A/N: Hey! Excited for the next parts of this story and I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks to Dizzy WillBeth (I like your imaginings! You've definitely hit on a few things you might see lol), Lisa8507 (she might be back indeed ;)… please read on!), NNP (Yes, Trunks has not lived on Vegeta-sei for so long and not picked up parts of his father and his Saiyan heritage, this is really the thrust of his character!), and valentinaxo (Thank you so much, hope you enjoy this!).

Chapter 21:

If his people knew what he was doing, they would attempt to assassinate him for madness, rather than declare him unfit to rule.

They would fail miserably, because all that mattered was relative strength when someone was coming to kill you. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the delicate, beautiful woman who was stark proof of that.

Surrounded by titans of strength, protected so much that she had never walked a step on this planet without a Saiyan shadow. And yet, her body lay cold and lifeless and her breath was stolen, just simply because she herself hadn't the power to stop someone from taking it.

He still imagined killing the clone, the one his son had dubbed "Geta", with his own bare hands …to all that that availed him. He imagined killing Nappa, who hadn't done his job. He imagined what Trunks was doing, if he was still alive, wherever he was.

Except …Vegeta knew the boy was alive in a way he could not explain. No child of the two of them would be put down so easily.

"When you awaken from this, you might try to kill me for letting the brat go. But if I hadn't let him, you wouldn't have the chance to try, and that's unacceptable," he told her.

Twice, something very strange had happened to him. It was such a dark, muddled recollection in the haze of half-sleep that he had convinced himself it was a dream—just like the ones where Bulma spoke to him. But instead, he came to where she was reposed and his eyes burned in the way they had only in his most distant memories, before he had learned to stifle such an intolerable impulse. He was sure he was going mad, because his desire to visit the Woman was as powerful as an addiction and he didn't understand why he kept returning.

He wasn't sleeping anymore. He had lost that with those blasted dreams! He trained, he handled planetary affairs, he tracked the tech slave's progress (to the alien's great terror), and he visited a corpse. That was what filled his days.

Frieza had left them alone, since being gifted with his new toy. Such distractions could only last so long, but Geta would last longer than Tarble did. And in the meantime, Vegeta must find a way to defeat Frieza.

He wouldn't allow anyone else in the universe to do it. Certainly not his own son, no…

He would have the honor of sending Frieza to Hell.

But he couldn't devote all of his thoughts to that revenge, because he was plagued by constant thoughts of the Woman and the Boy. There were times when he realized what he was doing and he would purposefully throw both of them from his mind, but it never lasted long.

Surely, he was going mad.

Absurd thoughts of how the boy hated him—Trunks' cold eyes as he left to save his mother too late and even more absurd thoughts of how much the Woman would have hated him if she had known what he allowed their son to do. It was obsessive to the point that he had no choice but to acknowledge that it bothered him. If he cared about what no one else on the planet thought, he had to separate them from his count.

He had reserved a place for them somewhere in his mind that was unlike that of other beings.

And it had all begun with her.

When he was only a boy, he was taught to be drawn to only the hardest, toughest, most resilient things. All else was below his notice or worse—something to be disposed of. And then she came and destroyed every idea he had ever had.

He had just refused to acknowledge it for a long time. Her expressive eyes, her sweet-smelling skin, her soft and perfect body made him lose himself in a humiliating fashion. It unraveled all that he had known before. It made him hate creatures like Geta, who was a relic of himself, as a child. Oh, he had wanted Bulma and their son.

But he had hated wanting her, too.

He had forced her to come here by using her humanity against her. He had delighted in what he could exploit. And then he had been made a fool by her loss…

Everyone on his planet had known the attachment of their prince. He was the very last to know it, and he refused to ever learn anything again through a loss such as this. Because it was slowing driving him insane.

So he looked at her and he wanted to touch her, but he didn't dare. She was no longer soft and alive, she was no longer herself.

And he would never be the same again.

VBVBVBVBVBVB

The first power level was large enough that Goku hadn't noticed the other one with him. The alien was squat and dull-green, with more eyes than he should have. His hands were planted angrily on his hips.

The other—the one Goku had sensed before—was horned and purple and much larger.

"Hey." Goku waved at them, trying to keep their attention so Nappa could continue on unseen. "Are you the guys destroying these villages?"

"What's that to you?" the purple one asked. He had a nasally voice. "My scouter indicates that you are more powerful than those I've met from this planet. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop you," Goku told them.

"You can't stop us." The green one laughed. "You're not much, according to my scouter."

"Then you won't have a problem fighting me," Goku said coaxingly. "I'm more of a challenge than the people you're killing."

"And what's it to you?" the purple alien repeated. He sounded genuinely confused.

"Where I come from, only a bully attacks someone who can't defend themselves," Goku answered. "The strong defend the weak."

They both laughed uproariously, and Goku patiently waited for them to get control over themselves, imagining Nappa retrieving the Dragonball as they laughed their heads off. He was itching to fight, but he could be patient if it meant Bulma got her life back. Finally, the purple one spoke while the green one choked on his mirth, coughing a few times. "How backwards and stupid. And Guldo will show you just how stupid. Once you take on the Ginyu Force, you'll realize that you aren't on your planet anymore and we do things the right way!"

"You aren't going to fight me yourself?" Goku said disapprovingly. Both would have been a better, but maybe if the purple guy realized how powerful he now was, he'd get to take them two-on-one. He was more than ready this time!

"You can't handle us both," he smirked and waved a hand. "Take him on, Guldo, so we can finish the job!"

"Why me, Captain?" Guldo whined. "We can send for the others, they haven't checked in in a while anyway."

"You mean your buddies?" Goku interjected, hoping to goad them. "Aw, we already ran into them! They weren't that strong."

That did get their attention. The purple one, "Captain" Ginyu, touched to his scouter. "Jeiyce, Burter, Recoome, call in!"

"Boss?" Came a voice over the crackle of the signal. Only one voice…

Captain's eyes darted to Goku's after a long pause without additional voices. He went on with an increasing note of alarm. "Burter. Jeiyce? COME IN. JEIYCE!"

"I told ya, we ran into those guys," Goku crossed his arms. He neglected to mention that he wasn't the one who defeated either member of the alien's team.

"Boss? What's going on?" the voice over the scouter persisted.

"Recoome, have you seen anything suspicious since we split up?"

"Besides the sniveling cowards running around? No…"

Captain Ginyu narrowed his eyes at Goku. "'We', huh? …you have friends that split up with you too?" He bent his mouth again towards the scouter piece. "Recoome, if you see any suspicious aliens, KILL THEM. And look around for Burter and Jeiyce. We're pausing this raid until they're found."

"You do that, but you might not like what you find," Goku said apologetically. "Your friends attacked us, not the other way around."

Goku didn't take pleasure in killing people, but these guys had to be stopped, one way or the other.

"You messed with the wrong group," the Captain warned him. "We have abilities you could only dream about! And you're about to see what!"

"The leader of the Ginyu Force has the weirdest ability of them all: he can swap bodies with his opponent. I don't know why he'd have any use for it against you, but look out for his beam," Nappa said. "The fat green one—Guldo—he's a huge weakling, but he can stop time when he holds his breath. That's really the only reason he's on the Ginyu Force. He's a coward too, when things get rough, he'll be the first person out the door."

Goku immediately started on defense, to study the two and compare it to the knowledge Nappa had offered. Captain Ginyu was strong, at least much strong than the other one. But he was slower than the last guy they fought. Dodging him wouldn't be hard on its own.

Guldo's ability was more worrisome to Goku, but Nappa had turned about to be right-on about him. He was letting his boss be aggressive, barely attacking and looking annoyed that he even had to fight at all. Goku was sure he could have beaten him if not for the stopping-time thing.

Making a decision, Goku launched forward, determined to frighten Guldo right out of the fight.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVB

"The first wish will be to revive my mom. The second is gonna be for the rest of the Ginyu Force to be put on an abandoned planet on the edge of the galaxy with no scouters, no ship …no way out."

Dende knew that was as good as killing them, but he found he didn't actually mind that way of doing things. He had been thinking hard about it, and he knew that if the rest of the aliens were able to contact Frieza about what happened on Namek, more would come. His whole planet would be destroyed …everyone left would just be left to suffer again, and to die this time.

"What's the third wish?"

"It's for you," Trunks answered. "It's to protect the rest of your people, but it's up to you if you want to use my idea… You don't have to."

"What is it?"

"A new Namek."

VBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Gohan couldn't believe their bad luck when he saw a pale, humanoid alien that was clearly wearing Frieza's armor and was not Namekian. He had sensed it, of course…but he'd been telling himself that there was no way they couldn't sneak past anything that came their way. Krillin might have been telling himself the same thing. He gulped.

"I don't know if we're gonna be able to slip past this guy," he said confessed. "He's too close."

Gohan wanted to curse, they were almost right on top of the Dragonball!

Part of him wanted to just try and sneak around. But the smart part of him knew that the Dragonballs on this planet were too big to hide if they got caught. And Bulma and Trunks needed them to be quick.

"Krillin, go ahead. I'll take him."

Krillin looked back and shook his head immediately. "I knew you were going to say that. And I'm saying 'no', buddy. You go get the Dragonball. You're faster than me, and the quicker we get the Dragonballs back to Trunks and Dende…" he gulped, "the quicker these guys are toast."

"But he's huge," Gohan protested. "Even from here…"

Krillin laughed nervously. "And I'm older than you, aren't I? Hurry up and go, I'm serious. And fly like my life is at stake, okay?"

"Krillin, you can't—"

"I've made up my mind!" Krillin said adamantly, sounding much braver and more impatient. "Hurry up."

They separated, and Gohan flew faster than he ever had in his life. Krillin slumped when he was out of sight. "One more minute and I would let him do it. How pathetic is that?" He moved slowly, though the giant had already seen him and was coming this way. Krillin said a quick prayer that he would survive and that the other team wasn't having so much trouble. In the back of his mind, he was already opening himself up to the possibility he would die.

No one would know if he had died, probably until after all the wishes were used.

Or if Trunks and Dende already had a third wish and there weren't enough for him…

What if this was really it?

"At least it's been exciting," he thought, as he numbed himself for the encounter. "At least it will be a story for someone else to tell someday, if I don't make it out."

VBVBVBVBVBVB

Trunks had been sitting there, waiting for everyone else to do the work, yet this was the most exhilarated and exhausted he had felt the whole time. His heart was pounding steadily, every second ticking down to leave him listing all the potential concerns and failures. What if both groups had run into trouble? What if they weren't strong enough?

Dende gave him a kind smile. "They'll get here. I know it."

Trunks wanted to be reassured, but it was too hard. His mouth was dry.

"As soon as they get here, it's just the easy part. I know exactly what I need to say and then it will all be over. All of it."

Dende had been watching his people die, one by one. That was all Frieza's doing. Frieza, who his father despised and wanted to take down. Frieza, who was too strong for anyone in the universe to defeat.

Except, maybe…

"If they don't get here in another five minutes, I'm gonna go after them," Trunks said, looking up at the sky.

"You shouldn't," Dende warned. "Trust them."

Trunks shook his head, having worn out on trust already in desperation. "Five minutes, that should be more than enough time."

VBVBVBVBVBVBVB

For pride, Nappa was determined to be the first to reach Trunks and the green brat with his Dragonball. His group, with Kakarot, was certainly the stronger of the two, which wasn't saying much. They had taken the further trip, but that didn't matter. Nappa was tired of this planet, he was tired of taking orders from the King's brat, he was tired of these losers who wouldn't know a killer instinct if it smacked them in the face.

"Though… King Vegeta would have been proud of his son," Nappa admitted to himself, thinking on the boy's hand ripping through Jeice's chest like water. "Who knows what can be made of that? Even without that Legendary form …the boy is becoming a force to be reckoned with."

What did that mean for his people?

He made quick work of finding the Dragonball and rebounded back into the air. He had a race to win.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Gohan was sweating, the air prickling the corners of his eyes as he hauled the Dragonball to where he had left Trunks. By the time it hit him that leaving Krillin to fight was a terrible idea, it was too late to go back.

The funny thing is …no one but Gohan would have known it.

"My dad, Krillin, and now Trunks," Gohan thought. "No one knows, and so everyone jumps ahead and takes the fight. And I let them, don't I? I'm a fake, a real fraud."

That was an oxymoron, but it was true. He told Chi-Chi he was going and nothing she said would matter. He told Trunks he was going to help and take some of the burden. And then Krillin told him to race to the finish line with the Dragonball while he stayed and fought the enemy. And that's what he did.

There were opportunities to prove himself—to himself. He just hadn't taken them. He made a promise then and there. He would. Even if it meant going to the far reaches of the universe with Trunks and seeing this out to the end, he would show everyone his true power.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Goku's fist landed just as the fat guy held his breath and Goku's body froze in place. Right in the stomach. Guldo deflated from the force of the paralyzed blow and Goku felt his limbs reawaken with relief. Quickly, he knocked the alien aside, out of the way and out of sight. He turned to Captain Ginyu, frowning. The horned purple monster was gritting his teeth.

"So you knew the plan. You know what we can do."

"You bet I do," Goku proclaimed. "So are you gonna fight me fair, or are you going to play tricks?"

"That all depends on what you did to my team," Ginyu snarled. "I fight with honor for those who deserve it."

"You work for Frieza, don't you?" Goku said quizzically. The offense taken was immediate as Captain Ginyu attacked angrily.

"How dare you question Lord Frieza to me! Who are YOU that you are so disloyal to the Cold Empire?! I will take you alive for Lord Frieza to decide your fate!"

If Goku was ever to be worried that he had bitten off more than he could chew, it was now. He came here to help Trunks get his mother back, he didn't understand anything that was going on with Frieza, besides the fact that he was an evil tyrant and his name was often spat out of Vegeta's mouth, back when he visited Earth. The only solution was to beat this guy or hold him off until Trunks could make a wish.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

"Just one more minute," Dende pleaded. "I know they'll get back. I can feel it!"

Trunks craned his head toward the direction that Gohan and Krillin had left in and saw Gohan finally appear, a swiftly-growing dot in the sky. "I see Gohan. Just Gohan. They must have hit some trouble!"

He was surprised that Krillin drew the short straw, but immediately his thoughts turned to Nappa and Goku. "What are the odds that they were the lucky ones?" Trunks shook his head. "We haven't had luck yet…"

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Yamcha was back home: they hadn't told him. He had drifted out of their group, after Bulma and Trunks left, like something in him had cracked forever. Yamcha was human, breakable. Krillin was breakable too. Krillin was on an adventure far out of his league and he was feeling every second of it. The pale guy was angry and relentless, but he was always flamboyant and seemed to be wasting time toying with him. He had laughed at Krillin's power level and was definitely underestimating him.

But Krillin was used to being underestimated, and had a couple of tricks he could use too.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Gohan collapsed with the ball in his arms just as Nappa appeared at the horizon. "Hurry and summon the dragon!" He choked out, clutching his side. "Krillin is fighting one of the Ginyu Force and I don't know how long he can stall!"

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Goku was definitely stronger, or at least faster. Ginyu was too slow to land a single hit, even in his ferocity. "Stop dodging and FIGHT!"

"I am," Goku growled, blocking and punching back. "Believe me."

"I didn't think I'd have to use my ability for this, on this planet. What brought you here now, if not Lord Frieza?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Goku said. Captain Ginyu was one of the more talkative opponents he'd run into, and Goku didn't mind indulging it. "It was a better mission than you seem to be on. We don't kill for fun."

"Ah yes, you and your friends," Ginyu flew around him and attempted a different angle, but Goku could read it easily. "I guess you're not as separated from the Cold Empire as you pretend to be. Who are these treasonous friends? I need to know what names to give to Frieza after this is over."

Goku saw the tic of Captain Ginyu's eyes, flickering off to the side. But it was too late. The familiar paralysis went through his body. He couldn't even blink. Captain Ginyu wiped the blood from his nose.

"I'll tenderize you and then I'll finish your beating before I take you and your buddies to Lord Frieza." He spread his arms. "I have a feeling that I'm about to stop something big. CHANGE!"

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

"Stupid brat," Nappa yelled, sending a scathing look at Gohan. "How'd you get here so fast?!"

"Where's my dad?!"

"He's fighting Captain Ginyu, so the green brat might wanna make those wishes quick, if you don't want to go home an orphan!"

Trunks ignored them, and scrambled to join all of the balls together. It was time; he couldn't relax until it was done. When it was done. "Dende!"

Dende nodded and began speaking the language, speaking with a confidence that reflected an authority that seemed beyond his years, a reflection of his leader. A light erupted around them, taking shape. It was enormous.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Bulma was floating …floating…

"Vegeta!" Bulma screeched, beating her fists against every inch of the Saiyan she could reach. "I was in the middle of—"

"You can finish it tomorrow, I know it was one of your foolish pet projects," he said, looking straight ahead as he strode past the tech slaves, who did their best not to look, as they were trained to do whenever the Prince crashed through the doors and kidnapped Bulma. "And stop flailing your limbs, Woman, before I rip them off."

She whacked his over-muscled ass especially hard for that. "You're such a jerk. Put me down."

"I'll put you down when I'm good and ready."

"I'll be dead before we get there."

He had moved into the phase of ignoring her rather quickly. But when they exited the palace into the warm air and the red sky, he shifted her to the front and she clasped her arms around his neck, familiar with the treatment.

"Where's Trunks?"

He rolled his eyes, because that was always her first question. "Brat's sleeping off the night. Nappa is watching him now, though that's just to give the idiot something to do. Any more questions?"

"I wish you'd stop waking him up in the middle of the night, he needs his sleep."

"What he needs is to train without that clone," Vegeta said as he took off with her. "He's half-Saiyan. You need to stop staying up all night, your puny human form clearly can't handle it."

"Right. You're just mad that sometimes you don't roll over to find me ready and waiting," Bulma responded, and they both knew it was perfectly accurate. "I'm sure it's a blow to your pride to walk the whole way to the Tech Wing with a—"

"Don't finish that sentence," he growled. She laughed at him and kicked her legs to position herself more comfortably.

"Where are we going?"

"Away."

"Obviously," she said dryly. "And slow down, I can hardly breathe!"

"So weak," he muttered, but he obliged the request. Her arms squeezed his shoulders, appreciating how insanely strong they were and how they so easily guaranteed her safety. It was vain, but she appreciated his fixation with her, and she knew that it was—even if he would never say anything that could be held against him. There were many things she didn't appreciate about him at all, but she did appreciate that.

It probably had something to do with the fact that the power was transactional between them. Vegeta was dense, he was obsessive, he was a monster sometimes. What did it say about her, that she loved him?

She never examined that question too closely.

What she did examine is his feelings for her. And whatever they were, whatever he refused to put a name to, they were as strong as the feelings she had for him. That meant they were both vulnerable. They were both unarmed, in some way.

She couldn't believe she was such a fool, to think that in the beginning she would just manipulate him—that the manipulation wouldn't become mutual, and subconsciously so. She knew herself and she saw herself slipping into these emotional mistakes until they became instinct. But she told herself it was okay, because it was mutual.

Vegeta didn't spend time with anyone he didn't think was worth it …or someone he couldn't use in some way. When he took her and flew away, it was something different—it was without use or worth. It was the kind of thing he claimed to abhor. And it only ensured that he would get her—not her genius, not her half-Saiyan son. Just her.

He touched down to what looked to her human eyes like a lake, deserted as it was…

She jumped from his cradle hold and stretched, her back cracking as she arched it. "We're swimming?" That was fine, even if it wasn't blue waves and golden sand. Didn't it all feel the same? Or maybe it felt even better, who knew? She loved to experiment.

He shrugged, not meeting her eyes when she turned around. She knew that they had been trained on her just a moment ago and she dropped her arms, leaving them hanging at her sides. "What happened?"

He wasn't going to say. The first time he took her away from the palace, he told her in no uncertain terms that there were days when he wanted to kill his father so badly that he couldn't remain there and keep his control. He always took her with him, but he never uttered a word about what caused such a rush of hatred.

"Come here, Woman."

She moved towards him and he towed her to the edge of the water in his usual gruff manner. She giggled playfully. "If you think I'm skinny-dipping with you in this dirty water, you have another thing coming, Vegeta."

"Skinny—what?! Shut up!" he responded, playing stupid, but his flush betraying that he had some idea of what she meant. "And the water isn't dirty, we don't have dirty water in Vegeta-sei, like your mudball!"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, Your Highness. Tell me about your glorious Vegeta-sei water then…"

"It's not about the water," he said. "It's about what's in this particular body of water."

Bulma raised her eyebrows, having not expected a Saiyan natural history lesson. Vegeta was all for the Saiyan ideal and way of life, but Saiyan's didn't even have scientists that weren't enslaved. She wondered if they even knew everything there was to know about their own planet.

"Okay. What's special about it?" she humored him warily, knowing that she probably shouldn't expect much.

"It's dangerous." He was staring intently at it, the water almost appearing like blood under the planet's sun. "There's something at the bottom, they say."

"A mineral, or a creature?" Bulma's curiosity was unwillingly piqued, but Vegeta turned sharply to her.

"We don't know that. We know that there were Saiyans who died here from something in the water's bed. Pathetic, huh?"

"Probably a mineral then," Bulma mused. She clapped her hands and smiled at him. "Oh, can I go swimming now? I want to see what the fuss is all about!"

Vegeta scowled deeply at her. "Are you deaf, Woman? They died!"

"Everyone did?"

"Most everyone!"

"So somebody survived?"

"You are an idiot. And you're giving me a headache!"

"We could talk to the survivors and see what—"

"We are not talking to anyone! If I wanted to talk to others, I would have brought them here!" he snapped. "Whatever is down there, it drained their life force down to the very minutest thread."

"But I'm not a—"

"You're NOT going down there."

She fell silent for a moment at his intensity. There were so many times when he exposed himself and he never knew it. But it always gave her a flutter, and a pause of disquiet. Bravely, she gathered herself and winked. "You could have just said you were worried about little, old me …but that does beg the question of why you brought me here to begin with…?"

They weren't going swimming. And they could have gone anywhere in his world, so why here?

He sat down roughly, and she joined him on the ground, staring at him the way he stared at the water only feet away, waiting. Finally, he shared something.

"It does nothing but …sit there. At the bottom of the water. Yet it kills what's stronger."

He didn't ask her to explain, but she knew him far too well at this point. "Ah that age-old conundrum, huh? The supposedly 'weak' killing the strong. Your worst nightmare and your greatest dream all wrapped into one." She looked out to the water just as he got trapped in her words and turned to her, entranced.

"Are you the same, little one?"

The words didn't sound friendly, but he had moved closer suddenly, so that when she looked back at him, their noses brushed. His eyes were so black that the light did nothing to change them the way they did hers and she fell into them. It was all so transactional, wasn't it.

But she escaped his lips and ran. Ran into the blood-like water and broke deep beneath the surface, searching for it.

—his lips felt fused to hers, like she needed his air to breathe.

—it glimmered at the bottom, something like her: shining and powerful in its weakness.

—her hands scraped his chiseled cheeks as he lowered her gently and wrapped his arms around her waist—

—she heard Vegeta calling for her, his voice coming wobbly to her ears miles above her—

—they took and they gave everything to each other.

He wouldn't have allowed her to get so deep, he would have already gotten her out. She wouldn't have even made it to the water, he was too fast. Far too fast. This wasn't the memory, it wasn't how it had gone…

She was never in the water. But she was in the water now.

"Bulma…" She heard her name, she heard him saying it, desperately and she swam up, abandoning the pursuit of something else. She swam towards him, her love that she hated.

Her eyes snapped open and she gulped wildly for air, alive.

A/N: Yes, this means what you think it means lol. Let me know your thoughts!