Was it the blast? Did it do that to the forest? And he survived.

Well, after all, he was indeed the Saiyajin no Ouji, one of the mightiest warriors in all the universe. Feh. No unknown cowardly foe could kill him. Not with that blast. Of course he lived.

He had decided it was time to go home. He was done training for now. Vegeta wanted to be with his woman. It was late, and he knew that she would have something to say about that when he returned. Bulma was not afraid to speak her mind, never holding back anything, and he loved her for that. A large part of his emotional healing had stemmed from his woman’s behavior, and he knew that now. For the first time in his life, here was someone who actually stuck to her version of the truth. Bulma holds her own ground under fire, always deals fairly, unlike the other significant figures in his life, like Frieza, his father, or Nappa, growing up. Vegeta always knew where he stood with her and could then relax his inner defenses around her. She would not take advantage of him. Through life with his woman on earth, he had felt over time that a heavy spiritual weight had been finally lifted from his chest.

At first, it had been too much for him. He had lost the old sense of security he had found, living the other way. He was used to being in control, to seizing power, and to trusting no one. Vegeta had lived for the battle for so long, any other feelings were completely alien to him, and quite frightening. He had taken comfort in being evil, denying the needs of others, for he had felt that all others would forever deny his… Vegeta would not allow himself to be at such a disadvantage. He never gave himself the choice of hearing the other side of the story, to question his own ideas of justice. He never learned to wait, and never relaxed his own position. To give up control… the idea was absolutely frightening.

When respect is earned through power, you learn to control your feelings. Vegeta could not be vulnerable and invincible at the same time. Impossible. Always, he had to gain control of the territory and get there first. Battle mentality. When life is interesting, the switch turns on, and full energy released, escalating the desire to get a piece of the action. Vegeta always knew what he stood for, who stands against him, and would then summon his endless reserves of energy to protect his position. As Saiya-jin no Ouji an entire universe of possibilities spanned out before him, all at his absolute disposal.

He had only been aware of need at the time, when he met Bulma. He had forgotten his impact on people. He only saw his own needs, and did not consult, inform, or get consent from anyone… not seeing how overbearing and demanding he had become. All he knew was that he hated being deprived, that objections sounded so absolutely stupid, that obstacles were merely incidental. And he felt the energy come when he though of being disadvantaged… and the energy, the anger, it had brought speed, cleverness, and strength of will.

That is what he loved about his former self, his evil self. And that is what he had sought to reclaim when he conceded to be possessed by Babidi, and the point of blowing up the stands at the Bodoukai, fighting Kakarotto… A grin formed on his face in memory. Those were the days… Vegeta still lusted for yet new challenges, a new enemy… Thinking of the day’s earlier incidents, perhaps he would not need wait much longer, after all…

Vegeta slowed his flight and began the gradual descent towards his home, The Capsule Corporation. He could sense his woman’s ki, and that of his young son and… Kakarotto? What could he be doing here? Well, it must be concerning this new foe… Maybe Kakarotto knew what was going on.

He stopped by the backdoor nearest Bulma’s lab, and let himself in through the open door. It may seem strange to some for such a door to be left wide open, but with the heavy security in place around the outer walls of Capsule Corp., it would not matter in the slightest, anyway. No one could break into his home without some doing. Though, now that he thought about it, there were two unfamiliar kis in Bulma’s lab. He had not noticed this at first, because Vegeta had been too preoccupied with the idea of Kakarotto being there, but now he could sense another in there with them… and that person was dying.

Vegeta did not bother to chase after Goku. Having left again by his instantaneous movement technique, he would sooner find his answers in Bulma’s lab. As he walked down the corridor, Vegeta noticed that the unfamiliar ki was very saiyajin-like, if not entirely saiyajin.

When he entered the lab, Bulma and Trunks did not turn to face him, occupied as they were watching the wounded girl float within the thick blue enzyme fluids of the healing chamber. He joined them and stood by the tank, saying nothing. He knew his woman would speak soon—probably demand to know exactly where he’d been all day. Vegeta smirked. At least this time he had a decent reason, even by her standards.

The girl within the tank reminded Vegeta too much of Kakarotto. True, his appearance was common amongst many low-class saiyajin, yet… supposedly, he and Goku were the last true saiyajin alive. Goku had traveled far across the galaxy after their encounter with Frieza on Namek, and taken over a year to return home again. Perhaps she was his bastard child… As Vegeta gazed into the tank, Bulma and Trunks cleared the room to leave him alone with the strange girl and his thoughts.

Vegeta began to feel uncomfortable. It was unusual for his woman and son to ignore him like that. Something was just not right. Still, he continued to stare at the girl. He noticed she was wearing very non-saiyajin style clothes… in fact, aside from her wild black hair and brown, fury tail, she looked nothing like any saiyajin he had ever met. Her body was to long and lean… not enough muscle on her bones for her to be full saiyajin. He doubted the girl even knew how to fight.

Though, upon noticing the blue restraining collar around her neck began to change his mind. He had seen Frieza use such devices on many captured soldiers, those elite too useful to just kill right away, yet too strong to remain too long in just any cell. He, himself, had used such devices, under Frieza’s command, though neither of them had ever preferred to take prisoners at that time. There was no mistaking what that collar was around her neck.

Vegeta pressed his face closer to the tank. The girl had not shifted, yet he had felt something move in Bulma’s lab. He did not sense another ki still… his intuition was seldom wrong. Vegeta would not be caught unawares twice in one day.

He stood motionless, eyes wide, taking in each and every detail. Something was amiss. Then, he saw it. From behind the tank, two angular eyes came into focus. The person who gazed at him from across the room smiled brightly, though that smile did not touch her purple, pupiless eyes.

Her hair was white and short, cropped to her head in simple bob. As she turned towards him, one thick strand fell across her left eye. Vegeta noticed her lips were pale and full, and her features were strong like a saiyajin. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Vegeta wondered if she could be the one who…

<I want you> Her eyes grew dark and opaque, reflecting the bewildered expression on Vegeta's face. The contrast of her deeply toned skin beneath her glaringly white aura of hair, made the woman before him seem to shine with an unearthly light.

Eh?

<your body> She licks her lips, as if she were tasting sweet fruit. Vegeta backed away from the tank, staring at the white haired saiyajin in wonder.

Gravity Room

Hope gazed into Trunks’ unfamiliar eyes. She could feel the fear filling her heart, as she drew in the pungent scent of Trunks’ rising ki. Ice filled her veins and spread through her arms limbs. She had experienced all this before, when her brother, Trust, had powered up for the first time, the other night. “No…” The room began to shift beneath her feet as Hope tumbled to the floor. “Trunks…”

Her brother had powered up on Zera’s ship, claiming that he forever onward renounced his Zandrian heritage. He was Trust no longer. What did he care for virtue? What did his people ever do for him? Zera gave him strength. Zera gave him respect, power, and a galaxy to control. “No… Trust. We gave you life. We, we gave you love.”

She felt a strong hand grip her shoulder, and she cringed with fear. There was another presence in the gravity room, one so very familiar, she could cry. Already she could feel Trunks ki diminish, and his angry scent turned to one of concern and regret. Hope brushed the tears that had welled up in her eyes away with the back of her hand, then shifted her gaze up wards to find…“Otousan?”

The man who gripped her shoulder had wild, black hair that mirrored her own, and a set of wide, coal black eyes. He looked just like her father, Calm Morgan. But… he died, that he did, on New Zandria, two years ago.

“Calm yourself. Everything is alright, Hope-chan.”

“You.. you know my name. Otousan, is it really you?” Hope leaned forward, enveloping Goku in a fierce hug. “I have missed you so much!”

Trunks shook his head, feeling the last of his power fade away. He knew there was no way possible Goku could be her father. Goku-san would have been dead, for one thing, when Hope was born, or on Chikyuu fighting cell. Perhaps, the loss of her home and family had been too traumatic. She must be confused.

Goku returned the hug, but his face looked quite perplexed. “Hope-chan.. Ano… I’m not your father.” Hope pulled away slowly, and gazed up at his face, studying his features. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and she began to sob uncontrollably in his arms. “Shh… shh… It’s okay, Hope-chan.”

“Otousan…” Hope sniffed and dried her eyes again. “Gomen. You look like my father, that you do…” Hope smiled. “You smell a lot like him too.”

“Goku-san, Hope-chan can smell ki, with her nose.” Trunks piped up from behind.

“Hai. Trunks-kun? What just happened? You are alright?”

Trunks smirked a bit, and looked down at his shoes. “I’m fine, Hope. I just went super saiyajin—that’s all.”

Hope’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead, as she looked at him in wonder. “You are the legendary super saiyajin, Trunks?”

“All us saiyajins on Chikyuu can go super saiyajin, actually. A few of us can even go beyond it.” Well, he mentally added to himself, he was not sure if Gohan, since his mystic power up, could ever go super saiyajin again, but he could explain about that to Hope another day. “Goku can achieve a stage he calls super saiyajin 3.”

“Honto?? Sugoi!!” Hope looked at Goku in wonder. “My grandmother would have loved to see that. She had been striving to reach that goal her entire life, that she was.”

“Is your grandmother strong?”

“Hai. Her strength had been known throughout the galaxy. My grandmother was one of the elite, before she rebelled. And she never stopped training. She loved to fight.”

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