Power of Love
by Hidden Angel

Chapter Fifeteen - Death of an Enemy


Lumo twitched on the spot, mind racing for an excuse. Homto stared up at Vegeta in wonder. Silence. All that could be heard was the sound of wind brushing against the trees and the occasional chirp of a bird.

Vegeta glared at the group. According to Lumo, wasn't Toruo suppose to be dead? If so, who was this look-alike? Perhaps Lumo's information had been jumbled. Dispite the quesitons racing through his brain, he kept the same stoic, glare on his face. He had to act tough, had to be strong. He would not let himself become weak and curious. He would get his answer without being reduced to asking. He was, by blood, the Saiyan Prince.

"What do you mean an explanation Vegeta?"

Vegeta didn't bother to look at Kakkarot. "I was informed that Toruo was dead. If that is the case, who is the imposter standing there?" The menace in his voice was obvious.

Toruo looked up at Vegeta. Him? Dead? Slowly, Lumo's plan began to unravel itself in Toruo's mind. Those little sneaks! They were going to pay for such ideas.

What happened next left no room for denial from Lumo or Homto. Homto launched an enourmous ki blast straight for Vegeta who stood unfazed. The former Saiyan Prince sneered at Homto and merely absorbed the blast into his palms, adding it's energy to his own, growing ki ball.

"Fool! You forget that I am much stronger than you."

Kakkarot could only stare in open-mouthed shock. What was going on? As smart as he was, his mind could not keep up. Homto? Lumo? He had always known that they weren't the most trustworthy people but...traitors? He couldn't even remember the last Saiyans to betray their King or Prince. He was rudely snapped back to attention again as Vegeta unleashed his own ki blast straight at Homto.

Dust clouds blew up from the force of the ki blast and Toruo was forced backwards from where he stood. A yell of terror struck fear in the young Saiyan's heart. He quickly turned around and saw Fate being blown away by the tremendous force.

Without thinking or questioning himself, he took to the air after Fate who looked like she was about to fall. His heart raced as he thought that he wouldn't make it, wouldn't catch her in time. Using every once of what little energy he had left, he surged forward once more and caught her tightly in his arms just as she was about to hit the ground. To his great and utter surprise, his breathing had increased and he was virtually panting as he held her tightly against himself.

He couldn't explain it. Couldn't explain why he had felt so scared thinking that she might be hurt. He had never been so scared in his life. Not even when he had first stood in front of the King as a member of the elites. Not even when he was being held captive by Lumo and Homto. Never. His breaths came in short gasps as his body tried to return to an equlibrium state.

He looked down at Fate's face as he slowly helped her sit up. She smiled weakly at him, fear evident in her eyes. "Are you okay?" His voice was so sobbed for breath that he didn't think she could hear him.

She nodded silently, obviously still shaken. He pulled her closer to him, something else he wasn't sure why he did. He felt her shudder and shake in his arms as she regained her composure.

Kakkarot watched the two young lovers and envied them. He wanted to hold Chi Chi in his arms as well. He wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her, to caress her, to whisper sweet words in her ear. Just thinking about her brought an immense pain to his heart. So immense that he had never thought it possible. He shut his eyes and faught the wave of emotions that threatened to overtake him.

Meanwhile, Vegeta crossed his arms and waited for the dust so settle. He knew Homto had probably dodged the blast, but he wasn't about to fly himself into danger. His trained eyes searched the surrounding area and tried to penetrate the dust clouds as he kept a weary eye out for Homto. The traitor would pay. There was no longer any doubt that Homto and Lumo had some plan or other. Why else would Homto attack him? They were trying to cover up of course.

He relaxed his muscles a bit, not wanting to be tense or uptight for the fight that he knew was about to come. A few seconds later, Homto stumbled out of the crater that had been created by the ki blast. Sputtering and choking, he never saw Vegeta's fists until it knocked him back into the crater again.

Vegeta stood, arms crossed, glaring at Homto from the edge of the crater. "Traitor. Tell me what you planned."

Homto, still seeing stars, couldn't respond. He blinked furiously a few times hoping the stars would go away. Slowly and cautiously he managed to get onto his hands and knees. Feeling something foreign on his face, he brought his hand up to wipe it off and was startled to find that he was bleeding already. He had no idea Vegeta had hit him that hard.

He licked his lips and tried to swallow but found that there was an odd taste in his mouth. Quickly spitting it out, he stared in awe at his own blood. Anger flowed through the elite Saiyan's veins as he stood up and glared at Vegeta.

"You little brat! We were going to let you live and just hand you over to King Vegeta, but now you will die!" Without realizing his own confession, Homto flew straight for Vegeta.

Vegeta calmly blocked punch after punch as Homto tried vainly to land an attack. Tiring of the little game, Vegeta grabbed tightly onto Homto's fists and slowly twisted it wanting to hear the larger Saiyan scream in pain. No one but his father could get away with calling him a brat. Prince or no Prince, he still had his pride.

"No one insults me you stupid moron." Quickly, Vegeta released one of Homto's fists and plunged his own straight through the older Saiyan's armor and body. Vegeta's eyes held their same icy glare as blood gushed all over his fists and Homto gasped in shock. Slowly and painfully, Homto was no more.

Kakkarot's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he watched the horrific sight transpire in front of him. Minutes after Homto had passed into the next dimension, Vegeta still stood rooted to the spot. Slowly and cautiously, Kakkarot made his way over.

"Vegeta, you can let go of him now. He's dead." No response. Kakkarot narrowed his eyes at Vegeta as fear and worry for his friend came over him. Taking larger strides, he marched over to Vegeta and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

Vegeta literally jumped a few feet before turning to face Kakkarot. Vegeta smiled weakly at Kakkarot and with that one smile, everything between the two of them was alright again. There was no need for apologies, no need for any of that. Sometimes, friends understand each other best without words and this was one of those times.

Vegeta sighed in relief. The friendship he shared with Kakkarot was too strong and too important to him. He was not willing to lose a friend simply because of one woman. Especially for a slutty woman who was ready to jump into any guy's arms and...

"Where's Lumo?" Toruo's question broke the friendly silence that hung in the air.

Both Kakkarot and Vegeta looked around and expanded their ki trying to find their target. No. He was not in the nearby vicinty. Lumo had disappeared.


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