Eleven: Relapse into Darkness

- 11 -

Relapse into Darkness

Images flashed behind his closed eyelids. Too fast… too blurry… He was unable to focus in on any of them no matter how hard he tried. If he had been awake, maybe he might have been able to, but in the confines of sleep he had no control. He was helpless, trapped in the whirlwind in his mind, unable to gain any ground, unable to understand or see. And yet his subconscious got a dark foreboding feeling. Much like when he had seen the visions of Freeza destroying his planet and then seeing his own death. Or when he got the images of Vegeta with the tyrant... Maybe he was seeing all of it and his mind was withholding it from him, protecting him. It had done that before too, though rarely.

Forcing himself to come to a more alert and awake state he managed to captured and freeze one of the blurry, obscure images. He couldn't discern much, but what he could was the hint of irritation. Of fear. Of pain. Some fleeting, some overwhelming. Something bad had happened, that much he could tell. But what, he didn't know. He had the faint feeling of two… maybe three people contained in the vision and only two were giving him feedback. The third -if there was a third- he got nothing from and a cold swell of dread crept over him. Either there was no one there, or someone was mortally wounded or someone was dead. There were no other possibilities.

  Pitiful.
           Pathetic.
                        Weak.

This chanted over and over in his mind as it did in the person's, like a drum or the chorus to a song. The words vicious… vile. All of them filled with self loathing and hatred. And yet underneath he felt anguish so faint he almost missed it. A longing… a want. No, it was a need. And yet the chorus continued, pounding this other faint feeling down, kept it down. Not allowing any of it to surface. There was also consuming rage threatening to break, shimmering just on the brink and held back by a thin fragile thread.

   Useless.
              Disgraceful.
                              Weak.

He knew this person, this rage… knew it all too well. If the familiar chorus wasn't enough this rage confirmed it. There was no way to not to know, having spent so many visions inside the boy's head. Fury and pain were all he got from him most of the time. And yet this was different. Never before had he actually felt something other than those two things. No matter how faint it was… it still was there. And it was not something to overlook. Also there was the feeling of not wanting to look down at whatever Vegeta held. The overwhelming need not to look down, which was why the chorus sounded in both their minds.

  Pitiful.
           Pathetic.
                        Weak.

Bardock turned his attention to the other person. The fear and unease washed over him and yet was held back with steady determination. He also got the impression this person was a her… Bulma maybe? No… he doubted she felt such things around Vegeta on account of how she interacted with him, which meant it had to be another. But who? Bulma's mother wasn't afraid of the boy either. Why? Bardock wasn't exactly too sure on that one, but knew it with utmost certainty. There was also how she made both Vegeta and himself feel when looking at them… very uncomfortable.

His search for the identity of the woman was solved when she suddenly spoke, "Crap… um we can't let them see her like this, so I'll go downstairs and distract them and break the news to them while you take care of her. Unless, of course, you want to deal with the emotional stuff?"

Why would Chi Chi be in a vision? True, he would see her tomorrow most likely, but would they stay here? He wasn't sure and really didn't care. What did matter was what she had said. Who was she talking about? He had a sinking suspicion he knew -making him feel- pain, sadness, guilt? Was he really attached to the intelligent and cheerful girl that he would actually feel this? He pushed the thought from his mind. The fact was he didn't know if she really was dead. She could be unconscious. But that would still mean she got hurt and badly if he couldn't get anything from her.

The backlash of Vegeta's conflict pulled him away from that topic. The ire at being commanded to do something let alone this… there was no way he was going to take care of the woman. It was below him. Besides, she got herself into trouble and only had herself to blame. At least those were the thoughts he kept telling himself, ignoring completely the hint of guilt he was feeling underneath. But Bardock didn't miss it. No matter what the boy told himself, he did feel bad about what had happened to this person who he could only place as Bulma, whatever that may be. And knew it was in some aspects his fault… But the chorus, the rage, wrapped him in a cold, ruthless blanket, blinding him to anything else he may or may not feel.

   Feeble.
             Pathetic.
                         Weak.

Unceremoniously he walked over to… something… Bardock wasn't sure, and dropped Bulma on it with little care to her person. Also he had been very careful not to look at the girl as he forced his deadly gaze on Chi Chi. She had been about to yell at him, but the words froze in her throat seeing that look… remembering his threat from earlier… and she was alone with him. No one to protect her.

"You are insane, harpy, if you think I'll do anything so degrading." His lip curled up with a growl. "And if you dare open that trap of yours to yell at me, I'll gladly rip out your throat for you."

Much to her relief, he turned from the room swiftly and walked out… more like fleeing but she didn't know that. She felt like she wanted to faint, but managed to hold onto some of the strength she found earlier. Her body trembled as she relaxed. How in the world could anyone think fondly of that man? She looked to Bulma, sadly shaking her head. No matter what the blue-haired woman and Goku had told her, all she saw was a wolf amongst the sheep, bidding its time until he could slaughter them all.

"I'm sorry…" She walked over tears filling her eyes. "But I think your kindness is misplaced, Bulma."

Bardock jerked awake. His breathing labored and mind troubled as he frantically tried to make sense of what he had seen. The thoughts, the emotions swirling in his mind. The only thought that was his was, What have I done? By warning the boy against growing an attachment to the girl would all this happen? Would the foreboding he felt come to pass? He lay back, his head turning to the window… seeing the faint stars in the near dawn sky. He really hoped he didn't cause this, but a sinking feeling in his gut told him he had. Closing his eyes he sighed, not ready to greet the day that he was certain would turn out to be horrible.

.~-~.

Bulma woke up as the sun peaked through the slit in her curtains and groaning, she pulled the covers back over her head. Like Bardock, she had a bad night. But unlike his visions, hers were just dreams. Horrible, twisted and dark dreams. But just dreams. Her mind had latched onto the whole slave thing and all night she had envisioned such an outcome. It wasn't good. While she had never actually seen what it was like to be enslaved, her mind certainly was creative enough to make her feel sick, horrified and deeply troubled. Maybe helping the Saiyans wasn't such a good idea… She sighed, throwing back the covers. No, this was her mind taking things to the extreme. Nothing like that would happen.

Yet as she got out of bed and went to her personal bathroom to get ready for the day, she couldn't shake the feeling she was risking too much to satisfy her conscience. Well there had to be a way to help the Saiyans and protect her people right? Brushing her teeth she thought over it, liking the idea more and more. Maybe she'd talk to her dad later, form some kind of project… But should they tell their houseguests? She felt awful for it, but she knew they couldn't. It would undermine whatever they planned. No, like the dragon balls… it was best they didn't know.

Wiping her mouth, she walked over to the tub and started her bath, having decided she'd rather have a nice soaking bath than go to the other bathroom for a quick shower. While it was irritating at times when she was in a hurry to get ready, she still wouldn't trade her large bathtub out for a smaller one to fit in the room that had a shower component. It was the biggest one in the house and looked more like a hot tub with its size than a tub. And as she took her clothes off and sank into the warm, inviting water she was sooooo happy that she had her father install it all those years ago after coming back from her first set of adventures with Goku. Going days without baths and getting hot and dirty in a desert had really sucked, and she was never going to let that happen again. Ever.

Sighing with bliss, she sank further until she was all the way under and blew bubbles under the surface. Breaching the surface again, she filled her hungry lungs and smiled. With the thought of those days, it all was coming back to her. While the lack of hygiene had been horrible, overall she held all of it obviously in high regard. Even that time she unknowingly flashed Master Roshi and that turtle when she had no underwear on. Sure at the time, she had been mortified... when she realized it. And furious at Goku… Oh so furious. Now she looked back and laughed. Poor kid didn't know any sort of boundaries and taking off underwear after realizing she didn't have boy parts certainly had crossed a huge line. Neither of them had told anyone that he had done it… she knew for a fact that he was embarrassed about it now, having learned the boundaries. But it was still fun to tease him every so often… even if he pretended not to know and the others didn't get it.

For fifteen minutes she rested against the sloped side of the tub, shifting through all the memories, recalling everything perfectly due to her photographic memory. It was all good, until her mind went to Yamcha. Once he had been so bashful, timid around women. He had come a long way from that, very, very far. Groaning with frustration she found the peaceful bliss gone with that thought and finished washing herself before completing her morning rituals.

Dressing in another one of her black short shorts and a red tank top, she quickly put makeup on. With so many people around she just had to look her best. Though, why she was putting so much effort into looking good really didn't make sense, seeing as how she normally only did it to attract guys. Goku was taken and the thought of that was just… eww. Yes, he was handsome, she could admit that and be jealous of Chi Chi for having such a great guy, but he was like a brother to her. If things had been different maybe, but as it stood she really didn't want things to be different. Then there was Krillin… not even if she was really desperate… Bardock, ew again… that was just like Goku but… worse. He was probably as old, if not older, than her father.Ahhh that's so creepy… She quelled a tremble of repulsion.

Of course all that remained was Vegeta. Er, no way. While she cared… as a friend. She wasn't insane or suicidal. Besides, she doubted he even knew what love was, let alone how to take care of a girl. She wrinkled her nose, hoping she wasn't doing this on the off chance Yamcha might come back, pleading as usual. No… she shook her head, it definitely wasn't that. Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror; it really was foolish, given she was probably going to get all sweaty working on that pod again… But whatever.

Exiting her room Bulma walked down the hall, hearing her mother humming softly as she cooked breakfast. She smiled at the off tune sound. As she hit the landing, she greeted her cheerfully, "Hey Mom."

"Oh…" Mrs. Briefs turned to her. "Bulma dear, good morning! Bardock and your father are working on something in his lab, would you get them for me? Breakfast is almost ready."
The heiress nodded as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and the orange juice from the fridge. "Did they say what they are working on?"

The older woman paused in what she was doing as she thought about it. "Mmm… something about communication, dear."

"Oh, okay." So maybe she wasn't going to be working on the pod today. Fine by her.
Downing the orange juice, she set the empty glass on the table to use for later and walked down the other set of stairs. Her thoughts on what they had discussed the other day and how all the tech from space used cumbersome wires. It still amazed her how primitive and yet at the same time how advanced they were. Here they were traveling in space and communicating, though in the wrong way… they still were. And Earth was still land bound with all these gadgets and things... She wondered what type of weapons they had. If they had movies… Oh! That would be so horrible if they don't. What did they do for entertainment? Wait… actually she might not want to know that if the universe was as horrible as Vegeta said it was.

Then there was that Freeza guy. She frowned remembering the other day, what Vegeta had said with Bardock… and then going even further to when she had to give him that medication. He hadn't really been in his normal state of mind due to the drugs because if he had he definitely wouldn't have said it. It was so… revealing… so open. She doubted she would get him to open up like that again. 'Because his enemies won't torture you till you lose your sanity… Ask yourself what a monster fears, you'll find him staring back at you from the darkest shadows.' She stopped, a shiver going down her spine. What had this Freeza done to him?'I'm his favorite toy. Maybe he'll come himself to… finish what he started.' Did he even remember telling her all this? She had been careful not to reveal that she already knew about his planet being destroyed the other day.

Sighing, she rubbed her forehead, hand shaking slightly. What indeed scared Vegeta had to be exceedingly terrible and frightening. Could even her over-creative mind come up with something so horrific? Pushing the thought away abruptly, she realized she didn't even want to try. A small gust of air crossed over her. Rubbing her arms from the sudden chill she got, she looked up and down the hallway, yet found no one opening any doors. Odd…


Shaking her head she started walking towards her father's lab door once more when she recalled her ideas for a newer, better scouter. All the thoughts before were swiftly forgotten as she passed the door to the lab and went to hers to get her sketch pad, making a slight detour… she couldn't wait to get started and show the two saiyans her ideas.

.~-~.

After breakfast, Bulma split her time between drawing out the plans for her scouter and helping Bardock and her father with the communicator. Three intelligent scientists working on it was really overkill and she was happy to let her father take control, taking into account that he had been the one to figure out the equation in the first place. She only helped when they couldn't figure something out. Her fresh eyes and out-the-box thinking helped speed the process up… while also impressing Bardock all the more. Yesterday, he had been withdrawn somewhat as he observed them. Today, however, he was certainly more open… not as guarded. She wondered if something else had caused it… he almost seemed guilty about something. The way his tail twitched and the look in his eyes when he stared at her without knowing she saw him out of the corner of her own eyes, was somewhat unnerving. But she wasn't about to hurt the trust he was showing in the two of them by asking that… obviously if Bardock wanted to he would have told them, which made her wonder all the more what he couldn't say.

Bringing her pencil to her mouth, she chewed on the end, only partly listening to the discussion the other two occupants in the room were having. She really liked him… with his wall down he was much like Goku, yet definitely still reserved. Actually, it was kind of like how she had envisioned Goku being if he lost his naïve act.Mmmmm… then again Goku could just be bi-polar… The sudden shift he made between his two versions could be attributed to it… but she had a feeling it wasn't that. Besides, while he had forgotten all about his Saiyan heritage, the fact still remained that he had the ability to heal really fast and it took more to hurt him. Any damage that did come from the fall would have just healed…

Sighing, she went back to her drawing; shadowing wasn't really needed but it made it more real looking and it wasn't like the other two needed her at that moment. She smiled to herself. Really she was brilliant. Not only would it have more options but it looked downright killer. Smaller… way smaller than Bardock's it didn't cover the whole ear, instead hooked around the back like one of those strange headphone thingies with a half inch width before thinning down as it went to the temple. There was a flat triangular piece at the end, the tip connecting with the device and from the tiny triangle the diminutive see-through screen would be attached as it covered the eye. She thought the colored screen was somewhat distracting… but if they wanted to she planned to have an option to change it to any color they wanted…

Her smile broadened at her genius and she brought her hand away from it to look at it. It was sleek and small and tenfold better than the older version. And it would be made with her special flexfiber so that if it got hit nothing would break… it would make building it a bitch, but in respect, though, it was for fighters and they tended to get into… fights… it only made since to have a material that wouldn't break. Even the screen was flexible. Wouldn't her Saiyans be amazed when she finally got it made…

Grinning mischievously, she hid her creation as she turned the page. She had thought to show Bardock, but maybe she would surprise him with it… which meant she needed to get started on something else if they asked what she had been doing. But what else could she make? With no idea really formed in her head, she stared to sketch a disk-like device… She was halfway through with no description of what might be inside when she grew bored of it. Really when would she need something this shape with a round thing in the middle? Turning another page, she tapped her pencil against the page.

Sighing, she started to randomly draw again, this time not sticking to merely devices or technology… When she was little she had liked to draw a lot and during her time in high school it was what she did so she wouldn't die from boredom. She had already been smarter than the teachers, so listening to them was simply a waste of time; besides, she had only been there because her parents felt she needed the experience… Yeah… those were the worst days of her life…

Pulling her hand away, she really looked at what she had started only to blink in surprise… then smile. It was something from yesterday. Really it had been cute, seeing Vegeta sleeping against the pod with Plato in his lap… that was until she woke him up of course. Deciding she liked it she continued… biting her lip as she concentrated on it. She actually tuned everything out as her sole attention fell on the pad before her. Carefully copying the image imprinted in her mind. As the minutes passed it came to life practically… like she was actually back at the one moment, frozen in time.

Blowing the hair from her face, she pulled her hand away again and was in awe, not because she could draw well -she already knew that- but at the peaceful moment. The look on her rough Saiyan's face was completely relaxed as his head rested forward, chin almost touching his chest. She had yet to see him so peaceful since. While he had lost some of the harshness from the first day, he still frowned a lot and was irritated half of the time... She hadn't realized at the time how calm he had been then or how much anger he actually showed on his face. Without it he was actually… if at all possible… more handsome. Hell, what was it with Saiyan guys and good looks?

She blushed slightly, glancing at Bardock and her father. Would they get the wrong impression if they saw this? It wasn't like she was obsessed or anything, but it did seem… personal. And she had just spent nearly an hour working on it. She looked back at it, still liking it a lot. Maybe she would pick up drawing again… Then an idea hit her. She smiled. If Bardock wanted to know more about Goku when he was younger, he probably would like seeing it too.

She turned the page, excited all over again. Okay so sue her… it really didn't help the Saiyans or humans or advance technology. But she knew Bardock would love it and it was for that reason alone she decided to make a montage of sorts for him. Now she was happy she had grabbed one of her bigger pads, knowing she would need all the space she could get. In her mind she was already picking which memories to use. The first of course being when they first met. She wasn't going to use the whole picture of her memory, she didn't even do that for Vegeta's… and for this she needed the space. Snickering to herself she started to draw the huge fish she thought she was about to hit that fateful day… Goku's feet below it… his black hair barely jetting over the top.

She let it flow into the next little cutout of Goku, the serious look on his face and power pole in hand as he called her a monster or told her how she wasn't going to get his food. The next one was somewhat bigger and all things considered it looked cool looking back at it. It was when she was in the clutches of the flying dinosaur, looking down at him while launching himself into the air with her motorcycle; he was frozen in the air, just seconds from jumping from it to cover the short gap to her. The look in his eyes was steadfast determination; foot on the top, hands clenched in fists… his tail behind mid-lash him. Sure at the time she had been scared shitless, but really, this had looked amazing.

The two men in the room glanced at each other again as they heard Bulma's soft giggling that had continued off and on for the past three and a half hours. It was strange… at least for Bardock, but the doctor seemed amused, having heard it before. Dr. Briefs was glad she was happy… whatever it was she was doing… And knew with utmost certainty that it wasn't any project. She didn't do that when she worked on inventing something. Not that she wasn't excited, but it was different and it had been a while since he had heard it.

When Bardock heard the sound again he stopped completely, his own curiosity getting the best of him. Dr. Briefs gave him a nod before turning back to the calculations, his understanding showing in his eyes. The older Saiyan walked over to her, eyes going to the pad once he could see it. His eyes widened taking it in… the whole thing was almost filled with extremely detailed images of his son over the years. Fighting, laughing… of course void of any dragon ball related images which was simple enough since she was only focusing on Goku. It was almost like he was there. Sensing his presence as he stood there gaping over her shoulder she stopped, glancing up. Her smile only grew.

"It's not done… I still have a few more I want to put on here for you." She looked back at the montage. "But I was thinking that if you wanted to know about your son's life here I should just show you."

He was speechless, a strange feeling settling over him. She had clearly worked hard on it, given the detail and the position of each little shot of his son's life through her eyes. He hadn't even asked and she did it simply thinking he would like it. No one had shown such… kindness or consideration to him. It was foreign to his people. Mercy was one thing… but actually going out of one's way to make someone happy, especially when they had just met them the day before, was… unheard of… only bonded mates did that, and that took decades of trust building.

As she continued working on it, he glanced at her, still rattled a bit. She was biting her lip, her sole concentration into her work. No wonder she hadn't made comments the past few hours, she hadn't been listening. He didn't really know what to say to her. This was so unfamiliar to him… it had been taxing to act like he was comfortable around them… letting what he thought carry to his face and body language was so against what he had been taught.
"I…" he swallowed when she looked up at him with her blue eyes shining.

"It's okay, Bardock… you don't have to say anything, your face right now is enough for me." She beamed up at him. Really, the completely astonished and bewildered look was priceless. While he had been more open, he was still holding back somewhat… but this… this was genuine. Something he didn't control. "Go back and help my father. I should have this finished soon. Besides, Goku should be here with Chi Chi and Gohan in an hour or so…" She winked at him, patting his arm softly before going back to her work.

Still dumbfounded he nodded, slowly moving away from her. Why… He didn't know why she would do this for him… because she had been right, it did mean a lot to him. And though he wasn't like Vegeta, Bardock still hadn't done much to warrant anything like this. Seeing his look the doctor chuckled, shaking his head… poor guy didn't know that soon she would have him wrapped around her finger like she had her own father. Couldn't blame him though, from what the doctor had observed between the two Saiyans and what little Bardock had told him last night, it seemed naturally they weren't very open and didn't give selflessly to others. But even for human standards his daughter tended to go out of her way to make people around her happy.

Dr. Briefs cleared his throat, "I take it she's drawing some sort of image of Goku?"

He nodded, finally able to rein in some of his amazement as he glanced back at her. "Yes, she made a timeline with images."

Dr. Briefs smiled a little, looking back at the work before him. "It's been awhile since I've heard her sound that happy… I knew something was up."

Bardock blinked, looking at him. Wondering what that meant. Did she not help everyone? Again he felt strange… recalling the light in her eyes and the smile. She had been happy, clearly… but that was something else too… Normally when a Saiyan mate went out of their way to do something for the other they never acted like that. Even he hadn't. Only Tash showed an emotion akin to that, but even that was subdued. Glancing over at her again, he decided he liked seeing her like that. The cheerful, carefree girl had endowed him with a sort of ease from the beginning, but she radiated with joy now and that seemed to be contagious. He found himself actually smiling… it felt odd on his lips, yet at the same time so… natural.

.~-~.

"Hey guys!"

True to Bulma's word Goku burst through the lab door an hour later. Having finished only seconds before, her head jerked up with surprise. Glad her pencil had been off the paper… She smiled at him even though if he had made her mess up all her hard work she would have been rather mad. But he didn't so no foul done. She got up, setting the pad on the desk and rushed over to give him a hug.

"Goku…" He picked her up from the ground, squeezing the breath from her before setting her down on the ground again. She slugged him. "You big lug… you know better than to enter this room like that…"

He smiled sheepishly, eyes glinting with amusement. "Sorry… I didn't think about it." Right… she knew better.

Her gaze went behind him to Chi Chi who was frowning slightly, clearly not liking how they had just greeted each other. Well, she couldn't blame her really. If her man… if she even had one… had been hugging another woman like they did a moment ago, she wouldn't be too thrilled either. But she needed to look at it like she was a sister… not competition…

Deciding to ease the tension she swiftly rushed up to her and hugged her, startling her. "Chi Chi, it's so good to see you!" It was really, even though she was the reason why she didn't get to see her best friend for the past five years.

Bardock chuckled at the look on the other woman's face, utterly shocked as she looked at Goku, then to Bulma, hugging her back uneasily. Clearly they weren't friends, but that didn't stop Bulma. He shook his head, putting down the calculations he had been working on to watch instead. Next to him the doctor did the same.

Bulma pulled back and looked to the side, finding little Gohan. "Hey you kiddo…" She knelt before him and ruffled his wild black hair. "How are you?"

"Hi Bulma…" he said quickly, smiling.

"Ohh, you're sooo cute," she said, refraining from pinching his cheeks… remembering, one, that she never liked it when she was little and two… he was a little too old for that. "Chi Chi, you better keep an eye on this kid…" Standing up she looked at her winking, "He's so going to be a heartbreaker."

The younger woman's brow rose before she looked at her son. "Well I don't know about that… he'd better be more interested in school than girls."

Bulma wrinkled her nose. "I understand studying and school. But he's got to live his life…"
Not happy to hear that she glared a little. "He must get into a good college. He can live his life after…"

Bulma glanced at Goku who chuckled nervously, "Oh c'mon, Chich."

"Don't c'mon me, Goku." Her words were a little hard, "I want our son to have more options than us!"

Sensing a rather touchy subject the heiress put up her hands. "Okay… forget I said anything. Sorry…"

"Hn." Chi Chi turned away and walked back down the hall. Poor little Gohan looked torn… wanting to stay, but knowing his mother wouldn't be pleased…

Goku gave his friend an apologizing look before turning to his son. "How about you say hi to Bardock before going with your mom?"

The boy smiled. "Okay…" He rushed over quickly and latched onto the older Saiyan who… needless to say... was surprised, considering the child had been somewhat shy the other day. Realizing he had messed up his manners he let go, swiftly bowing. "Hello, Grandpa Bardock."
Bardock glanced at the boy, clearly unsure again what to say when Goku laughed walking over to them. "When I told him last night he was going to come here he asked if you would be here too."

"Is that right?" he managed to say as he knelt down, instead putting his hand on his shoulder. "You sure did get over your shyness fast."

He beamed. "I thought it was strange that you look like daddy… which made me think, if you look like him you must be good like him."

Bardock blinked at that, never being called… good before. "That is an interesting outlook you have." He smiled for the second time that day. "I'm glad you think so…"

Bulma at that moment realized she had another image to add to the montage… she had a piece in the corner she hadn't been sure what to put there, but this… this was it. It was so heartwarming seeing the three together. Bardock kneeling before his grandson, smiling and Goku standing next to them, arms crossed and grinning like a fool himself. It would fit perfectly, too, next to the image of Goku and Chi Chi on their wedding day. Her fingers itched to do it now, but she wanted to savor the actual moment.

.~-~.

The sounds of chatter and laughter on the lawn below his window woke him from his already restless sleep. All night he had thought about Bardock's words, working himself into a good frenzy. He still didn't see what he saw, but in the process of examining his memories minute by minute, the resentment and anger built, he realized how he had caged himself… how they had caged him. It was a disgrace. This tame man wasn't him. He was ruthless and loved it. He had killed and loved it. Hell, he had even tortured and loved it. It was pathetic to allow himself to fall to the lure of this place… to fall for the woman's stupid views.

Head pounding from the headache behind his eyes, he kept them closed. The sounds outside made him sick. And he wished all the more he had his powers so he could blow something up or better yet… them. He didn't realize the pressure was building… the inability to do a damn thing about the cage or the way they expected him to act. As he saw it he had repaid them by not killing them… but this… this was too much. He wasn't going to change just because some pretty girl showed him kindness and batted her eyes.

Gritting his teeth he turned from the window, opening his eyes to glare angrily at the door, tail lashing. He hated feeling caged. Powerless as he was. It was like he was back on Freeza's ship, forced into obedience out of necessity. Unable to lash out at his master… Only this time his captors treated him with honey-filled words. They still didn't respect him… and in the end they would probably turn on him too. Everyone turned on him. No one was this nice, this forgiving, and he wasn't about to be lured into their trap only to be burned later. No, he was going to end it now. Remind them exactly who he was… A ruthless assassin feared across the universe for the untold horrors he had committed.

Throwing the blanket off himself he opened the drawers on the dresser, finding a change of clothes. He felt disgusted… needing to remove the weakness from him lest it become a disease and eat him alive or worse… continue on and infect him. He couldn't have that. Such weakness would only get him killed; he had learned that the hard way long ago. Never again. Besides, soon this place would be another memory he discarded, forgetting it forever with the other useless ones. Clothes in hand, he walked silently down the hall to the bathroom.

A few minutes later the scorching water from the shower burned his skin, but he accepted the pain… It was punishment for letting himself slip and be so pitiful. Memories of other times burning liquid had been used against him flashed in his mind. He growled but acknowledged them too… Then dragged up all he had done… All the dark, gritty stuff that would make the woman's skin crawl. Savoring the screams of his victims in his head. He let all of it surround him, cover him… the darkness welcoming him with open arms. As he stepped from the shower he knew with confidence that the weakness was gone. And oh, did it feel so good to be himself again…

Once dressed, he left the bathroom, leaving the old clothes and wet towel on the floor, uncaring who would pick it up. As he walked down the stairs his body strained with pain, yet he ignored it, keeping his shoulders back, arms at his chest. This… this was nothing. He scoffed now at it. Pain? This wasn't pain… this was merely a pinch to what he had felt in the past. The smell of food lingered up the stairs, then blasted him as he reached the main floor. Ignoring it he went to the back door and opened it.

Slipping out silently, unnoticed, he studied the scene before him. "And then… and then he fell over." His gaze fell on the woman as the table roared with laughter… clearly telling a story about one of the weaklings to Bardock, who to his disgust was actually laughing, even if it was only a little.

Goku actually looked embarrassed. "What, I was dying of hunger."

Bulma snorted, "Lies… you just ate that morning…"

He pouted. "But that had been a long time ago…"

A raven-haired woman sitting next to him rolled her eyes. "Figures… you would say that even if it was only an hour ago."

"I'm not that bad, Chich…"

"Yes you are," she stated matter of fact like, crossing her arms. "And Kami forbid I'm an hour late on any meal…" She looked at Bulma. "He actually tells me he's dying."

The heiress smiled. "Oh we've heard that one haven't we, Mom?"

Vegeta moved to the side of the door, leaning against the wall as the airheaded woman nodded. "I feel so bad too…"

"Don't be." Kakarot's mate said swiftly.

As they continued to converse, he tuned their mindless drivel out, eyes still surveying everyone. Other than the woman next to Kakarot there was an old man with a long beard… a pig, and then the bald guy, with the Briefs and Bardock. He wondered who the old man and pig were, but then decided it was pointless; clearly they were more pathetic friends of the woman. His gaze went to Bardock once more, getting more agitated. Here the man had warned him the other day to be careful and he was sitting, laughing, and even smiling with them. Why?

He snorted to himself. Why should he care? What the old man did didn't really concern him as long as he kept the Saiyans top priority. If he let his 'lost' family change that, then he would see to it that he was removed from his position. Speaking of family… where was this supposed half breed? Eyes scanning, he noted he wasn't sitting with everyone… Moving to the other side of the door to get a look behind Kakarot, he was actually surprised to find the small kid playing with Bardock's tail… who was brushing him in the face and making him laugh. Gritting his teeth, he fought to not lose it right then. What the hell was the old fool thinking leaving his tail down… let alone using it to play with the half breed?

Speaking of which… his cold, angry gaze went to the brat. He looked like a mix of Kakarot and his mate… he could see it clearly. His frown hardened seeing his own brown tail flicking with joy behind him. So it was true… humans and Saiyans were compatible. And by the looks of it, the boy was really healthy. Figured… pure blooded saiyans were dying and the half breed was healthy. It wasn't right. If anything he should be weaker, but right then the kid didn't look even human other than having a few of his mother's looks. He growled, cursing the fates… His people were slowly dying and this brat was living, mocking them.

The boy suddenly looked at him, the only one having heard the growl, which only made Vegeta more furious… he had Saiyan hearing as well. His glare remained as the boy smiled at him in greeting. His fists tightened as he turned his head away, ignoring it. And he was polluted with his father's weakness... what a waste. Staring at the ground he heard the boy move from where he sat on the grass, coming towards him. Why did the brat have to come to him? He didn't want anyone knowing he was there… not yet at least. If he had his ki he would have probably blasted him… but then he didn't and was forced into his cage.

"You have a tail like me and grandpa…" Gohan's small voice stopped the chatter from the table, all eyes looking to him in confusion.

Bardock was the first to see Vegeta, saw the look on his face as he willed the ground to die. He knew that look… the coldness in his eyes… He stood, suddenly fearful for his blood. While the boy would never hurt him, everyone here was fair game now as far as his prince was concerned. And while he knew it was bad to think it, he was glad he couldn't use his ki… that he was so weak. Kneeling next to him he rested his hand on Gohan's back.

"Yes, that is Vegeta… and since you are half Saiyan he technically is partly your prince," he said smoothly, trying to ease the sudden tension he felt behind him from the table.
His eyes widened with wonder. "A prince?"

Vegeta snorted with disgust, finally glancing at the boy before his cold eyes met Bardock's. He knew what he was doing… and it was a very dangerous game indeed. The way his tail twitched, his own eyes glaring back in warning as the others went unknowing… Well, all but Bulma. She watched, holding her breath having realized instantly something was wrong. She needed to do something… distract them… because she simply knew this wasn't like before.
Eyeing the others to make sure they weren't looking, which of course they weren't, she purposely spilt her drink, shrieking, "Fuck…" All eyes came back to her, which had been her plan as she stood trying to brush the drink from her shirt though it really didn't matter… it was already soaked in.

"Bulma, I would like you to watch your language around my son!" Chi Chi snapped angrily.
Putting her hand to her mouth, eyes widening, she looked at her as if she didn't know she had said that, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry…"

"Try not to slip again." She glared.

Her eyes darted to Bardock who had stood with her shriek. "I won't…" Of course she would if it took their eyes off of Vegeta.

The older Saiyan gave a small nod of thanks before looking to Gohan. "Come… let's leave his majesty alone." Smiling the little boy nodded, following his grandfather, seemingly to forget about Vegeta.

Bulma, however, hadn't. As she patted herself off with a towel her mother had handed her, she was afraid to look up, knowing his eyes would be there. She felt them on her skin, crawling… What the hell happened? She hadn't felt this way since he first woke up. But she had to do something… she still cared and needed to figure out what was wrong so she could fix it. Bracing herself she glanced up, meeting his dark eyes; a shiver went down her spine. Okay so… this might be harder than she thought. Not only did he look mean, but even more menacing leaning against the side of the house with his face in an everlasting scowl. She thought he was going to swallow her whole… as his gaze bore into her. Bardock was not the only one who knew what she had done.

Stilling her nerve she set the towel on the table and forced herself to smile even as she shook inside. "Well, the sleepy head finally awakens… we have been waiting for you. Do you want something to eat?" She moved around the table, feeling herself babbling, "You actually have good timing - lunch is almost ready. If you want I can get you a chair…"

He growled, "No." She pretended like the hollow, empty sound of his voice didn't startle her as she put her hands on her hips. Not only was he watching her intently, but the others had stopped talking, watching their interaction.

"Wow… someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She shrugged. "Fine, stand. But it's going to be hard eating when you're standing."

"I will not eat with the likes of you or the pathetic imbeciles you call friends." With that he pushed himself off from the wall and walked to the back door. Ignoring their shocked looks as he went inside.

Bulma laughed nervously, pushing away the hurt. "Well… clearly he's grumpy. Let's not let his bad mood ruin this gathering…"

Mrs. Briefs nodded. "Of course! He must merely be hungry like Goku… poor boy."
Bardock snorted, "Poor boy indeed…"

Bulma looked at her dad who seemed calm as ever, giving her a nod. "Okay Mom, stay here. I'll go get the food, you already worked so hard over it." No way was she about to leave a volatile Saiyan alone with her mother… or in the same room.

Unlike before during Vegeta's harsh words, her eyes opened in surprise. "Oh… are you sure dear? There's just so much…"

Goku stood, sheepishly chuckling, "I'll help…" The others looked at him surprised because he never offered before. He laughed, "I mean since I always complain… and I eat so much…"
She smiled at him, seeing through his ploy. He was troubled by Vegeta's sudden outburst. "Okay Goku, but if you try and eat anything I'll borrow that frying pan of your wife's…"
Chi Chi, getting over her shock that her husband actually offered to help, snickered, "That would be interesting…"

Goku paled. "I promise…"

Bardock sighed, standing as well. "I'll help just to keep him in line. How does that sound?"

She knew he wasn't referring to Goku. "Okay cool… makes sense when you guys are going to eat most of it anyway."

Turning, she walked for the door, preparing herself for what lay beyond… never before had the bright yellow door seemed so intimidating. She felt Goku's sudden presence next to her and glanced sideways at him. He was smiling, trying to make her relax, but she saw the shadow in his gaze. He really hadn't changed… giving him a weak smile she turned the handle and opened it and stepped into kitchen.

Everyone watched them enter the house, mostly amazed that Goku had even offered to help… and still shocked at what Vegeta had said. Well… everyone but Bulma's parents. Bunny really didn't think anything was wrong… the young, handsome man was clearly just feeling confined. The doctor leaned back, shaking his head. Things were going to get worse before they got better. He was somewhat surprised, but he knew something like this could happen. He had asked Bardock the other night how the lad acted before being tortured… learning he had been in this Freeza guy's clutches for five whole years… then many more before that. Being thrown into such a dark world at only five would have some serious consequences. And given the nature of it, he was surprised the older Saiyan had revealed so much.

Yes… things were going to get much worse and Bulma would most likely be the lad's main focus. Frankly he wasn't worried. She could handle herself… if anything the lad needed to be careful if he frightened her too much; she tended to lash out instead of flee and in consideration of his current state, she could actually do some damage. It was good though that Bardock and Goku were with her… As he rubbed his mustache, he found himself actually wishing he could watch, curious to see what they did. But he knew he would only get in the way. Besides, who was going to keep this gang calm when all hell broke loose? He eyed his wife who smiled knowingly at him…

~~~~ .~-~. ~~~~

Beta'd by LPphreek