THE VEGETA CHRONICLES
Chapter 2 - Revival
Darkness took him, and Vegeta embraced it.
He had become accustomed to it. He knew that by pushing himself to his utmost limitations, he would risk being submerged into the darkness once more. While Vegeta bathed in the light-less ocean of space within his subconsciousness, he was vulnerable. His most sought after goals would warp into twisted nightmares, taunting him, telling him how weak and pathetic he was for not being able to attain the strength that was rightfully his.
This time, however, Vegeta felt at peace. Instead of the unapproachable forces that took the shape of his rival, Kakarot, and all of his enemies who were beyond his reach or bested him, he saw and felt nothing. For once, his mind was at ease, if even for a few blissful moments.
Then...as rapidly as he descended into the darkness, he awoke to the light, slowly easing into it, trepidating of what he might find when his eyes opened.
"I CANNOT GRANT THY WISH!"
"H-Huh?" Vegeta's eyes opened, blinking several times over, noticing that a eery glow came over his periphery vision. His body felt sore, exhausted, but his senses told him he had been healed from prior wounds sustained to him by Cell.
Struggling with effort, he would find his eyes aghast as he witnessed the manifested image of the one thing he had craved in his earlier, foolish years: The Eternal Dragon.
"I AWAIT THY SECOND WISH!" The voice of the majestic, intimidating emerald wishing dragon spoke, as it peered down upon the gathering of the Z Warriors.
"W-Wish?" Vegeta couldn't help but suddenly realized his surroundings. He was on-top of the Lookout, the Namekian Piccolo's base within the heavens above the Earth. As he stood up, he noted one thing in particular that stood out from the confused bunch of Earthlings: His son, standing there alive, right next to his side, "T-Trunks?!"
"Dad! You're awake!" Trunks couldn't help but grasp Vegeta by the shoulder with a smile on his face. Having known the kind of man he was, he knew better than to give such a dignified warrior a hug, "I heard from Gohan that you were the one who beat Cell!"
"Nevermind about that, son!" Vegeta waved off Trunks excited reverie over merely an hour's past events, despite even the great Saiyan prince not knowing precisely how much time has elapsed since his mind dove into unconsciousness. Pointing up at the Dragon, he asked Trunks in a demanding tone, "What's going on?! Why is the blasted Earth Dragon summoned?!"
"They used one of the wishes to bring back all of the good people who died because of Cell," Trunks spoke matter-of-fact, trying to contain his excitement of how they overcame their nemesis by the skin of their teeth.
Vegeta looked side to side, seeing from the corner of his eye the female Android watching from behind one of the structures of the Lookout. Knowing how outclassed she was in comparison to himself and the majority gathered, Vegeta paid her no mind. As he looked over to the others, he caught tidbits of their conversation that he found most interesting, despite the idiotic banter they've been known to project.
"Well, Shenron can't bring back someone who's already died and been resurrected by the Dragon Balls. So I guess it really is hopeless," Yamcha grimaced aloud.
Tien Shinhan looked down with a solemn expression, as he knew there was probably no hope of bringing the lovable hero back to life again.
"There's nothing we can do about it," Piccolo spoke in a low tone, feeling it was best to admit the truth and forget about it.
Gohan, however, had an idea, "What if we went to Namek and used their Dragon Balls!"
"That could work!" Dende, the current Guardian of Earth and its new keeper of the Dragon Balls, wearing a big smile of assured confidence, "Porunga was the original Eternal Dragon, and he can bring people back to life as many times as you want."
"Alright!" Yamcha pumped his fist, finding renewed hope.
"Honestly, all this trouble over a clown of the Saiyan race!" Vegeta snarled, though as he crossed his arms, he inwardly hope to settle his score with the upstart. Cell interrupted that pleasantry, and he anxiously hoped to get to achieve that goal of his.
"Its settled! We use the next wish to go to Namek!" Gohan spoke aloud with cheer in his voice, anxious to see his father again.
But then, an unexpected voice would enter the collective's minds, deterring that objective.
"Umm...hey, don't I get a say in this?" The sheepish toned voice holding a bit of cheer within it was unmistakably the deceased Goku himself.
"Dad!" Gohan called aloud, excited that he could hear his father's voice, even if it was only within his head.
While the other Z Fighters had mixed reactions of astonishment and excitement, Piccolo could only frown as he heard the voice of Goku call out through telepathy.
"What's the matter, Kakarot?" Vegeta grinned mockingly as he spoke back with his own mind, "too afraid to face me in a rematch now that you lost to Cell, are you?"
"Well...actually after a lot of thinking, I decided its probably be best if I didn't come back," Goku's voice, while troubled, was pretty decisive about what he had to say, "I mean, think about it. Freiza, the Androids, Broly, and Cell...each one of them had a score to settle with me, and it only brought more danger to the Earth. As a baby, I was sent to destroy it, and despite my hardest, my very existence is trying to achieve that goal. So, I decided I shouldn't be brought back to life-"
"Kakarot! That's Bullshit!" Vegeta, despite wanting to restrain himself, couldn't help but speak aloud in sync with his thoughts, causing all of the Z Fighters, including his son, to cast their eyes upon him as he shouted to the sky, "so, what you're telling me, that all of these enemies were solely after you, and would only stop if you were dead?! You're as conceited as you are dense!"
"V-Vegeta, I-" Goku stammered, but couldn't
"No! YOU will listen to me, got it?! If you have the capacity of gaining another chance at life, you better damn well take it! Enemies are always wanting to take this planet, whether you're here or not! Don't be so stupid as to think if you take a trip in the afterlife, that it'll all get better!" Vegeta yelled out with barely restrained wrath within his tone.
"You don't understand! I'm going to get to keep my body, and I get to meet new people and explore this place! Its going to be great, and a nice change of pace!" Goku thought aloud in the most convincing voice he could muster, despite the unrelenting attitude Vegeta had.
But he wouldn't be the only one...
"So that's it, then?! You're going to leave mom and I again?! What's the point of having a father around if he always jumps at the opportunity to leave! Why are you leaving when it matters most to me that you're around!" Gohan yelled out, his eyes watering and his voice shaking at the thought of his dad leaving again.
"Ah, son. I'm sorry but...this is a golden opportunity for me. I might never get a chance like this again..."
"Wait until you die from old age, that'll be your chance!" Gohan yelled out spitefully, beginning to feel bitter at his dad's poor excuses.
"Ummm...how can I convince you that it will be alright? Ahhhh...I'm not as good at this than Chi-Chi is..." Goku spoke in a perplexed tone.
"It may be none of my business, Goku, but I think if you didn't make this your last adventure," Trunks spoke aloud for emphasis, as his thoughts traveled into Goku's head, "I know you may feel relaxed about this, since my father defeated Cell, but you're one of Earth's greatest heroes. I can't imagine what this world, in my past, would be like if I left it without you here..."
"But Trunks, the Earth has new heroes filling the void I'll be leaving behind," Goku's voice, filled with pride, continued on, "Vegeta, you put aside your personal feelings and your pride to become the hero I always knew you would become. I believe you will do great things for the Earth that I never could."
"Hmph! If that's your excuse for not coming back for a rematch, I'm still not convinced!" Vegeta crossed his arms and turned his head to the side with a huff.
Goku sighed, and continued to speak, but directed it to his son next, "Gohan, you showed the potential to become a powerful warrior, but you lacked the state of mind to control it. I'm sorry I placed that burden upon your shoulders, for I should have trained you to control your anger better instead of placing blind faith that you would keep it together..."
Sniffling, Gohan couldn't help but bow his head in acknowledgement to his father's words, knowing he wouldn't be swayed now, "I-I know. I'll try to control it, dad. I won't let you down."
"Ah, cheer up son, and everybody! Who knows? Maybe I'll come back to visit one day, and I'll be ready to return home again!" Goku tried to say with a cheerful note.
"If they'd allow that, then reviving you would be irrelevent, Goku," Piccolo spoke with a gruff tone, but couldn't help but smile at Goku's cheerful disposition, despite being dead.
"Hey! At least on the bright side, you might let us know from King Kai when you want to drop on by, or keep in touch with us!" Krillin joked, trying to keep the mood lightened up.
"I'll try not to keep you all waiting, hahahaha!" Goku laughed light-heartedly, causing some of the Z Fighters to laugh with him, despite the inevitable parting they would make to their good friend, "oh, and please tell Chi-Chi I won't be coming home for awhile. Tell her that Gohan is now the man of the house, and he'll be making his own decisions from now on!"
"I doubt that will go over very well," Gohan bowed his head, sweat-dropping from the idea of facing his mother with the bad news.
"Hah! Chi-Chi is going to roll over when she hears about this!" Yamcha laughed aloud.
"Please...don't rub it in," Gohan curled up in a ball on the ground, as a dark comical cloud rolled over his head to emphasize his depression.
"You'll all do great! I trust you!" Goku spoke with finality, "well, my time's up, just wanted to let you know my decision. Goodbye..."
"Kakarot!" Vegeta began to speak aloud, trying to convey the frustration pent up within his head.
But it was futile. Goku was gone, and he would stay so until he wanted to come back. The weight of the silence, the emptiness that Goku left behind for everyone, was overpowering their thoughts and left them with bouts of nostalgia and fond memories of their fallen friend, comrade, and rival.
"That Goku probably thinks this is another adventure for him to partake in. Hmph, that's just like him to think that way," Piccolo mused.
"Yeah, he's always been like that. So carefree and big-hearted," Yamcha nodded with a contented grin as he looked up into the sky, "despite how quieter its going to be without him, I feel...happy, that he's leaving us on such a good note."
"Right, knowing the Earth is safe if even for a little while makes this feel a bit better, even if Goku's lack of good judgement room for desire," Tien chuckled as he crossed his big arms over his burly chest.
"Yeah, I'm going to miss the guy," Krillin smiled with a cheery tone, as he too looked up into the sky, almost ready to believe Goku would descend from the heavens with a pair of angelic wings. He couldn't think of someone more pure-hearted to deserve such a privilege, despite how much of a fantastical thing it would be for it to occur.
"We all will," Trunks spoke aloud sagely, his feet carrying him over to the depressed Gohan, placing a comforting hand over the boy's head, giving it a good empathetic rub, as he looked over at his father lastly as he finished, "some of us more than others..."
"I won't miss that clown!" Vegeta growled aloud, determined not to show the aggravation of losing his rival, balling his fists in emphasis, "we'll be better off without him! For once, I, Vegeta, will rise to the occasion in which Kakarot couldn't!"
"I'm sure you will, dad," Trunks spoke in an admiring tone, knowing full well of the changes his father had underwent upon Goku's and his own deaths. Smiling, he crossed his arm while looking to him, "and I'll make sure to be here to witness it with my own eyes, before I'm confident enough to go back to the future."
"Ah, so you do want to learn some more from your old man, eh, Trunks?" Vegeta put on a humored expression upon his face, as he crossed his own arms over his chest as he turned to look at his son with pride, "at least you have the right attitude to learn what it is to become a true Saiyan warrior. My other student, for certain, will not be so willing to see things from our perspective."
"Other student?" Trunks' eyes opened widely, clearly in confusion by what his father was meaning.
"Yes son," Vegeta donned a serious visage, as he began to walk towards his son's right, directly where a very aware Gohan was staring back at Vegeta with understandable curiosity, "though it pains me to admit it, that I'll need to teach some proper Saiyan skills into Kakarot's son. Isn't that right, Gohan?"
It was at this moment, everyone in the Lookout dropped their jaws and looked at Vegeta's direction.
"Vegeta...WANTS...to train...Gohan?!" Krillin blurted out, his eyes bulging and his bald-headed browline already developing cold sweat at the thought of it.
"Well, now I've seen everything!" Yamcha spoke aloud.
"I'd almost believe that, if I hadn't seen what Cell was capable of," Tien concurred with a smirk, crossing his own massive arms over his burly chest as he observed the scene in front of his three eyes.
"Is he out of his mind?!" Piccolo's eyes widened in thought, but didn't project his thoughts vocally, knowing just how easily riled up the proud Saiyan prince would be if he heard his disagreement to such a proposal.
Most of all, Gohan himself, knelt agape before the intimidating Saiyan, only able to utter a simple and confused reply, "Y-You want to train me, Vegeta?"
"Yes," Vegeat spoke with a serious tone, straight and to the point.
"B-But why?" Gohan asked.
"Its because, upon you awakening your potential before us all, I understood exactly what I lacked in attaining your power, and with that, I was able to ascend as well. But you also contained my own basest flaws when you fought Cell, with this newly awakened power uncontrolled and unfamiliar to you. You couldn't help but allow your Saiyan blood take over and bury your mind to its deepest recesses. Had this been before Cell's arrival, I would've called you a true Saiyan," Vegeta then stopped briefly, inhaling deeply as his eyes closed, if ever to try and stomach his pride for a few moments yet again, before opening his eyes once more, "but I was wrong. A True Saiyan wouldn't fight a mindless battle and enjoy basking in the pain of someone so inferior to them. No. Those are the thoughts of a brute, a barbarian unworthy of holding true Saiyan pride!"
"Dad," Trunks felt his eyes slightly water, as pride of seeing his father grow with such maturity filled his chest. But he held back his tears, and allowed a grin to form on his face none-the-less, truly delighted to hear what his father had to say to Gohan.
Kneeling down to one knee, Vegeta grabbed Gohan's shoulders as his eyes looked at him with level eyes. When he spoke to Gohan, it was not as an adult to a child, but as one man to another, "You, unlike your father, have the potential of being the strongest of our race. With my guidance in harnessing this new-found power, and keeping it tempered, never letting it get dull, you could be the herald of our race's new generation. You could hold true to your ideals while retaining True Saiyan honor and strength," standing to his feet once more, he raised a right cocked hand offering to Gohan, while donning his trademark smirk, "but, do you have the resolve and the desire to keep this strength you sacrificed and worked so hard to attain, son of Kakarot? Do you have what it takes to endure training that would freeze over the flames of Hell, and then unleash that fury upon those that would rob you of your dreams?"
Gohan stayed adamantly silent throughout Vegeta's speech. He was, to say the least, dumbfounded that Vegeta's experience at the end of the Cell Games would change his opinion of himself and what he thought about Saiyan honor.
After a deafening silence and aching amount of time passed, Gohan looked into Vegeta's eyes, with a confident smile, as his young hand reached up and clasped Vegeta's in affirmation to Vegeta's request, "I'd be honored to train under you, Vegeta."
However, the heartwarming and proud moment wouldn't last but for a few moments.
"AHEM!" Shenron cleared his throat with a loud tone, filling the air with remembrance of his presence, and a reminder that the entire Earth was bathed in darkness with him as its only light source at the moment. With all eyes turning back to the Dragon, one could see a culmination of comically gathered sweat drops upon its brow line, "AREN'T YOU GOING TO MAKE A SECOND WISH?! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY-"
"Dragon!" Vegeta, having been rudely thrust out of his sentimental reverie, quickly shouted with anger as he shook his fist at the enormous magical entity, "don't you dare interrupt me, or I'll CRUSH your BALLS!"
With that, everyone couldn't help but release a much needed burst of laughter at Vegeta's joke, despite it being all too a serious threat for him.
For once, since the bad news given to them by Goku's indefinite absence from them, things were starting to look up.
The journey to Chi-Chi's house to ensure the indefinite future of Gohan's training that could occur was an awkward one. Despite the determination and sincere tone Vegeta had in training with better focus with his son, but with Gohan, they had yet to determine how to persuade the recently widowed woman.
Not only would she had to recieve the news of Goku's insistance on traversing Other World as if it was a vacation, but she would be robbed of her son's time in being tutored by her and would have even more Martial Arts training of which she explicitly asked her husband not to allow upon the end of the Android crisis.
While Gohan remained silent, Trunks began to think aloud in various ways they could break the news in a way that would be better for Chi-Chi to allow Gohan to train with Vegeta.
Vegeta on the other hand was very set upon how he would bring this promising Saiyan-hybrid to the level needed of a true Saiyan warrior.
"Father, I know you might not like hearing this from me, but we need to be careful how we break this to Chi-Chi," Trunks implored, as the white-blue aura of ki wrapped around him, allowing him to fly at break neck speeds along with the other similar aura-enraptured Saiyans, "I'd rather not have us leave her house with a bad note."
"Hah! You may be too timid to handle Kakarot's woman, but clearly you lack the experience that your father has in handling emotionally unstable women like your mother!" Vegeta crowed, a confident smirk donned upon his face as he continued to travel with a fearless expression upon his face.
"Is that why you and mom yell so often?" Trunks asked with a humored grin on his face.
"I don't know where you get that idea!" Vegeta crossed his arms, his grin falling short into a frown at his son's insightful observation, "we're the embodiment of true Saiyan romance!"
"Out of curiosity, what's the rate of divorce for Saiyans in general?" Gohan asked with a snicker of his own.
"Fine! Bulma is impossible to deal with! But it still doesn't mean I can't handle Kakarot's whimsical mate! How bad could the wife of that clown be?!" Vegeta growled out with renewed vigor, clenching his fists in emphasis of the upcoming verbal battle with Chi-Chi.
Gohan's eyes rolled as he used a free hand to facepalm, "You obviously don't know my mom very well..."
After their conversation ended, they found themselves flying overhead the said house, still holding its cheery appearance and peaceful scenery within the middle of the wilderness.
As the trio of Saiyan warriors, on full-blooded and two hybrids, let loose their auras, they slowly descended safely to the ground just outside of the front door of the residence of Chi-Chi and the late Son Goku. It was unfortunate that they were already hearing weeping within, but for an entirely different reason.
"Why?! Why couldn't you tell everyone what Gohan did?! Why?!" Chi-Chi wailed, obviously knowing what Gohan and Goku had accomplished, ignoring Vegeta's last minute heroics in besting Cell.
"Gee, this isn't going to go well," Gohan mumbled with depression as he heard his mother shake the TV, much to his grandfather's chagrin and imploring concern for his only daughter.
"Well, we got to do it sometime or another," Trunks spoke solemnly with a shrug, reaching up and giving the door a rapid succession of knocks to signal their official arrival, "might as well give it to her now while she's in the mood for it."
"I don't care if she sheds a thousand tears," Vegeta grumbled, crossing his arms over his battle-worn Saiyan armor as he glared at the door of his late rival, "I will not leave here until I get the unnecessary blessing from Kakarot's wife!"
"Mom's definitely not going to take this well," Gohan's head sunk even lower with depression. Confident that if he could go any lower, it would be planted into the porch.
Sure enough, Chi-Chi stopped her sobbing long enough to come to the door. When she opened it, it was with an expression of joy, as she rushed up and smothered the young man in her maternal embrace of affection, "Oh Gohan! I was so worried about you! When I heard what was going on, I didn't know if Cell could be stopped! But I knew it! I knew my boy could beat that Cell, and not that showboat on TV!"
"Ha-ha, good to see you to mom!" Gohan smiled, glad to be in the loving embrace of his mother once more. He couldn't feel a little nervous of what he had to say next, due to what he would surmise to be shocking to his mom, "well...I'm glad you're proud of me...but I can't take the credit for beating Cell."
Pulling back from his son, Chi-Chi's eyes widened with anticipated wonder and disbelief, standing to her feet as she got a proper view of her son's honest eyes, "Really?! But I was certain you were the one who defeated him! Who was it then? Goku?"
"Ahem!" Vegeta gave a brief, but blunt clearing of his throat, staring impassively and sternly at Chi-Chi, allowing her to look over at him, before giving her the best confident smirk he could to project, "that would be me, sweetheart."
"V-Vegeta?!" Chi-Chi spoke in a aghast tone, her eyes wide with surprise before swiftly shifting to anger as she poked him plainly in the chest, her teeth baring with rage, "how dare you steal my Gohan's victory! You shouldn't have butted in where he put so much effort into winning this battle!"
"H-How dare I? How dare you use such a disgraceful tone at one of the most mightiest warriors of the universe?!" Vegeta snapped back, his forehead already bearing protruding veins of barely restrained rage, but didn't back off from his head nearly smashing into Chi-Chi's head, "have you no respect for a properly won victory, woman?!"
"I have no respect for people who don't respect my husband and son when it was supposed to be their victory to begin with!" Chi-Chi snarled back, her eyes locked onto Vegeta's as their faces were bare inches apart, almost foaming at the mouth with barely constrained violent rage building within both of them.
Immediately, the two sons moved in to secure their respective parents.
"Dad, please control yourself!" Trunks pulled his father back with as much strength as he could, using a full nelson grip in order to get the proper leverage over the much stronger warrior.
"Mom, please stop shouting!" Gohan raised his own voice as he bodily kept himself in front of his temperamental mother from lunging at Vegeta, "what Vegeta said was true. I didn't defeat Cell. He did it, fair and square, all by himself!"
After a brief struggle and imploring pleas given by both sons, Vegeta huffed in acknowledgement, allowing his muscles to relax and allow himself to be free of his son's restraints. Chi-Chi calmed down soon afterwards, but turned back into disbelief as she looked to her son's honest eyes, and couldn't deny his claims.
"But, Gohan...what about Goku? Didn't your father help defeat him?" Chi-Chi asked with concern, unsure if his absence had to do with something else or if he was badly injured from the battle to come with the others.
"Well...actually...uh," Gohan struggled to bring it up, having it been only a few hours since Goku's untimely demise, and his telepathic farewell to the group. Despite how peaceful his farewell had been, Gohan couldn't shake the feeling of his father's demise, and the fact he wouldn't be coming back for awhile. So ashamed he came home without his dad by his side, he couldn't meet her eyes and his head immediately bowed with great hesitation, "you see...the thing is...umm..."
This time, his answer would be prompted aloud by a more respectful individual.
"Chi-Chi, I'm sorry we came all this way to tell you this, but we're here to let you know the bad news," Trunks spoke in a solemn tone, his eyes briefly dipping towards the ground before returning to meet her gaze with great empathy, "Goku died to save us from of Cell's schemes. He used Instant Transmission to transport Cell away before he could destroy the Earth, but took the full force of the blast himself as well. I'm sorry..."
A great weight entered the air, and everything immediately took a serious, dark turn. Chi-Chi's eyes watered with confusion, knowing this has happened before, and she clearly remembered the sky turning dark, signaling the Eternal Dragon's wishes being cast.
"I-I don't understand," Chi-Chi spoke with confusion, water still gathering within her eyes, looking to each of the three warriors for an explanation, "why isn't Goku back? If you used the Dragon to make wishes, why isn't my husband here?!"
"Dad...insisted on staying dead for our safety," Gohan continued speaking, unable to raise his gaze to his own mom but relayed what his father said as his excuse, "he believed his existence has put the Earth in too much peril lately, so he's going to explore Other World for awhile, saying he got special privileges to keep his body and all that."
"Which is utter Bullshit if you ask me," Vegeta thought aloud, though kept it muttered, as it wasn't in his interest in speaking his mind to someone so emotionally similar to his own mate.
"S-So Goku...is gone?" Chi-Chi looked as if she was about to faint, steadying herself on the frame of the door, as tears slid down her paling face, and sweat built up around her brow and cheekbones, "I can't believe it. He would rather...die...than be with me and his family. Why...why would that selfish jerk do something like this?!"
As Chi-Chi bent down to kneel at the door, her hands cupped her face as she began to grieve. She burned inwardly with rage at Goku's reasoning, knowing how bad it was for him to believe he was the center of all of Earth's problems. Yet, she knew his mind wouldn't be changed, and that kept her from yelling aloud at someone who wasn't there anymore. Goku was gone, and he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.
As Gohan leaned down to wrap his arms in a comforting gesture, Vegeta exchanged an impatient look to his son, causing him to sweatdrop at the visual indication. Shaking his head, he shifted his eyes towards Chi-Chi's direction, but after seeing a perturbed expression emanate from his own father's, he realized he wouldn't budge.
With a dramatic sigh, Trunks cleared his own throat, trying to get Chi-Chi's attention again, "Uh, Chi-Chi, we have other news we need to discuss with you."
Sniffling, Chi-Chi looked up with a tear-stained expression, as Gohan continued patting her on the back, "Y-Yes?"
"Well...its moreover something that has to do with Vegeta and Gohan-" Trunks began explained before his father rudely interrupted.
"I'm taking Gohan in as my personal student to hone his Saiyan instincts and train him in the arts of combat," Vegeta spoke with a blunt tone, while his impassive gaze met the grief-stricken one of Goku's widowed wife, "he won't be able to do as much schooling as you would like, and he will endure much hardship so that he could surpass his fool of a father."
It was at this moment, that Chi-Chi's demeanor shifted entirely.
"YOU WANT GOHAN TO DO WHAT?!" Chi-Chi's tears dried instantly within the heat of her rage, accidentally flinging Gohan onto his backside as she stood up immediately to shake her fists at Vegeta, glaring heatedly at the insinuation he made, "you have the gall to tell me my husband died and WANTED to stay dead for a stupid reason, and NOW you want to take my BABY away to TRAIN like HE did?!"
Knowing from his brief verbal spar from the human female from a few minutes ago, Vegeta decided to remain as uncaring to her shouts as possible. As much pain he had endured in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and from his beatings he took from Android 18 and Cell soon after, he knew he should be able to withstand her fury if only for a few minutes.
"I don't want to train Gohan. I am going to train Gohan," Vegeta spoke with a dry tone, as he could almost roll his eyes at the incredulous tone that Chi-Chi took to him, "considering he is still a child, he insisted that he get your blessing on this arrangement. So," looking to Gohan, he spoke with a serious tone, "say goodbye to your mother, considering you might die from the training."
"D-DIE?!" Chi-Chi spoke with a horrified tone, her face paling even more at the idea of her son dying so soon after her husband.
"No, my father just means the training is going to be reall intense-" Trunks tried to comfort Chi-Chi, but was rudely interrupted again by his dad.
"No, he could really die from this training," Vegeta spoke matter-of-fact, insisting that what he said was entirely true.
"I will not allow Gohan to train with you, or anyone!" Chi-Chi shook her head and balled her fists in emphasis, glaring heatedly at Vegeta in particular, "I'd rather die than have little contact with my son and have him fighting again!"
"You really have no choice in the matter," Vegeta spoke in a confident tone, screaming inside at how poorly treated he felt from Goku's wife, but kept his impassive face for as long as he could will it to, "I am going to train your son, whether you like it or not. My student, however, wishes that you think better of me and this arrangement, but I could care less of your disposition against this proposal. It happens today."
With a fiery aura of red energy bursting forth from Chi-Chi, she was ready to strike Vegeta with as much strength she could muster for how blatant and disrespectful he spoke to her. It took Gohan's physical restraint from behind from moving immediately forward, but it took Trunks' next words to defuse her anger outright.
"Chi-Chi, I know how you feel. My mother didn't want me to take any part in time travel, despite all the work she put into it. Even I was afraid of the thought of being lost in the past, never to return home to her, and free her and my time from the scourge of the Androids," Trunks spoke sagely, getting Chi-Chi's attention enough to defuse her aura and her scowl, "but she knew I had to do it. There was no other way. I had to become a man through this endeavor, and it was a huge risk. But in the end, my intervention allowed your Earth to survive and give me the chance to see my father, and for your son to blossom into the man that he'll soon become."
"B-But I...I can't stand the thought of losing him," turning to Gohan, her tears welled up within her eyes, as she stroked his hair compassionately, sniffling, "I don't want him to die and leave me all alone."
"Don't worry mom, its not like I'm going to be gone for good," Gohan spoke in the best lighthearted tone he could muster, a tone that almost sounded like the child that Chi-Chi remembered Goku used to be, "I'll come by and visit whenever I can, and we'll still be a family. I just can't ignore the responsibility given to me, left by my dad, as being a protector of Earth. If I tried ignore this power and let his rust, I'll never live with myself if I couldn't have harnessed that power granted to me from the sacrifices and teachings my friends and dad have given me."
"I know, Gohan," kneeling down, Chi-Chi wrapped her arms tightly around the lithe fitted Saiyan-hybrid, sniffling as she spoke quietly, "please keep your dear mom company, and try to study when you can. I want you to be a fine husband for your future wife, you understand?"
"I'll try mom, though I don't think I'm going to get married that soon, haha!" Gohan chuckled as he returned the hug fervently, burying his face into her neck, relishing the maternal warmth one more time before he set out with Vegeta.
While this was all happening, Vegeta couldn't help but tap his right foot and tune out the maternal exchange between mom and son. Instead, he looked over at the window where the grandfather of his soon-to-be student sat, content in waiting for Chi-Chi to deal with her problems with her guests instead of awkwardly entering in the fray.
But the Ox-King wasn't what caught Vegeta's attention...
"Hello, my name is Emily Wong, and I bring you another account of the victory celebration being hailed in the streets. Earlier today, the nightmarish creature known as Cell had attempted to destroy the Earth in a breathtaking battle of the ages, having challenged numerous martial artists in a mock Tenkai Budoken Tournament. After a series of ferocious battles following some disappointingly short ones, we lost the feed when the acclaimed Hercule Satan had claimed to have singlehandedly defeated Cell. While we have little evidence to back this up, it appears most of the world believes it to be true, and are still celebrating in the waking aftermath of the terror that the monster has caused..."
Vegeta brimmed with anger. His teeth immediately bared and his glare focused upon the TV projecting the audio of the news report. He had already thought less of the blatantly ignorant, weak martial artist that tried to believe everything he saw Goku, Gohan, and himself do was nothing but an illusion, but this hit past the ceiling of the proud, Saiyan prince's toleration. And it only got worse...
"Here is some recorded news feed of Mr. Satan having being paraded across the road, with tens of thousands of people lined up and down the street, celebrating our hero's victory and the Earth's safety, being ensured," briefly the camera had shifted from the attractive woman's face to a narrated audio of hers, blended with video footage of different angles of the hastily prepared parade. The celebration contained thousands of citizens within the ruined city that Cell had been responsible for causing havoc within, and a single decorated float with Mr. Satan's name and ribbons adorning it showed off the ridiculous looking fraud himself.
"People have come back to life, through the power of Mr. Satan! He's just that awesome!" A brief cut to one of the citizens with a 'Mr. Satan' on his shirt, shouting with excitement from the rush of celebration occuring around him, "this guy was dead, and the moment Mr. Satan killed him, that monster somehow brought back everyone dead from his unnatural powers he used to kill us! This guy is a true monster slayer!"
"He's a real hero! I don't know anyone else to be a better role model for my children than Hercule Satan!" A young married woman spoke with a tearful smile, holding kids waving red flags with the champion's face emblazoned upon it, "God bless you, Mr. Satan!"
Having violently twitched throughout hearing the whole broadcast, Vegeta inwardly growled and veins bulged from his forehead with barely suppressed rage building deep within the abysmal cavity of his chest. His heart pounding and the thoughts he felt skimming through his mind at break-neck speed blinded him to the conclusive conversation between Chi-Chi and her son.
And then, the footage was directed to the guffawing champion himself, Hercule Satan. Currently garbed in a white, elaborately designed coat, while wearing the Champion belt around his waist, the man was in a victory stance, constantly laughing loudly and smiling for all to see, "That's right! I killed Cell with one strike of my Dynamite Ultra Punch! It was easy! All of those posers who use their fancy light shows, smoke, and mirrors never pulled the wool over my eyes! Cell is toast and he's no longer a threat to anybody now! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!" Vegeta shouts with unbridled rage, as he suddenly shot into the air with a aura of blue-white surrounding his body, creating a stream of light into the sky before a sonic boom was heard from the dramatic increase in speed, rocketing into the horizon.
A powerful gust of wind had discharged in his wake, causing all three of the gathered comrades to look in comical shock.
"D-Dad?" Trunks twitched with fear, never having witnessed such horrifying rage in his life.
"W-Where did Vegeta go?" Gohan asked with less fear and more confusion, while Chi-Chi held onto her son with a comically paled complexion and a messed, wind-blown expression on her face.
"I dunno," Trunks shrugged, scratching his forehead in emphasis to his ignorance to the TV's ending of the broad cast from within the house, "I guess he found something to vent his rage on. I just hope he doesn't cause too much trouble..."
Hercule felt a big wave of relief wash over him.
Basking in the coolness of the current mansion he lived him, earned through fame of his prior championship, it had now been deemed too dull and undersized for someone as famous as the Earth's greatest protector. With all of the money being granted to him, the title of "World Champion" instead of simply World Martial Art Champion gave his ego a boost through the roof.
Sure he lied about taking out Cell, but with a smug grin on his face, he could not only keep his credibility as the world's strongest martial artist, but he could now get all the royalties for defeating the monster. Despite the ferocious winds and lights he witnessed, he knew that if he really got up close, he could knock that Cell into the sky if he wanted to.
That certainty was clear in his mind, but how could he not shake a feeling of foreboding fear about the strangers with weird powers.
"Bunch of posers, pffff! Just like Cell!" He shouted aloud, as custom to the majority of his speech when alone or in front of the press. In emphasis, he stood up from his plush couch, planting a thumb upon his hairy, muscular chest, "I am the Grand Champion of the World! No one can push me around, that's for sure! BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!-"
Knock-Knock-Knock!
"Huh?" Hercule looked over, wondering how anyone could get past the security gates. He probably assumed it was a press agent or a house designer, so he responded with a loud, annoyed shout, "I thought I said I don't want to be disturbed! Please leave and come back tomorrow!"
Knock-Knock-KNOCK!
"Grrrrrr!"
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"I'm coming already! Hold your horses!" Hercule straightened his robe and began sloppily clapping his bare feet across the plush white carpet, the smooth hardwood flooring, and right in front of the grandiose dual rail staircase leading up to his immense second floor behind him and in front of the door. Strangely enough, dents were being formed from the knocks, and the closer he got, the more severe they sounded, "hey! You don't need to be violent on the door! I said I was com-"
But Mr. Satan wouldn't have a chance to finish his sentence, as he would find himself blown back after the door itself comically wrenched itself off the hinges from the sheer force of the last knock. His face was flattened, as he was caught off guard, and his back indented into the beautiful wain-scott designed staircase, leaving him trapped momentarily by the door.
"Grrr!" Hercule growled as he felt totally abused by the unnecessary show of force. He surmised it was a rival martial artist, intending to take the tidal away from him, after he had worked so hard on getting. With a heavy heave, he pushed the door off him, and immediately rose to his feet, despite the immense pain his back and face was in from the impact, trying to act tough, "you sure have a lot of nerve! Who the Hell do you think you are?!"
What greeted his sight was a strangely familiar and uneasily pissed short man. He had unusually black, pointed crop of hair, as if it was a black flickering flame on-top of a fair complexioned, worn battle-armored warrior's head. His glare held a knowing, accusatory look that sent chills down Mr. Satan's spine, as he had a very good idea who this guy was, without knowing him personally.
"Well, from the looks of it, you can call me the door man," Vegeta spoke with dry humor, lost on the grating, low tone he projected within his words as he glared defiantly at the human, "but you could call me the REAL World Champion of Earth. To be clear, the one who tore Cell into dust."
"Y-You're one of those f-f-fakes and f-f-freak shows!" Hercule pointed at him, trying to convey indignation at the man's sudden entrance and accusatory remarks. Visibly, his knees were shaking as he felt something unearthly frightening about the small man, "I-I know you really aren't the real c-c-champ!"
"Well I wouldn't call myself Champion, as I really don't care much for the majority of this planet's populace," Vegeta spoke frankly and dryly, deciding to step closer to Hercule, coming to stand a mere three feet from the taller, yet horribly outclassed man, "but I AM the man who defeated Cell."
"N-No you're not! I-I am Hercule Satan! The Strongest Man in the world and true martial artist! You, your friends, and Cell were nothing but hacks who used special tech and illusions to win your fights! Yeah, that's it! You're all fakes in comparison to real martial artists!" Hercule pointed with blind assurance at Vegeta, but did nothing but humor the wrath-filled Saiyan of his logic, causing Hercule to sweat at the look of a smirk developing on the intruder's face.
"I recall you being hurtled nearly thirty meters by a single backhand by Cell," Vegeta spoke with a brief bout of humor, "and you have the GALL to claim that YOU beat Cell?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Uh...b-but its true!" Hercule weakly tried to reassure the man whom began laughing louder than ever had at his claims. Despite his clear knowing he participated more than he did, during the Cell Games, his pride and his ego clouded his judgement. As Hercule tried to further puff up his chest, he reached down and grabbed the short man by the collar of his skin-tight suit, Hercule projected a show of forced rage, physically displayed from a gesture from his chest, "listen here you little punk! I am Mr. Satan! I won my title of Martial Arts Champion fair and square, and I have never seen freaks like you participating there. For all I know, you're just a cheat who hides behind fancy gizmos and shiny lights, or a cyborg with unnatural abilities real people don't have! I can't credit you as a worthy candidate of being World Champion, if I can't believe a word you say or anything you show me!-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
"Urk!" Hercule felt his bathrobe collar-line squeezed by the short man's right glove, lifting up into the air and beginning to constrict around his throat. His eyes bulged, feeling very real muscles hold him aloft, even as his feet weakly beat against his aggressor's body, they all felt like steel, but had the definition of real muscle.
"I can't believe this! This guy...he's so strong!" Hercule's mind went reeling at the implications, realizing there might be true merit to all the things he saw, no matter how outrageously ridiculous they appeared to be.
But Vegeta didn't feel like letting him off easy. The Saiyan brought him down to have him forced to eye level, allowing a dark smile to emanate from his face as his eyes glared back mere inches away from the Hercule's, "You're right, little man. Of course I can't prove anything to you. Even I was to crush your body with my bare hands or incinerate you and this ridiculous mansion, you probably would deny it to the end. But your audience would, now wouldn't they, if they saw you defeated in a Tournament?"
"Ulp!" Hercule couldn't coherently respond. The premise of what this nameless, strange-looking warrior was suggesting gave Hercule chills and made his stomach uneasy.
"So, from now on, be careful about coming to ANY of your Tournaments. You see, my son, my new student, and I may want to participate in them to show off our new skills, techniques, and strength. Who knows? The others may want to do it for the Hell of it as well," Vegeta continued, his eyes narrowing at the prospect of seeing the famed so-called Hercule Satan in front of him, on a ring, "so make no mistake. When you see the truth, is the moment when the whole world sees the truth, for the unbelievably stupid fraud you really are. Trust me. There is no greater pain, than utter humiliation and stripping of any pride your had in yourself as a warrior. Who knows? You may never want to fight. Ever. Again!"
"N-No!" Hercule suddenly panicked, grabbing upon Vegeta's sleeves in emphasis, realizing how whimsical the crowd's view of someone could be if shown live and on TV. After all, its how he deceived everyone into thinking he defeated Cell, "please, don't do this to me! I'm begging you!"
"Show some dignity fool! Even Raditz had enough decency to not cower beneath a stronger enemy than that!" Vegeta reprimanded, remembering the Saiyan Elite who was often viewed by the others as weak and barely qualified to be among their ranks, despite his immense power as a Saiyan.
The meaning lost to the soon-to-be Ex-Champion, Hercule began blubbering through pathetic sobs, "You can't take this away from me! This title, being the champ, it means everything to me!"
"Continue to sob, and I'll kill you where you stand, fool!" Vegeta growled, his rage beginning to light anew, almost losing any patience in public humiliation. Raising his left hand, he prepared to punch the man with his absolute minimum power to the man's jaw, knowing it would surely break and give the poor, pathetic fighter a bare excuse for not showing himself in public for awhile.
But then, Vegeta would find himself wide-eyed and dazed, as a weak, yet precise kick landed directly into the back of his head.
"Leave my dad alone, jerk!" A young, fiery black-pigtailed adorned girl yelled out as threateningly as she could. Despite as hard as she kicked, she could tell it didn't hurt him, but was glad it had the desired outcome of Vegeta dropping the pathetic con man on-top of his entryway.
"Who dares-?!" Vegeta whirled around, knowing the threat to be abysmal, but felt compelled none-the-less. As soon as he did so, he felt his face turn around with a wide-eyed dazed look. A well-placed kick to his jaw, while having no impact or damage done to him what-so-ever, stopped in in mid-speech from the tenacity of the young girl.
"Agh!" The young girl bent down and grabbed her bare feet, feeling as if she broke her toes from that last kick, the sensation almost as bad as striking thick layered brick. As she looked up to take a stance again, she found herself staring up at a glaring man, briefly feeling a sensation of fear trickle up her spine from the anger that projected from the unknown man's eyes.
Determined to protect her father, she rushed with perfect precision and foot, swinging her fist towards the man's gut, partially exposed by the cracked armor, in order to get a good hit in, "I won't let you come in and bully the world's champion, jerk!"
"Ha!" Vegeta found himself humored, that the girl, obviously his daughter from audible and visual acknowledgement, also fell for the clever lie he told.
With barely any visual motion made, Vegeta swung his right gloved hand around and grabbed her fist with deft skill, holding her tightly and still as he observed her with his senses as he spoke, "Even his own daughter is bought out by his clever hoax! Its such a shame such a promising fighter like you, with a much higher power level than his, would ever be related to him!"
"Let go of me, you bastard!" the pre-teen rained a number of kicks and other punches on the man's body, but all it did to him was make him laugh in amusement, causing her to not only injure herself in the process, but be very afraid of his strength.
Reaching up to slap the girl, he found an alarmed yell from none other than Hercule Satan, crying out greater desperation and fear, caused the Saiyan to pause, "LEAVE VIDEL ALONE!"
"Hmph," feeling a twinge of pity for the girl, realizing she was delusional like all the others, he merely threw her to the side, sending the prospective martial artist tumbling across the grassy lawn to kick up dirt to properly incapacitate her, "I have no interest in destroying the helpless, fool. I only have a thing for crushing the weak, when they are blatant liars, cowards, and blubbering idiots who can't even believe their own eyes for what they see!" Looking over his shoulder, Vegeta fired up a aura of blazing blue-white energy around his form, kicking up immense wind and crushing the entryway in the wake of his base state's barely controlled fury, "Remember my promise, Hercule Satan. For it will be I, Vegeta, who shows just how much of a sham you really are! It may be months or years, but one day, you will lose everything, and just know how devoid of any honor and pride you really have in the end!"
After the mind-numbing speech, Hercule covered his face in terror, as the small warrior known as Vegeta somehow took the air, leaving a streak of blue-white, creating the sound of a screaming jet fighter to exude the air, leaving a further real imprint of the frightening experience upon Mr. Satan's mind.
As he blinked away the blur the light made upon his eyes, he saw a slightly dirty Videl, leaning down help her father up with a concerned tone in her voice, "Are you alright, dad?!
"Y-Yes, Videl, I am," briefly overcome by emotion, he grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and pulled her into a awkward, emotionally distraught-filled hug, "my poor little girl, getting hurt by that mean man! I'm so sorry I didn't stop him sooner!"
"Y-Yeah...sure dad," Videl tried calming her distraught, emotional wreck of a father down, tapping his back while being smothered by his unwelcome onslaught of facial and barely covered chest hair, "just let go of me please..."
"Uh, sorry honey," Mr. Satan brought himself out of his reverie, clearing his throat as he stood onto his feet, placing his fists onto his hips as he tried to shake his finger and sound like a dad, "what were you thinking, jumping on a guy like that? I barely held him off myself, before scaring him the same way I scared Cell!"
"You looked like you were in trouble, and he didn't seem like someone I couldn't handle," Videl reacted casually, placing her arms innocently behind her back, holding back the urge to wince at the sensation of her bruised hand and possibly fractured toes. Quickly turning things around, she frowned at her father, as she queried the incident itself, "what was he here for? He caused a big mess for some reason. Was he trying to steal your title?"
"Uh, yeah! HAHA! But the sheer fright of remembering that I am the Champion who beat Cell must have knocked some sense into him! That's right! HAHAHAHAHA!" Hercule tried to reassure his daughter, propping his knuckles on his hips while puffing out his bathrobe-wrapped chest as he guffawed in the manliest way he could.
Blankly staring at him with slight embarrassment, Videl was still suspicious about some of the words the man said, but decided to drop it. His dad was already flaunting his title before the Cell Games, and she was proud of how skilled a martial artist he was, wanting to strive to be just like him. The only ignorance she had was how much weaker her father was, despite her age and size.
Turning around as her father got lost in his own self-deceiving pride, she looked up at the sky where she thought and saw the mysterious man had disappeared to. Who was this Vegeta? What was this claim of her father being a sham, and how he wanted to beat him in a Tournament?
Well, whatever the case may be, Videl knew to keep a closer eye out for future competitions demonstrating martial artist skill, for knowing that this man wouldn't be far behind.
A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND that wraps up that chapter! Whew, it took so long to get this done cause I was getting interrupted by nearly every aspect of my life, but, I got it done somehow! .
So there we go! I managed to fit some stuff in with Vegeta's real maturation of what he admired and saw in Gohan was real potential. Knowing how powerful the boy could become overtime, and now that his strength rivaled, and now certainly surpassed his, he's determined to keep that sharp blade honed, and never rust as it had in Canon.
I want to thank RHODESKurosaki for giving me inspiration of the funny line during the brief spat of comedy Vegeta, Trunks, and Chi-Chi had before Trunks talked the angry mother down. That scene, besides the moment when Vegeta's "Rage Broke" at seeing Mr. Satan blatantly proclaim himself champion on Live TV was my personal favorite.
Also, for those ME Fans, I implemented our favorite Reporter from the game, Mass Effect, for those of you who saw that ;)
I hope the last scene was appropiate. I knew the flight to Hercule's house (I know it might be regular sized, but I thought him being alone in a mansion would be what the guy would do after a long day of partying with his fans) would've defused most of Vegeta's rage, and allowed him to have real enjoyment in venting his thoughts and anger at the man's audacity to him. We even saw lil Videl coming to daddy's rescue! Ah, Videl, where would your dad be without you? XD
So opinions, questions, criticism (the constructive, not DEconstructive kind, lol)?
Let me know what you think, cause the Bojack Tournament is coming up next, and that will have a LOT more twists and turns than the last one will have. If you have any suggestions of what you'd like me to do, or maybe a funny line I could use, let me know and I'll credit you for it. Thanks for reading and supporting this Fanfic and I'll see you on the next, Vegeta Chronicles! ^_^