he'd never seen this hour of the day from the comforts of his chambers; if he was ever a witness to it, it was because his father chose to train him outside rather than in the compound's largest gravity room...

Dad!

Still dressed in his bodysuit from the day before, Isaka quickly left his room, stretching his senses out for his father's ki. As soon as he located it radiating from the training area as well as noted the increased energy emanating from him, he let out a sigh of relief. Bulma-san was right, his father was stronger than before! Now the question was, how much of the night did he recall?

"Please don't let him remember anything," he moaned softly, though he already knew that he wouldn't be so lucky. Just the fact that he had been allowed to sleep so late without someone waking him, whether it be Serori, Laresk, or his father personally, proved that something was off this morning. If only he knew what had happened after he fell asleep...

Of course, there was one way to find out.

He stopped at the large double-doors that led to his father's room and considered the wisdom of visiting her. His father had to have come out of the regen tank and found them - he could feel her warm, comforting embrace around him well after he dozed off - so she would know whether or not he was angered by the sight of them in that position. He cringed inwardly as he pictured the most plausible reaction, knowing that almost anything that reminded him of her seemed more often than not to set the still-mourning warrior off. But he hadn't woken him, so maybe Bulma-san's presence was helping a bit in that department. Sure, Isaka knew it must be difficult for his father to deal with a woman that was identical in so many ways to the one they lost. On the other hand, there was no denying that he was treating her with a great deal more patience and compassion than Isaka would have thought - had he ever been inclined to speculate the possibility of something like this happening.

It gave his decision enough merit that he walked quickly to the next set of doors and, after confirming that she was inside, knocked softly. When he heard nothing, he knocked again, slightly louder than before.

Bulma blinked a few times as the second round of light raps echoed through her room, finally dragging her attention away from the computer display in front of her. "Yes?"

"Bulma-san? Sorry-"

Bulma was already on her feet and at the door before the child could finish, and she swung the door wide to find a rather rumpled looking Isaka looking up at her. "No need to apologize," she told him, ushering him inside and peeking down the hallway before closing the heavy wooden door. When she turned back to him, she smiled brightly. "I didn't expect to see you this morning. Your dad's fine, by the way," she added quickly as she motioned for him to sit down beside her on a small loveseat against the wall.

"Yes, I felt it," he acknowledged with a nod. "His energy is stronger than it was before, just like you said."

"Yeah, well, that's how it's supposed to work for you guys, right?" she replied with a shrug. "Lord knows if Frieza's coming, G- I mean Kakarotto's gonna need all the power he can get."

Isaka's visage become solemn, the corners of his mouth turning downward slightly, once again making him look so much older than he really was. "I will be with him."

The kid was Gohan made over - well, with a slightly Vegeta-ish edge. The similarity made Bulma smile and eased her mind slightly at the choice she had made after the previous night's events.

As soon as she had gotten to her room and calmed herself down, she had used her newfound understanding of this reality's technology to access the workstation in her room and had spent every minute since poring over all of the data she could find on both the altered history of Earth and its leader; she couldn't imagine how someone even remotely like her could have fallen for someone so... brutish! Of course, there was a time when she had been enamored enough with Vegeta to sleep with him and conceive their son, so she supposed straight attraction wasn't outside the realm of possibility. But when she thought again about what he had said and the picture she had seen coupled with his Super Saiyajin episode earlier in the day, it just didn't make sense that what he felt for the Bulma of this timeline was so inconsequential, so she started from the very earliest date she could find and read... and read... and read some more.

At first, she had balked at what she found, but as she went on, she noticed a trend that tugged painfully at her heart. Kakarotto had gained his position by brute force, killing almost all of the planet's soldiers and political leaders in one ruthless sweep. He had been, as far as she was concerned, no better than the tyrant he was about to face from what she had read. But then she found the first mention of Bulma Brief...

There wasn't much information in the computer about what actually happened between the heartless Saiyajin and the woman who was - she assumed - a nameless, faceless scientist until the day he came face to face with her the first time. It was too bad, for she was certain it would have read like the embarrassingly-cheesy romance novels she fancied so much when she felt especially depressed. Instead, she was left to only speculate at the events that unfolded based on the short record that marked their first official encounter.

The day, thirteen years ago by her calculations, that Bulma Brief tried to assassinate Kakarotto - and almost succeeded.

Fate was indeed a funny thing, because the computer showed that after that encounter - one that she was shocked her other self had survived since there was no explanation as to why he allowed her to go free - she became a permanent fixture in the data logs, noted for developing mechanical marvels to breaking ground in several areas of medicine, both human and Saiyajin. Even more amazing was that those events correlated seamlessly with slow and subtle changes within the previously merciless dictatorship the people had been ruled under since Kakarotto took over the planet. She had read through everything she could find up until the previous year where things became strangely blank, much as they were for the time before the appearance of the man who became this world's most feared leader, past or present.

Now I know why he's so touchy when it comes to her. They must have gone through hell to get where they were when they took that picture...

That was when she had made up her mind to help him. So what if this reality's version of Goku didn't want her here? That was just too bad. It wasn't as though this had been her first choice, either, but since she was here, she sure as hell wasn't going to sit back and let all the people she had encountered, new and old, get killed by Frieza.

She had a feeling her other self would have done the same, had the roles been reversed.

Focusing on Isaka again, Bulma nodded. "I know you'll do everything you can, and so will I."

The sapphire eyes that were a carbon copy of her own widened significantly. "You mean" - he swallowed tightly - "you plan to stay?"

"I'm gonna wait to go home until after I know you and your dad have beaten Frieza and everyone's safe," she responded softly. "Then I'll have to go back." Bulma's heart broke at the sight of the boy's face falling, but she knew that he understood. "I'm gonna need your help, Isaka. Also, I'm pretty sure your father's not gonna approve of this... do you understand?"

As if to confirm it, Isaka took a deep breath and regarded her evenly once again, all traces of sadness gone in the blink of an eye, replaced with heartfelt gratitude. "Yes, Bulma-san. Where do we start?"

The mother in her was saying to leave him out of it, but the part of her that had allowed a five-year-old Gohan to travel a few galaxies away to Namek to find the dragonballs with her and Krillin quickly won the inner battle, and Bulma studied the half boy-half man for another minute before leaning forward, grinning mischievously. "Weeeell... how well do you know your way around the city?"

Goku finished his fifty-third round of katas and warm-up exercises before finally risking a look behind him. Just as he had been the entire night, Vegeta's form hovered almost a foot off the platform, cross-legged with his back turned, his shoulders rigid and his arms obviously crossed in front of him and out of view. The younger Saiyajin sighed softly; he had tried to give the irritable prince whatever time he needed to be alone - he hadn't even attempted to speak - but this was getting ridiculous. "C'mon, Vegeta... I'm sorry you had to find out like that, but-"

"I've already told you your idiotic words are unnecessary."

Well, at least Vegeta wasn't ignoring him entirely. "Then what the hell's the problem?" Goku shrugged at the man's back. "You know, I would've thought you'd be glad to find out that I wasn't born a third class."

The comment seemed to get Vegeta's attention, because the smaller warrior was on his feet and facing Goku within a fraction of a second. "Really?" he asked sarcastically, his eyes narrowed dangerously in a silent warning to be quiet so he could continue uninterrupted. "Let me guess - you think it would make me feel better to know that I had been defeated by someone who was an equal rather than a simple-minded, low-level weakling? Or perhaps that I would feel better that my life had been saved by an elite rather than a commoner? Is that what you think, Kakarotto?"

"Maybe," Goku replied evenly. "Or maybe you would finally realize that you've never been second to me, and that just because I'm dead doesn't mean you don't have anything to fight for anymore." Vegeta balked momentarily before the arrogant smirk fell back into place and he opened his mouth, but Goku wasn't about to let the defensive shield the prince erected deter him. "Why have you stopped training?" he inquired softly.

Vegeta froze as onyx met obsidian in undiluted disbelief. "What?"

"Why did you stop training?" Goku repeated. "Do you really believe that just because I'm gone, Earth won't need to be protected anymore?"

"The fate of that mud ball is of no concern to me, Kakarotto," Vegeta snapped indignantly in an effort to hide his anger and embarrassment. The bastard had been watching him all this time?

"Bullshit," Goku shot back, his good-natured demeanor dropping in favor of a more serious, slightly challenging one. "Whether or not your pride will allow you to admit it, your home is on Earth now. It's not just about you and some meaningless grudge you have against me because you lost our first fight or because I ascended before you and defeated Frieza-"

Vegeta's fingers curled tightly into fists and the eyes that had been planted firmly on his larger counterpart became lethal slits. "You cannot belittle what you have done against me by calling it a mere grudge! This has nothing to do with Frieza, though it is humiliating that it was you, a brain-damaged fool, which avenged our race rather than me, as was my right and my responsibility. No, this is far more serious than that unfortunate event. It was when you dared to challenged me and my honor, Kakarotto, or have you forgotten?"

Goku blinked several times, confusion stealing over his angled features. "What are you talking about? I've never challenged you in anything! As a matter of fact, I've tried my damnedest not to, even when you try to provoke it."

"Hn, how quickly we forget when it is convenient," Vegeta spat, his lips twisted in an unforgiving sneer as he stared Goku down. "Our first battle, when you" - the royal face blanched visibly in disgust - "asked the bald one not to finish me so that you could do it yourself-"

"Hold on a sec," Goku interrupted, shaking his head slowly. "You more than anyone should know that that's not how I operate. Hell, how many times have you told me how un-Saiyajin-like I am because of my willingness to show compassion or let things go?"

"Do not try to mislead me with that ridiculous act! You said you wished to let me live so that you could defeat me without any assistance when we met again," Vegeta argued, though his voice betrayed a very tenuous shred of doubt within the rage.

"Which I was hoping would be never," Goku responded honestly. "Vegeta, do you really think I would have put the well-being of my home and the people of Earth in jeopardy just to have another shot at you if I thought for even a second that you were gonna come back and try to destroy the planet again?" Goku sighed softly and ran his hand over his weary face. "Don't get me wrong, I would have fought you again if you had returned and left me no other option, and if it would have meant killing you to save everyone... I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have. But it wasn't my first choice, and you've never given me a reason to regret the decision I made that day. As a matter of fact, the whole reason everyone's safe now is because of you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Goku shrugged. "Well, if you hadn't come back to Earth and stayed with Bulma, then Trunks wouldn't have been born, and we wouldn't have known to prepare for the androids," he reasoned matter-of-factly. "Think about it - Trunks' timeline wasn't the worst case scenario. Just imagine what would've happened had he never existed at all. Not only would you guys all be dead in both timelines, but the entire planet would have more than likely been annihilated, and both Gohan and Bulma probably wouldn't have lived too much longer after Dr. Gero's monsters appeared. None of that is because of me, Vegeta. That's because of you and Trunks."

Vegeta was flabbergasted, to put it mildly, so he did the first thing that came to mind. The diminutive prince stalked forward until he was within a foot of Goku and grabbed the front of his gi, pulling the larger man down to eye level. For several very tense moments, silence reigned as Vegeta studied Goku's face carefully for any signs of deception, though in truth, he was also buying himself a little time so he could think. Fact was the benevolent savior was rarely so candid about such matters, and Vegeta, in all honesty, was at a loss as to how to handle the more serious side of the Saiyajin in front of him. And not only was the fool being serious, but he had actually paid Vegeta a... a compliment! Had the entire conversation not thrown the prince so off-kilter to begin with, he would have immediately thought the man was mocking him, but he had to admit that the man's observation had merit. Combining that with the memories he had seen in the younger fighter's mind...

With a sarcastic snort, Vegeta released Goku and stepped back, folding his arms over his chest once again. "I will still defeat you, Kakarotto. I am your prince, and I will beat it into your thick head which of us is stronger."

Goku grinned in relief as he realized he'd won this round with the obstinate royal. "Well, I've been training almost non-stop since I got back up here, but I'd definitely enjoy a good round with someone as strong as me."

"Hn. To do that, you will have to be revived," Vegeta noted. "I may be here to find the woman, but I do not plan to remain in this infernal dimension forever."

"Neither do I."

Vegeta's eyebrows drew together tightly. "If that is so, then why did you tell the woman that you would not allow yourself to be wished back?"

With this, Goku's visage darkened somberly. "I can't, not until I know what's been happening to me," he explained quietly. "I can't really explain it, but I... I don't trust myself enough to go back yet."

Vegeta detested being confused, and this was the third time it had happened. "You speak in riddles, Kakarotto," he growled impatiently. "Either explain yourself, or-"

"Do you remember when I came back after fighting with Frieza?" Goku asked quietly.

Vegeta nodded curtly. "What of it?"

"Well, when I became a Super Saiyajin the first time, I was so focused on avenging everyone, I didn't have to worry about the strange thoughts in my head. And once I went back to normal, I just kinda... forgot about it, I guess, but on Yardrat, as I learned to control the transformation... I dunno... it was like whispers in the back of my mind. I just ignored 'em and focused on channeling my power, but the better hold I got on it, the harder it was to block them out."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Kakarotto staying dead wasn't such a bad thing after all if going Super Saiyajin caused him to become a lunatic.

"I left that planet soon after just because I was worried I might... do something." Goku squeezed his eyes shut. He hadn't told anyone about this, both out of fear and self-disgust, but he knew he had to, and Vegeta was the only one that wouldn't condemn him. He reminded himself of that once more before continuing. "I mean, I've always liked to fight, liked the challenge of facing an opponent, but I've never wanted to hurt anyone before. Especially not someone who was obviously weaker than me, but now..."

Vegeta considered Goku's words very carefully before responding. "When you returned, something was different, but I could not be sure if it was only because you had ascended or if there was another reason," Vegeta admitted with a frown. "But it is expected that you would hunger for battle more strongly as a Super Saiyajin."

"No," Goku argued, frustration twisting his features, "this is different. I mean, the first thing I wanted to do when I got home was..." He clenched his jaw a few times and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn it..."

"Spit it out, Kakarotto," Vegeta hissed, both out of irritation and curiosity. "If your first inclination did not involve food, then it must be something," he added with a smirk. "So?"

Goku didn't find it funny at all and returned the man's jab with a glare that would have sent anyone else running for their lives. It did, however, bring the proud prince's attempt to demean him to a screeching halt. "My first instinct when I got back was to fly to the biggest city I could find and destroy everything and everyone in it."

Years of training himself to be prepared for absolutely anything and Vegeta still wasn't ready for that confession. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second as his mind quickly went through the implications of that statement and, in the end, could only come up with one solution.

If it was as he suspected, Kakarotto's original programming was kicking in.

Vegeta had assumed that the orders fed into Kakarotto's brain from birth had been completely wiped out due to the head injury that turned him into a weak-minded savior, but if going Super Saiyajin was triggering it, then that meant that it had been simply locked in his subconscious all this time.

Perhaps the idea of the Earth-raised Saiyajin being crazy wasn't the worst case scenario after all.

"I was able to deal with it while I was training and focused on only that, but when I tried to relax and especially when I tried to sleep," Goku went on, "it got really bad. And when I got angry or when I was confronted, even if the person didn't mean anything by it... Living with Chichi while training for the androids became almost unbearable. I just wanted to-" He knew he didn't have to finish the thought, for Vegeta knew very well what his wife was like. Goku growled softly and closed his eyes. "Anyway, since it looks like things will be calm for a while, I decided it would be best for me if I dealt with all of this up here where I can train constantly and I don't have to sleep if I don't want to. Anything that will keep me from feeling like that, or worse."

Of course, Vegeta had insulted the witless warrior relentlessly for acting so disgracefully human, and if it were several years earlier and they were meeting for their first time, hearing those sentiments would have been enough to allow the man to join him in conquest. But it wasn't their first meeting, and just because he had given his younger subject hell for not acting Saiyajin didn't mean he had not accepted the benefits of the man's unguarded nature. He had to admit, if only to himself, that the idea of a Saiyajin elite - he still had a hard time with that, but now was not the time to worry with such things - with strength comparable to his own who harbored ruthless and bloodthirsty instincts that couldn't be controlled was a bit... disconcerting.

For Kakarotto, Vegeta was certain that feeling the burn of his original destiny in his blood would indeed be as bad as it could get, so to hear him add 'or worse' gave him pause. "Worse?" he questioned gruffly.

"Yeahi. While fighting the androids and seeing the people they hurt, there was a new feeling that was much worse than any of the others before, though I have a feeling you'll be able to relate to it better than anyone," Goku responded with a grimace. At Vegeta's silent urge to continue, Goku took in a deep breath and allowed a small, atypical - had Vegeta been able to describe it, he would have almost likened it to uncannily familiar - smirk to grace his lips.

Even the voice that spoke the damning words seemed to be coming from someone else entirely. "Why destroy a planet and its people when you can own them instead."

"Indeed," was all Vegeta said, though his eyes held a grave understanding. For the first time since their paths crossed years earlier, Vegeta held no ill feelings toward his fellow full blood's judgment.

If he were to return to Earth now, lord only knew what would happen.

"Can you help me?" Goku asked weakly. "Maybe if I understood -"

Vegeta stopped him with a nod. "Quit babbling and sit down," he directed, his voice leaving no room for argument, and Goku complied almost immediately as hopefulness flooded his features. "I do not need to go back into your mind to know what is happening. You simply need to learn how to conduct yourself as a proper Saiyajin." Goku blanched and his mouth opened to protest, but Vegeta shot him a look that cut it off before it began. "Despite what you may think of your heritage, it is the only way you will be able to control the urges you are feeling, and make no mistake - they will not get better."

Goku seemed to think for a moment before grinning broadly, all traces of his earlier mood gone. "Well, I guess if you can do it, then I can, too, right?"

Vegeta smirked at the man's ignorant assessment. This was going to be quite interesting, of that he was sure.

"You have no choice."

Laresk arrived with a rolling cart covered with various foods just in time to walk in and find his master sway unsteadily from his place at the control panel of the gravity chamber. "Kakarotto-sama!" He quickly rushed up and steadied the bulky man, supporting his weight as much as his much smaller frame would allow him to.

"I will be fine after I eat," came the annoyed reply as the pair managed to make it to a metal slab that protruded from the wall and the warrior sat down heavily.

Laresk nodded and brought the platter to Kakarotto; he watched in silence as most of the fare was consumed within minutes. "I made sure to provide enough for you and Isaka-sama, as well," he stated quickly.

Kakarotto, feeling the strength he had exhausted from going non-stop for so long return slowly to his limbs, raised an eyebrow. "Then you should bring it to him rather than letting it get cold."

"But... I assumed since he did not come to the lab to work on his lessons that he was training -" The glare he received made every inch of Laresk's skin crawl.

"He is not in the lab?"

"N-no, and he wasn't in his chambers or yours, either," he admitted shakily, remaining upright and holding the powerful warrior's gaze by sheer willpower and years of experience knowing that nothing would bring on the man's anger faster than a coward.

"What about the woman's room?"

Laresk choked. "I... I did not consider..." He stiffened his back instinctively. "I will find her right away!"

"No need." With one last glance at the frightened scientist, Kakarotto turned his consciousness inward for a moment. His son was pinpointed easily, though both his location and his companion made the man jump to his feet and growl viciously, sending the tray in front of him flying. "Damn it! He's not here at all. It seems he and Bulma have decided to visit the city," Kakarotto hissed.

Laresk allowed himself to follow his first inclination this time and gaped in unabashed shock. "What?"

Kakarotto crossed the room to change his soiled clothing for something more appropriate for the public. Even though Bulma Brief had never been pronounced to the people as having been killed, her disappearance had been announced along with the rest of her team, and a full year later, Earthlings in the cities and countryside alike could still be seen holding vigils for the woman's safe return. She was, after all, considered a hero all over the planet for saving them in the most implausible way imaginable from the cruel and heartless dictator he had once been.

The irate Saiyajin shook those thoughts from his mind in favor of simple logic. The fact that the woman had ventured out was not overly troublesome. There were plenty of beautiful aqua-haired, blue-eyed females in the city, and this Bulma had a different hairstyle, slightly weaker build and alien clothing. It was possible she might not even earn more than a few second glances... if she were alone.

But Bulma and Isaka together was like announcing the return of his mate to the world, and that could prove to be disastrous.

End Chapter Eight