Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Ball VE: The Keeper Saga ❯ Chapter 2

Dragon Ball Vegeta's Era: The Keeper Saga

 

Chapter Two

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. I do, however, own the plot of DBVE and all of the original characters that might appear.

 

Author's Note: The first chapter of this was written completely by me. This chapter and all others after it were done with a co-writer.

 

Co-written by: Mia Skywalker

 

…

 

Videl held her quietly fussing son, Iktomi, and glared at the assembled group of people at Capsule Corp. “So, you basically let some strange aliens waltz in here and take off with my husband and haven't done a thing to get him back?”

 

Bulma, still half in shock and grieving over the loss of her husband and youngest child, felt a sudden hot fury. She was going to scream at the younger woman hysterically, but Goku's calm voice cut in.

 

“What do you think we could have done, Videl?” he asked quietly. “The aliens managed to knock us unconscious somehow. And we've all lost family and friends today. Gohan is my son, and Vegeta….”

 

“And Vegeta is my husband!” Bulma snapped. “What do you want from us? To wave a wand and wish them back?” She buried her face against her knees. “We could have used the dragon balls for that, but my idiot of a husband had to use them today to make a wish for Goku's stupid birthday present!”

 

“What about instant transmission?” Trunks asked quietly. He was sitting on the floor with Goten beside him, the other half Saiyan looking like he wanted to sink into the floor to escape his sister-in-law's wrath.

 

“I knew we should have waited before telling her,” Goten muttered. He had nothing against his brother's wife, but knew she could be a real bitch when she was upset.

 

Trunks ignored his best friend's comment, his attention focused completely on Goku. “Find their ki and go to them. If you're afraid of teleporting inside of a solid object or something, teach me how to do it, and I'll get them back. I will do anything to get my dad and little sister home again.”

 

“I can't lock onto their ki,” Goku muttered irritably. Several of the others looked up at him in surprise. He had always been cheerful and easygoing, even in times of crises, and his sudden intensity when not in a direct battle rattled them a bit. They didn't know what to make of it. “If I could, I would use instant transmission, but I can't!”

 

“They aren't… they aren't…” Bulma couldn't finish the sentence as she stared at him in horror.

 

“Dead?” Goku said flatly, his gaze moving over to her sharply. “No. They're not dead. There's just something blocking me from reaching them, and I don't understand it.”

 

“Gohan can get them all out when they regain consciousness!” Goten exclaimed suddenly. “Remember, Dad? You taught him your teleportation technique.”

 

Goku shook his head sadly. “The most likely reason for me not being able to sense their ki is that the aliens have found a way to suppress it. They've been interested in Saiyans long enough to create one that is now an adult. They wouldn't have come here yet if they weren't able to safely keep Saiyans.”

 

“Well,” Bulma said, starting to pull herself up out of her grief and beginning to think clearly again, “there's always the spaceship my father and I have been working on. It's not ready yet, but it will be soon, if I can get him to focus on the important things and not trivial details.”

 

She was starting to feel a little bit better. She always felt better when she could focus on something, when she was working on something and trying to figure things out. It was harder for her when she had nothing to focus her energies on, because then her grief and emotions could overwhelm her, and she wouldn't be able to deal with her loss.

 

“Videl is right!” Chi-Chi insisted shrilly. “You can't leave my baby boy - well, my other baby boy,” she said, glancing once at Goten, “in the hands of those… those… those beasts! You have to do something now! I don't want to wait months for a stupid ship to be ready. Goku, you have to do something to bring my little boy back now.”

 

“Chi-Chi…” Goku's face was stern as he stared down at his wife.

 

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him. She felt suddenly like a recalcitrant child, something she had never experienced with her innocent husband.

 

“We can't do miracles, not without the dragon balls. And we don't have those right now. We're going to have to do the best we can. Those `beasts' managed to knock five Saiyans unconscious somehow. They have abilities we can't even imagine. If you know the secret of defeating them, then don't hold back on us now. But if you don't, then just remember that we are doing our best, and although we would like your constructive input, if you have nothing to do but yell and nag, then it's probably better if you stay out of this.”

 

Chi-Chi felt tears filling her eyes. Her sweet, innocent Goku had never scolded her before. She felt like a mischievous child who had been caught causing trouble, and the sudden turnabout confused her.

 

“Goku, don't you care about your son? Don't you care about me? I'm his mother! I want my son back. How could you expect me to behave any differently?”

 

“How can I expect you to not behave differently, Chi-Chi?” he replied quietly, his face still stern. “I love my son as well, and I know Bulma loves her husband and daughter. We don't love them any less than you do. But we're not wasting time blaming other people, we're trying to find a solution to bring them back. Which is what you should be doing as well.”

 

He very carefully didn't turn his gaze toward Videl, but his censure of Chi-Chi quite obviously included the younger woman as well.

 

Videl stared at her father-in-law incredulously, confused by his uncharacteristic behavior. But she realized that he was right. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I'm sorry. There is no excuse for my actions,” she said softly. She gazed at him. “What's happened to you? Why are you so different? Did the aliens do something to you?”

 

“No, they didn't do anything to me,” he replied, still looking serious. Then, for a brief moment, there was a flash of his old self as he put one hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly. “Vegeta made a wish for my birthday, that's all.” He grew serious again, and his hand dropped as he looked away from all of them. “He made a wish that… well, I'm not sure if I like it or not yet. I don't think I would want to go back to what I was, but now that I know what I've done, it… torments me.”

 

He turned haunted eyes toward his wife and sighed sadly. “I'm sorry, Chi-Chi. I shouldn't have scolded you. I've put you through so much Hell throughout your life, and you've deserved better. I owe you so much, and I promise I will never leave you again.” He took her small hands into his larger ones. “Never,” he vowed, gazing into her eyes.

 

Bulma's eyes narrowed as she watched all of this and listened to Goku's words. Bra had said that Vegeta had wished for him to be smart, but this seemed to go beyond just “smart”. Somehow, she was going to have to get Goku to take some IQ tests. She had the feeling she wouldn't be able to trick him into it anymore, so she'd probably just have to be honest about it. But she did want to know exactly how smart he had become. If he was smart enough, maybe she could even teach him to help her with the ship.

 

“We need to get things ready to go after them all,” Trunks said softly, trying to gently steer the conversation back to the main point. He knew that Goku was still trying to come to terms with what his father's wish had done to him, but now wasn't the time for it. They needed to get their loved ones back.

 

“That won't be necessary. They'll make their way back on their own in a year,” a soft, female voice announced from the back of the room. The unexpected guest appeared to be a young woman in her early twenties with blue eyes and long blue hair held back in a loose braid. She wore a bright red tunic belted over a black jumpsuit, a bluish-white tail entwined with a black leather belt.

 

Bulma stared at the girl, her eyes going wide with recognition. Her daughter was only a little girl, but… there was no mistaking this girl, who looked so much like her and Vegeta.

 

“Bra?” she said hesitantly, gazing intently at the girl. She ignored the sudden stares in her direction. “You… are Bra, aren't you?” she asked, unsure of herself.

 

The blue-haired girl nodded, smiling slightly before her face returned to the wary and haunted expression of one who had seen too many battles and experienced too much loss. “It's me, Mama. I'm here with some others from the future to protect you.”

 

At her words, Gohan and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, stepped into the room. The girl had a tail, while the boy did not. He bore a striking resemblance to Videl.

 

“Gohan,” Videl whispered, clutching her tiny son to her as she moved toward her husband.

 

He stepped toward her, taking her in a fierce embrace. Pain and grief etched his face as he held her tightly. “My Videl,” he whispered roughly. Everyone could see he wanted to say more, but something stilled his tongue.

 

“Gohan?” Goku asked curiously, feeling unsure of himself for almost the first time since Vegeta had made his wish. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

 

Gohan didn't reply, instead simply releasing Videl and staring down at her wordlessly for a long minute, then taking her mouth in a deep kiss. “Just remember that I will always love you,” he told her quietly, a strange gruffness in his voice.

 

“What's wrong?” Videl asked, her voice soft and breathy. “Why are you so… different? How did you get back to me?”

 

“Nothing's wrong,” Gohan said, running a hand down Videl's cheek. “I just… missed you, is all. I haven't seen you in a while.” There was a bittersweet smile on his face. “I can't tell you more, my love. Not without… not without changing things.” A look of pain passed over his face once more, and he turned away again.

 

“Gohan, there's something you're not telling us,” Goku admonished.

 

Gohan laughed softly, not looking at them. “Yes, even in our time we find your intelligence disconcerting, Dad. We're so used to you being innocent. Vegeta took away your innocence, but we're going to need every bit of your intelligence to help us get through this. And every bit of power possessed by everyone in this room.”

 

Goku turned to look at the other two that had come with his son and his best friend's daughter and studied them. Strangely, the baby in Videl's arms cooed and reached toward the boy, and Goku had a realization. His face lit up, and he blurted out, “You're Iki!”

 

The boy blushed and smiled at him. He seemed to be trying very hard not to look at the younger version of himself, but every time he caught the baby's eyes, the infant would laugh, and he would blush.

 

“And you're….” Goku frowned as he looked at the girl with the group. She looked very similar to Vegeta. She couldn't be…. His eyes widened. Vegeta, what did they do to you to force you to mate with that Saiyan female they created? Oh, Vegeta! Where are you, and what are they going to do to you?

 

“Who I am isn't important right now,” she said, stepping forward. “We really don't have a lot of time to chat. The Shades will be here soon, trying to kill Chi-Chi and the baby version of Iki.”

 

Her gaze kept sliding toward Bulma, a look of sorrow and longing showing briefly in her eyes as she tried to get a hold of herself. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look at Goku, who seemed to be more or less in charge of the group. Before she could say anything else, her half-sister laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, her blue eyes full of understanding and shared grief.

 

“We came back in time to complete a time loop,” Bra said softly. “We're here to save you because, in our time, we've already done it.”

 

“You're saving us because you already saved us?” Bulma's eyebrows arched in surprise, and she smiled at her daughter. “Well, that's a twist, though your brother did something similar. Your brother from an alternate future.”

 

Trunks' eyes narrowed at the mention of the other version of himself. “Damn future me,” he muttered darkly under his breath. He was much more his father's son than the other Trunks, and he hated being compared to him, constantly held up against someone who was such a mama's boy. Everyone but his parents seemed to like the other Trunks better, and even Bulma seemed quite fond of him.

 

Goten glanced over at him in sympathy, patting his scowling friend on the shoulder. He was very much aware of the lavender-haired youth's feelings toward his alternate self.

 

Goku heard Trunks' comment and wondered about it. But he decided to put it on the back burner for now, as something that had been mentioned earlier caught his attention.

 

“Why only Chi-Chi and Iki?” he asked Gohan and Bra curiously. “Why not the rest of us?”

 

Bra glanced at Gohan, getting a slight nod of approval before she spoke. “It's more than just Chi-Chi and Iki, but they are the ones that will be the most vulnerable. The Shades don't want Mama dead, and everyone else here can take care of themselves just fine.”

 

“Well, it's nice to know they don't want me dead… I think.” Bulma was suddenly concerned about what that might mean. “Wait. These `Shades' you're afraid of, they're the enemy? Then why do they want me alive?”

 

Goku frowned, noticing that the four from the future appeared to be growing more agitated. “I think we should save that until after we go where Gohan and Bra want us to go. Is there some place you know of where we'd be safe?” He touched his forehead as he looked closely at Gohan. It was apparent to him that his son was the leader of this group, something that made him immensely proud. But he also knew it meant Gohan was aware of things that he currently wasn't. “Can I teleport there? Or are you going to take us there?”

 

“The best place for us is out in the open. We're going to need to fight, and we're going to have to do it where there aren't any shadows. Not right away, at least. I want you to focus on Piccolo, and bring all of us with you. You can take everyone here, right?”

 

Goku glanced around the room, and then shrugged a little helplessly. “I don't know, son. I've never tried it with this many people before….”

 

Chi-Chi noticed her husband's hesitation and suddenly understood what was happening. For all her waspishness with him most of the time, she did love him, and she instinctively knew what to do. She stepped forward, glaring at Goku.

 

“Goku,” she scolded, “you're thinking too much. Before Vegeta made his wish, you would never have hesitated. You would have had the confidence to do it, and you would have done it. Now that you're `smart', you're thinking too much. Stop thinking and just do it! You're the strongest man in the world. If anyone can do it, it's you. I believe in you.”

 

Goku stared at her in surprise for a moment before he smiled at her. Kami, how he loved his fiery little wife.

 

“You're right, Chi-Chi. Everyone, get in a circle and hold hands. We need everyone touching each other.”

 

Trunks stepped forward and grabbed Goten's hand, reaching for Chi-Chi's with the other. The future version of his sister cut in, smiling at him as she gently squeezed his hand in greeting.

 

The teenaged Saiyan girl was the last to join the circle, Iki wrapping his arm around her waist while she nervously touched Bulma's shoulder. Gohan wrapped his tail around Videl's waist, letting her have one hand free to hold their infant son.

 

“Everyone ready?” Goku looked around at the group with an expression everyone recognized. It was the look that shone on his face every time he knew he was going into battle, a joy that was typically Goku. It was an expression they hadn't seen on him since Vegeta had made that wish, and most of them realized that no matter how intelligent he now was, he was still, first and foremost, the Goku they knew and loved.

 

Goku smiled when he saw that everyone was ready. Then he placed his fingers to his forehead again, concentrating on the ki he would always recognize as Piccolo's. He smiled when he realized the Namek had grown stronger in the intervening years.

 

The group appeared suddenly, a ring of humans and Saiyans, in a secluded and very peaceful area of the world. The startled Namek hovering nearby was the only indication that any sentient being had ever graced this small valley.

 

“Nice place you have here, Piccolo!” Goku called out cheerfully.

 

The surprised expression on Piccolo's face gave way to irritation as he glanced down at the group that had just trespassed on his privacy.

 

“What are you doing here?” he growled. “I don't appreciate you barging in on my training.”

 

“Doesn't look much like training,” Goku replied, still sounding cheerful. “It looks like you're just sitting in the air and sleeping.”

 

Gohan hid a smile behind his hand. He knew comments like that from the various Z warriors always irritated Piccolo. They were very much aware of it, and he suspected that was why they did it, even though they knew the Namek didn't understand friendly teasing.

 

He decided to cut in before Piccolo had a chance to get too angry. “I told him to come here, Piccolo,” he told his mentor respectfully. “It's the best place for us.”

 

Piccolo immediately calmed upon seeing his student, but frowned again when he realized something was different. He landed nearby, walking over to the half-Saiyan, and his breath caught as he suddenly figured out what it was.

 

“You're from the future!” he gasped, startling the others.

 

“How can you tell?” Gohan asked, surprised.

 

Piccolo glared at him and snarled. “I can tell. I don't know how, but I can. So tell me, what are you doing from the future, and why did you need to come here?”

 

“My family and friends are in trouble. There are several of them who are in danger from a menace also from the future. We're caught up in a time loop, so whatever we do here has already shaped our time. If our enemies triumph, time will be changed, and we won't be able to stop them. Will you help us?”

 

Without hesitation, Piccolo placed one hand on Gohan's shoulder. “You know I will, Gohan. I would, and have, died for you. You know that.”

 

Gohan nodded, and said almost sadly, “I know, Piccolo. I've always known.”

 

“Gohan, they're coming!” Bra shouted, feeling the presence of the Shades seconds before a creeping darkness slowly approached the area. People began to glide out of the shadows, people who oozed a feeling of menace. People whose eyes showed the darkness of three in the morning, the empty time, when there was nothing but the dark and infinite sadness.

 

It would have been a good time to power up to super Saiyan, but none of the four from the future did so. They merely took up battle postures, looking grim and weary. They were tired of fighting. Tired of always being the only hope. So tired, but still they would fight, because there was no one else who even stood a chance against the Shades.

 

Goku was about to power up when he noticed his son had yet to do so. “Gohan? Is there a reason you aren't going into super Saiyan mode?”

 

Gohan nodded, still looking tired. “Yes, Dad. But there's no reason you can't do it. We… can't. But you can. And you should.”

 

Goku hesitated, then nodded. “All right, son.” He gave a loud yell and burst into power. His youngest glanced at him briefly, then both he and Trunks changed as well.

 

Goten frowned at the future version of his older brother, wondering what would end up happening that kept him from going super Saiyan. He also studied his best friend's sister. What Gohan had said indicated that he wasn't the only one who had lost the ability. Perhaps Bra would gain that power while she was captive. Kick their asses, kiddo, he thought, glancing up at the sky. Kick their asses and come home.

 

Then the time for speculation and worry was over as the Shades surrounded them, coming in for the kill.