CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Author's Note; My sincerest apologies to all my readers for not updating this story sooner. Unfortunately life decided to give me a giant kick up the ass which kept me away from writing for quite sometime, but finally here is the chapter you've been wanting and asking for. I know it seems a little off to the side, but this small arc of the story does serve a purpose, which will be revealed later down the track. Hopefully it will make you go "Oh, so THAT'S why that stuff happened, I get it now!"

...hopefully.

I apologize for it not being one of my best chapters, I had sever writer's block with it and kept starting and stopping on ideas, having to pick it back up again and not remembering what direction I was trying to head in. As long as the main message gets through I'll be happy. Just please don't abandon the story if you dislike the chapter, the next one will be much better and all will be back to normal.

On another note, due to not having permanent access to le internet, I can't predict when the next chapter will be out. I wish I could tell you a date, or even be able to pump them out weekly, but unfortunately I'm just not able to. All I ask is that you stick with me. The story will be finished (eventually) and we have a long way to go. This baby is going all the way through the Buu saga, so expect many chapters in the (hopefully) near future.

Anways, please enjoy, and remember, reviews are very much loved, and are incredibly helpful when I'm lacking motivation, so please, keep 'em coming! :)

His dark eyes widened in horror as they scanned her face, before his eyebrows narrowed. Without a word, he stood Bulma up, and strode over to where Trunks, Goten and the two men were staring at each other, unaware of his presence until Trunks saw his father. "Dad!" he exclaimed happily, his face losing all harshness before he saw Vegeta's expression.

"Trunks. Take your mother home." he rasped, Trunks' eyes widening as he simply nodded and ran towards his mother, Goten following. Vegeta took in the two men, they were nothing, purely insignificant. "And just who the hell are you?" the tall man asked in an attempt to sound tough, but Vegeta could hear the underlying fear in his voice. "I am your worst nightmare." Vegeta replied, giving him the evillest grin he could muster.

The two men backed away slightly, Vegeta's sheer presence had enough effect. As Trunks and Goten rushed towards Bulma, all she could do was focus on the man she loved, while trying to maintain her consciousness. She had become aware that Vegeta had somehow ripped off the entire roof, leaving the area exposed and mostly in the dark, save for the pale light of the full moon illuminating the scene before her dimly. "Mom, we have to take you home now." Trunks repeated his father's order, but Bulma shook her head. "I'll be fine. You two head back to the Son home." "But, Mom-"

Bulma's eyes left Vegeta momentarily to look at her son, who's eyes widened slightly and she could see the hurt in the blue orbs that were the same as her own. She knew he was concerned, and possibly even slightly traumatised to see his mother in such a state, but she couldn't leave Vegeta. There was something...off about him, something not right. She could understand his rage at what the men had done to her, and what they had planned to do to her, but Vegeta was usually level-headed, and could keep his emotions at bay.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, wincing at the pain from her ribs that accompanied it. "Someone has to stay here and make sure your father stays in line." she spoke, reopening her eyes and managing a small smile at Trunks. The worry did not leave his young face, but he nodded as a sign of understanding. He looked over to Goten, who was wide-eyed and clearly bewildered by everythig that had transpired. "Lets go, your Mom is probably wondering where we disappeared to."

"Okay." Goten replied, before turning to Bulma. "I hope you get better soon Miss Bulma." he told her, unaware of what exactly to say. "Thank you Goten. Make sure to tell your Mom that you and Trunks helped me, and that you both deserve treats." she grinned, mustering all the effort to keep it for as long as possible. Goten returned it with a toothy smile. "I will!" he exclaimed, and then looking at Trunks, the two blasted off into the sky, Bulma's smile fading as they did from her sight, and she returned her eyes to Vegeta.

"What's your deal, man?" the taller man inquired, stepping forward slightly, clearly the braver of the two. Vegeta simply continued to glare at him, the smirk gone from his face, only to be replaced with a displeased frown on his lips. "You tampered with my property." he replied, his voice steady and yet dripping with acid. "Your property? We were just having some fun with the Briefs bitch." The smaller one piped up, daring to glance in Bulma's direction and giving her a grin.

Before Bulma could speak in retaliation, a burst of bright yellow light shone through the room, moving at such an intense speed that the human occupants could not follow it, before it landed in front of the where the shorter had been standing. He was now a good few feet off the ground, a clenched hand around his neck, belonging to the man with the golden spikes and steely teal eyes.

The tall accomplice turned around when he noticed that his friend was now in danger, his eyes wide. It was clear that not only could he not comprehend how Vegeta had moved from one place to another in such a short time without being seen, but also how he had managed to get a dye job, put in contacts and somehow begin to glow. "That the f-" he began to say, only to be cut off when Vegeta threw the shorter man at him, the two going flying into a wall before slamming onto the ground.

"I am the Prince of all Saiyans, and you have crossed me. Now is the time for you to pay for your crimes against me, which is your death." Vegeta spoke once more, as he began to approach the crumpled bodies that were struggling to get to their feet. Seeing Bulma in such a state, knowing that these men had inflicted pain upon her and enjoyed it, it infuriated him.

And yet, at the same time, it stirred something within him which had been buried for quite some time.

Bulma's eyes widened as Vegeta moved towards her attackers, she knew full well that he intended to kill them, and painfully. And despite what they had done to her, she knew that killing them was not the right thing to do. "Vegeta, please. Don't." she called out to him with as much effort as she could muster. He stopped mid-stride, and turned to face her. "They need to pay for what they have done to you." he replied, confusing setting into his features.

"But that's not who you are anymore."

Suprise crossed Vegeta's face, and Bulma sighed. "Once upon a time you would have killed anything that happened to look at you the wrong way. But you've come a long way, now you know that it's only right that you can defeat enemies in actual battle. These two are just pitfull humans, they pose no threat. They will face punishment, but in the form of jail sentences, not by your hands." she explained her reasoning, as her surroundings became fuzzy and the room began to move.

Vegeta ran over to Bulma as she passed out, and he detransformed, raising a hand to her neck. A pulse was still there, but it was growing faint. The two men had managed to inflict quite a lot of damage to her, and as he inspected her many wounds and bruises he could feel his anger coursing through his veins. His hands ached to bring the men to true justice, for him to make them suffer ten times that of what Bulma had endured, but her previous words echoed through his thoughts and he fought his urges.

Bulma opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the blinding light that penetrated them. It was much to bright, and her surroundings were all stark white and only intensified the light. She kept her eyes closed momentarily, working herself up to trying to open them again, whilst taking in what her other senses told her. The pain in various parts of her body had lessened considerably, and she could feel some kind of covering over one arm, most likely a bandage. The smells that surrounded her were vaguely familiar, she recognised the various chemicals and realised she was in hospital.

Her eyes opened once more, this time remaining so as she grew accustomed to the light. How on earth had she managed to end up in hospital? The last thing she remembered was being in the warehouse, struggling to remain conscious whilst pleading with Vegeta to spare the lives of the men who had attacked her.

Seeing him in such a state, so enraged and yet so eerily calm about it, it reminded her of the first time he had come to Earth. She hadn't met him face to face then, no, that encounter had happened later on the planet Namek, but she had seen the broadcast on tv, remembering how the man had exuded pure evilness, even through a television screen. Killing his own comrade, it had been clear that he had no morals, no affection for others, no qualms about taking lives.

But these days, he was a different man. Not entirely, he was still stubborn as all hell, demanding and arrogant, but he could no longer able to be classified as 'evil'. The only ones he killed where his opponents in battle, where defeat was needed in order to save the world. There hadn't been any battles recently, nothing had transpired since Gohan had defeated Cell. The Earth had remained safe from intergalactic aliens or robotic superbeings wanted to destroy everything and everyone, it had been a good run of peace after so many years of big battles seemingly one after another.

Perhaps Vegeta had just been itching for a fight but had just chosen his opponents rather poorly. All he ever got to fight these days was his own son, who was strong for his age but nothing compared to his father. The only person alive who could truly oppose Vegeta was Gohan, who had seemingly given up fighting and chosen to dive into his studies instead, much to the delight of his mother.

Bulma's thoughts were interrupted by the door to her room opening to reveal Vegeta himself. As his dark eyes moved over to where Bulma's form lay and he realised she was awake, relief set into his features. "I was worried that you would continue to slumber." he spoke as he approached her, and she reached out with her non-bandaged arm to grab his hand, revelling in the searing heat that she felt. "I'm your woman, so of course I'm tough." Bulma joked, giving a small laugh.

Vegeta smirked slightly, and Bulma could see that there was something else on his mind. "Vegeta? Whats wrong?" she inquired, looking up at him from the bed. Seeing him so perplexed reminded her of the night of the Cell Games, when he had come to her a broken man. "Your words earlier. You told me that I am not who I once was. I wish for you to explain your reasoning for coming to such a conclusion." He looked down at her, and she could see the confusion in his dark orbs.

"You're a changed man, Vegeta. I mean, not drastically in the personality deparment, you're still an arrogant ass and you drive me crazy most of the time." Bulma's words were met with a grunt, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth before she continued. "When you first came to Earth, you were ruthless, a cold-blooded killer. You destroyed whole civilisations just because they upset you in the most minor of ways. Yet now, you've grown, you have a family, you have experienced all kinds of new feelings that you never had experienced before and you understand the value of life. Back then I don't think you could even comprehend it."

Vegeta remained silent as Bulma spoke on. "Seeing you tonight, it made me so scared that you had reverted back to your old ways. You're a better man now." she mused, giving him a smile. He simply nodded, his eyes studying her hand which was resting upon his. "I told Trunks I would inform him of your wellbeing. I will return shortly." he announced, his eyes retuning to hers. "I'll be here. Don't think I'd be able to go anywhere even if I tried." Bulma replied.

Vegeta simply turned and opened up the door that led to a balcony, one of the upsides of having private health insurance. He jumped up onto the railing before propelling himself into the sky, heading in no particular direction. He had lied to Bulma about Trunks, but he needed to get away, have some time to himself to gather his thoughts. He had always revelled in solace.

Without realizing it, he soon came across the area where he had first come to Earth, where he had killed his own comrade and fought Kakarott. That battle continuously hunted him, the failure of being defeated, only to be spared at Kakarott's insistence and then return to his master as a failure, weak and battered.

The bastard was dead and yet he still managed to plague Vegeta's life.

All Vegeta wanted was to challenge him once more, a true and proper fight. To match his skill to Kakarott's. And yet somewhere in the back of his mind, was the constant reminder that no matter how strong Vegeta became, what levels of power he achieved, he could not match that of the lower-class Saiyan. When Vegeta would overcome a barrier, Kakarott would one step ahead. It constantly drove him mad, and yet it was his driving force, the motivation to grow stronger. And now that he was gone, what was Vegeta to strive for?

The Saiyan Prince had come to the conclusion that having a family would aid his quest to become a stronger warrior. There was no other explanation for Kakarott's ability to surpass the power of the Saiyan Prince. But as Bulma's words swirled through his mind, he could not help but think that perhaps his family had had an adverse effect on him.

He was once a true warrior, feared by many. These days he felt common. No-one cowered in his presence, no-one trembled as he walked past. The night's events had reminded him of how truly wonderful it was to wield such power over others, to be the one in control of whether they were to live or die. The only reason he had halted in his plans was at the insistence of Bulma.

His feelings for her had made him weak. Over time they had eroded his true power.

Vegeta gritted his teeth. He loved Bulma, though the words had never escaped his lips, and yet at that moment he loathed her. What she had done to him, with her smiles and her delicate words. How could one person change him so drastically? How had he not been aware of this until now?

He looked down at the ground, before closing his eyes and remembering the blood that had been shed that day so many years ago. There was no going back now, despite his desires to return to his former glory. Despite everything, he still did not want to harm Bulma in any way. He would simply have to keep such thoughts at the back of his mind, where there would be left undisturbed.

Taking a moment of silence to clear his head, he then blasted back into the sky, heading back to Bulma.