Yousha
...and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us...--Matthew 6:12
*
He was dreaming. He knew it. But it didn't help. It never did. Frieza's hands were as cold as his memories, his eyes even colder. Few people knew that when the Icejin was aroused, with an interesting toy that might struggle, his eyes appeared to roll back like a shark's so that no blood would splatter and sting them, the protective lens thick enough to stop knives. It never lasted long, only a few seconds, but from his position, his back to Frieza and the tyrant's claws sunk deep within his throat, he could watch his master's eyes turn white.
The planet was purged, as dead as his own world now. This was his reward, caught inextricably in Frieza's hand while the other one raked the skin on his back to shreds. Had he failed in his mission to purge the planet, this would be his punishment. As Frieza took pleasure either way, Vegeta no longer listened to which it was. It was enough to concentrate on the blood pouring down his skin like water, down his face from the first gashes, down his broken arms. After years of such treatment, the pain was so constant that he no longer paid any attention to it, but his life's blood flowing outside his skin felt like it took something with it, carrying something awful out of his body and into the air, onto the metal floors. His life all around him, his life slipping from Frieza's fingers. After so long, the void just on the other side of his fading consciousness was comforting. To end, to be finished. Regardless of his duty to his dead people. To let go.
But Frieza knew this. At least, Vegeta suspected he knew. Why else would he wake up inside a regenerative tank each and every time? He would wake up tomorrow in one, he knew this. But not yet. Frieza had more in mind for him, his royal plaything. Vegeta knew what was coming even as the master raised his white claws to his face and lay the sharp tips at his eyes. For all his cruelty, Frieza was not very creative. When his eyes were sliced open, he hardly flinched.
*
Vegeta woke up. Darkness. For a moment, he thought he was in a tank, his blinded eyes still healing. But there was little pain, at least no more than usual, and he didn't hear the constant footfalls of soldiers walking on the metal floors of a spaceship, didn't hear the constant screams that was Frieza's enjoyment. And he was warm and covered in blankets and wrapped in someone's arms.
His eyes, yes he still had them and they were whole, adjusted to the dark, and he made out the edges of the table, his sword, the chair and Kakarrot's long robe draped over it...he closed his eyes again. The years between Frieza and Kakarrot came back to him, and he breathed out. He'd spent more time on that ship than on earth, he couldn't expect to forget it yet. Not even with a mate to remind him.
He glanced up at his mate's face. Kakarrot hadn't woken up. Good. The idiot had gotten better about keeping his mouth shut, holding back those stupid, useless, humiliating questions, but right now Vegeta didn't even want to look into his mate's wide eyes. He didn't want to deal with a mate who, as the humans loved to say, was just trying to help.
Fuck help. Didn't need it. He turned more towards the larger Saiyan, pillowing his head on the broad shoulder and draping his arm over his mate's side. Goku reacted in his sleep, unconsciously tightening his hold on the smaller prince. As Vegeta closed his eyes, tears squeezed out. He didn't bother to wipe them away, satisfied that no one would see. It felt like the warm liquid that bled out whenever his eyes were shredded apart. Long minutes passed, measured out by his shuddering breaths, until Vegeta slipped back to sleep.
Goku looked down at his mate. It had taken all his willpower not to gather Vegeta up and stroke his hair and tell him that everything would be all right. All his willpower hadn't been enough to stop him from holding Vegeta a little tighter, but it seemed his prince hadn't noticed. He breathed a sigh and gave into the urge to run his fingers along his sleeping mate's hair. This night had been bad but was by no means the worst. He couldn't see into Vegeta's dreams but he could feel the emotions through their bond, feel the anguish and pain. He would've sworn he heard Frieza's laughter through the link.
Worst of all was the hopelessness he always felt, Vegeta's resignation to his pain. Even animals caught in a trap would struggle or bite their own limbs off. After a few years, Vegeta didn't have even that instinct left. Frieza had tortured it out of him so that the prince took pain as a part of life, to be endured, to be expected, never to be escaped.
Outside the window, the wind howled louder, rattling the glass. Goku glanced up to make sure the curtains were still drawn to muffle the sound, but he could see the glass around the edges, covered in frost patterns. Winter had come in harder than usual this year, the frequent storms leaving the forest covered in ice and snow. Normally he would've had company all year round, friends and family staying long into the night to play cards, to eat. Now the house was relatively quiet.
He sighed. After Krillin had refused to help his injured mate, and with Tien and Chaotzu supporting him, there were few to have over. Everyone knew about him and Vegeta. He hadn't seen Chichi's reaction, but Bulma had given him the condensed version, "she moved back in with her dad, took everything with her and oh yeah burned all the clothes you'd left behind."
Vegeta turned in his sleep. Goku watched him for awhile, relieved to see that the tears had stopped and that his mate was beyond dreams. He grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it up around his chest, almost covering his mate entirely. With the way Vegeta slept nearly halfway down his body, he was glad that Vegeta preferred being swallowed up in endless sheets and blankets, or else Goku would've been shivering every night with half his body exposed. He gave his love one last squeeze and closed his eyes, letting his hand rest on top of Vegeta's as he drifted back to sleep.
*
Goku woke up again to the sound of the shower. He wondered how they had running water with so much snow outside, then figured Vegeta must have thawed the capsule house's pipes. He sat up, finding the blanket pulled to his throat. For all his mate's bad temper, he had yet to wake up on a cold morning with the bedding around his waist. And this morning's chill was strong in the room despite the heater being on. He smiled again. Vegeta must've turned it on when he woke up.
He yawned and got out of bed, shivering as he made his way to the bathroom. Steam poured out as he opened the door, and he shut it quickly behind himself. Past experience taught him that cold air and a wet Vegeta did not mix well.
Like every morning, he slipped into the shower behind his mate. Ribbons of steam curled around the smaller Saiyan, hiding his legs, revealing quick glimpses of his arms and face. His hair lay flat, the ends coming between his shoulders. Goku slid his arms around his mate and pulled him against his chest. He took one of Vegeta's hands and held it up, gently rubbing it between his own hands and warming it. The cold air affected Vegeta worse than Goku, but the tall Saiyan didn't mind being his mate's teddy bear or hot water bottle. It always meant the same thing, a snuggly Vegeta, something rare even in the winter until the snow started.
"You're up late today," Vegeta said.
"Huh?" Goku looked around for a clock, but there wasn't one in the bathroom. "Isn't it morning?"
"It's midday."
"Oh, wow." Goku scratched the back of his head, his own hair still spiky when wet. "But if you're in the shower, I guess you just got up too."
A half-shrug. Meaning yes. Vegeta held still, not moving away from his mate but not holding him either.
Goku bit back a sigh. Nightmares had kept his mate from real sleep, and Goku had been awake quietly comforting him, but mentioning that would bring up things Vegeta didn't want to talk about. And even though he couldn't explicitly read his mate's mind, he could imagine what those memories were. Long talks after the silfrenel incident had given him better insight into his mate's past, and he could tell which nightmares would make Vegeta cringe, wake up screaming, or crawl close.
For now, he simply held him, grateful that Vegeta would let him. They stayed like that until the water started to turn cool. Afterwards, as they dressed, Goku noticed that his mate had chosen his usual blue spandex. He smiled on his way to the kitchen. Usually that meant they'd fight the morning away, but with the amount of snow falling now, it meant instead that they'd be curling up in front of a fire, under a blanket, listening to the storm outside.
Instead of a large breakfast, since it wasn't really breakfast and neither of them felt like training in freezing cold, Goku fixed two Saiyan sized cups of hot cocoa to warm them. The floor was chilly, so he sat on the counter and hurried the water along by firing small amounts of ki at the kettle until it was boiling. After a good helping of marshmallows, he picked up the steaming mugs and took them into the main room.
The capsule house had changed a bit since his mate had moved in with him. He no longer had to hide the fact that Vegeta was his lover, so the handful of pictures of Chichi had been taken down. He had a feeling that Vegeta had incinerated them since he never saw them again, not even in a trash can, but as long as he left the ones of Gohan and Goten alone, he didn't mind. Instead of her photos, the mantle now displayed a pair of swords similar to the one Trunks had inherited. Though it had taken some begging on his part, he'd finally gotten Vegeta to promise to teach him how to fight with swords, but only after the snow melted.
Little else had changed. Vegeta seemed less interested with the house and more satisfied simply being with his mate. He'd covered every window with long dark curtains so no one could see in. He'd destroyed the table that visitors had used to play poker on, but he'd also replaced it with a sofa and the blanket they usually huddled under. Brown and thick like an animal's pelt, it was large enough that they could fold it over and still have plenty of room. During the cold months, it was Vegeta's favorite spot, and Goku found him there now, already curled up on the sofa with soft music playing.
Goku set the mugs down on the end table first before slipping under the blanket. He sat down and quietly waited as Vegeta crawled onto his lap and lay his head on his shoulder. A slight blush from embarrassment colored his mate's face, that he would even think to be so close to his former rival, let alone show that kind of vulnerability, but neither said anything about it. A few seconds later Goku tucked the blanket around themselves and handed one of the mugs to Vegeta, who cupped it in both hands.
Although the curtains gave them privacy, they also kept the house dark, especially since Goku discovered that his mate didn't like bright lights. He reached across the couch and flipped on the lamp, the blue shade throwing soft colors on the room.
After awhile they finished their drinks and set them aside. As Goku hugged him close, Vegeta looked up into his eyes.
"I don't want to train today," he whispered. "It's too cold."
"Okay," Goku said, accepting that excuse. "I'd rather hold you anyway."
His mate lowered his head again, relaxing so that he felt boneless in his arms.
While he held him, he noticed the music again, quiet and dark. Vegeta had specific tastes, what some may have called picky even, and what often filled the house was not necessarily classical or metal or any one type, but was always dark and slow. Goku found it soothing usually, and he could understand why Vegeta preferred it, but there was something a little unsettling about the Moonlight Sonata in a dark room with the glare and moan of a blizzard at the window.
Still, it was Vegeta's favorite song, not that he would admit it. Not that he'd even known what songs really were when he arrived. Goku closed his eyes, remembering the look on his mate's face when he'd first discovered music, parted lips and a tilted head. How could anyone stay on earth so long and not know about music? And didn't the rest of the galaxy have songs? From the way Vegeta acted, he didn't think so.
Vegeta's breathing turned soft and slow. Goku glanced down and smiled at his sleeping mate. There were never any nightmares when he was in his arms.
*
Four freezing humans stood in the center of a field, huddled together in front of the dragon balls. The blizzard provided the cover they'd need to summon the dragon, make their wishes and get rid of the Vegeta before the two Saiyans noticed anything. Chaotzu pressed himself against Tien's leg, shivering in what to him was chest deep snow. He'd have flown, but the wind was even colder. Krillin and Yamcha stood next to him, setting the dragon balls on the snow. The yellow spheres sank an inch down but no further.
"Okay," Tien said. "Let's do this."
"Right." Krillin hugged himself and hovered over the snow, using Yamcha as a windbreak. "Come forth, Shenlong!"
The dragon rushed out of the balls and hovered over them, and the snow beneath them melted into slush and mud. Chaotzu grimaced and flew up, his feet soaked through. The heat from the dragon turned the blizzard into rain, forcing them to flare their ki to keep dry.
After the dragon's rumbling, Krillin stepped forward, shouting so that the dragon could hear him. "Okay, for my first wish, I wish that Vegeta was absolutely powerless!"
"What?" Yamcha said, glancing at him. "You never said anything about Vegeta--"
"Can it, Yamcha," Krillin said. "This has to be done."
The dragon paused, then answered. "I cannot grant this wish. Ki is the essence of life. To destroy ki is to destroy life. The Saiyan would die."
"Dammit," Tien said. "Now what?"
"Hang on, hang on...lemme think." Krillin considered for a moment. "Okay then, I wish that he was only as powerful as a normal human!"
"Krillin, what are you--?"
The short fighter cut Yamcha off with a wave of his hand. "Not now."
Another pause. "I cannot grant this wish. The Saiyan requires Saiyan energy levels to survive. To dampen those permanently would be to kill him."
"Argh, there has to be something. I wish he was only as powerful as a normal human for an hour?"
The dragon's eyes flashed, and a vibration went through the air, as if a deep chord had been struck. "Your wish is granted."
"Yeah, way to go Krillin," Chaotzu said.
"Name your second wish."
Seeing that something was wrong, Yamcha stepped forward to take the second wish, but Krillin noticed and beat him to it.
"I wish that Goku will fall asleep and not wake up for an hour!"
"Krillin!"
"Your wish is granted."
As the dragon vanished, the snow came down again in thick white sheets. Yamcha faced the three fighters. "What are you doing?"
"What has to be done," Tien said. "Goku thinks Vegeta's good, but that bastard's killed billions of people. You can't just wash that kind of blood off."
"Then what about Piccolo?" Yamcha said. The wind was picking up, and he had to start shouting to be heard. "Or 18?"
"Don't you dare lump them with him," Krillin said. "They're different."
"They're not screwing your best friend, you mean! Damn it, Krillin, I didn't stop Trunks from killing you just so you could kill Vegeta."
"I'm not gonna kill him," Krillin said. "But Goku has to be protected from himself. I'll bet anything Vegeta's just waiting for all of us to forget everything he's done before he attacks us, right when Goku doesn't expect it."
"And yet you sent Goku to sleep?" Yamcha clenched his fists in frustration. "Krillin, can you hear yourself?"
"It's okay," Tien said. "We're going there right now. Come on."
The three of them took to the air, but Yamcha didn't follow and they stopped.
"Well?" Tien said. "Come on."
"No." Yamcha shook his head and flew off the ground, but he moved in the opposite direction. "This isn't right. You can't--"
"We can and we are," Krillin said. "I thought you'd stand with us on this. I thought I could trust you."
Yamcha looked at each of them, his mouth set in a firm line. None of them would be talked out of this. He turned around and flew as fast he could through the blizzard, hoping they wouldn't fire at his back.
"What the--" Chaotzu said. "Hey!"
"Let him go," Tien said. "We don't need him."
Krillin watched his friend disappear into the snowfall, doubts beginning to twist in his stomach. But then he thought of Vegeta catching Goku off guard and laying waste to the earth, and there was no choice. The three of them flew towards Goku's house to save him from himself.
And on the other side of the storm, Yamcha sped towards Capsule Corps.
*
Something was wrong. Vegeta sat up and looked around. The house was quiet, the music had stopped. Goku was fast asleep next to him. The snow was still coming down and the pipes were making their usual groans as they froze. Still, something was wrong.
He didn't try to wake his mate. If he was acting paranoid, he didn't need Kakarrot seeing him panicking at shadows and half-imagined bumps in the night. Pushing the blanket down around his waist, he felt around for any other life forms inside and around the house. Finding nothing, he pushed out into the forest. And hit a wall.
What the hell? He frowned and tried again. Again a wall, as if he couldn't extend himself any further. But that wasn't right, he could sweep half the planet on an off day. The forest should be no problem. He felt for his ki and found it nearly nonexistent.
With a strangled cry, he grabbed Goku's arm and shook him once. No response. He shook him again, then leaned over him and felt for a pulse. When he felt it as strong and steady as usual, he leaned back and called his name. Goku only turned his head and groaned in his sleep.
On the edge of his perceptions, Vegeta felt three distinct energy signatures coming through the forest. On their own, they were nothing, but together, and now with his limited ki, they might overwhelm him. Old memories of waiting in his room in Frieza's ship, listening to the lizard's footsteps coming closer, turned his skin colder than the winter air. He fought the urge to panic and rush headlong into battle.
Wait. Calm down.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, gauging himself. Yes, his power level was reduced, nothing like what it should have been, but this had been his power level once before. Years ago, in his other life in service of Frieza. He'd been this weak at one point of his life, and there were tricks that went with it, ways to use what little he had to his advantage. He raised his ki around him like a threadbare blanket.
I was this strong once. I can be this strong again.
The enemy, still only energy flying along the edge of his awareness, was coming closer. His mate would not wake up and he was alone. He opened his eyes and saw his sword on the wall.
He stood and walked closer, staring at the blade. He'd trained with it, practiced familiar moves and strikes, but he'd never tried it in a real fight. Light shone on its edge, the cold gray light from the snow, under his fingers as he ran his hand along the length and grasped the hilt. The leather warmed against his palm and he flourished it once. Steel flowed like his own bone, cutting through the air as well as his own charged life-force. It wasn't his original, now passed down to Trunks, but it was a sword, and a good one, and it would serve.
After one last look at his sleeping mate, he stepped out of the house and into the forest. With so little ki left to him, he would resort to his old tricks and deceits. He formed a small, shining glow in his hands and set it behind a thick thorn bush. If he couldn't win in a straight fight, he could destroy them through misdirection and surprise.
*
The sun wouldn't move as Yamcha flew over the uniform trees. He couldn't feel his face for the cold wind, and he felt like he wasn't moving at all. The scenery refused to change, the sky was one shade, the snow wouldn't fall faster or slower, and he couldn't even feel the wind on his skin.
When he saw the Capsule Corps' lights come up on the horizon, and the city lights behind it, he grinned and flew faster. As he came closer, he dropped to the ground and skimmed over the snow up to the doorstep.
"Trunks!" he yelled, banging on the door. "Trunks! Goten!" He didn't hear anyone moving inside and he banged harder, leaning against the door as his breath turned ragged, the effort of his flight catching up to him. "Trunks, dammit, Vegeta's in danger!"
He closed his eyes, coughing as he spoke, wondering if anyone was even listening. "Krillin an' Tien, they called the dragon. Vegeta's lost most of his ki and Goku can't wake up. Trunks! I think they're gonna kill him." Still no sound. He growled and hit the door again. "Trunks!"
The door opened wide and he fell forward onto the floor. As he pushed himself up, he saw a pair of familiar yellow boots and the tip of an unsheathed sword. Yamcha swallowed reflexively. Trunks had promised to kill him before.
"Krillin and Tien did what?" Trunks sounded as cold as the weather. He made no move to help Yamcha up, but he didn't try to kill him either.
"They summoned the dragon and wished Goku would sleep and that your father would be as weak as human for an hour. They're going right now, them and Chaotzu."
"How do you now this?"
"I was there. I couldn't take them all, so I came here."
Goten's voice came from nearby. "Yeah, we felt the dragon a few minutes ago. Trunks, if it's true, they could really hurt your dad."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Yamcha lay still, too tired to move. Somewhere in his mind he knew the floor he was laying on was cold, but after the blizzard he'd just flown through, it felt warm to the touch. All of his muscles started to relax and he drowsed, his eyes half closed. The sword went back in its sheath.
"You're right, I can barely feel my father."
As Trunks moved aside, soft hands slipped around Yamcha, helping him sit up. He heard Bulma saying something to him, but the words were hard to make out, as if she was speaking through cotton. He groaned and leaned against her, but a hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he looked up. Trunks knelt in front of him, and the anger in his eyes made him even more like Vegeta than usual. That made it all the more strange when, even though Yamcha couldn't hear him anymore, he was able to make out the words "thank you" on the young man's lips.
A moment later the two boys were gone, and Yamcha wondered if he'd only imagined it.
*
Snow had silenced the forest. There were no leaves to rustle in the wind, only the occasional crack of frozen branches and the piff of snowflakes the size of plates hitting the ground. And the crunch of Vegeta's boots through the snow. He glanced back over the path he'd taken to make sure his footprints had vanished. There was no worry about his scent. Mere humans would never pick that out, especially the small monk.
He curled his hand in the air and formed another ball of ki that he set under the gnarled roots of an elm tree. That made six, and there was no time to make any more. No matter. The approaching trio were nearly at the first decoy. There was enough time to backtrack to the last one he'd set and lay in wait.
*
The blizzard was still on them when Krillin and Tien and Chaotzu landed at the center of the forest. Goku's ki was at rest, unmoving in his capsule house, and Vegeta's was alone in the cold. Krillin stood still and searched for the prince's energy, but he frowned and looked up at Tien.
"Can you find him?" he asked.
Tien shook his head. "No, it's too faint. I can feel that he's in the forest, but..." He laughed. "It's so weak I can only tell he's here. It's like he's all over the forest."
"But we can't waste time looking for him," Chaotzu said. "In less than an hour he goes back to being super Saiyan. If he finds out we did this, there won't be enough left of us to bury."
"Then we'll have to split up," Krillin said. "I can pick up a few signatures around the forest, so one of them must be him. I'll go this way."
"Then I'll go this way," Tien said, turning in the opposite direction.
"Wait a second," Chaotzu said. "Why are there so many signatures? Shouldn't there just be one?"
"I dunno," Krillin said, shrugging. "Maybe he freaked and blew some stuff up. We might just be feeling his ki's residue since we're looking for it."
"Freaking out...sounds just like him." Tien started walking away. Behind him, Krillin and Chaotzu nodded to each other and split up farther along their path.
*
His traps were spread out over several miles of his territory, luring his enemies away from each other. They scattered perfectly, better than he had hoped. And the clown, coming closest, would be first. He drew his sword and threw aside the scabbard. He didn't worry that they might find it. They wouldn't think to look for warning signs when they didn't know they were being hunted. And the blade itself blended into the ice and sky.
A bright spot of green and red floated over the snow, flickering between the branches as he looked down. Chaotzu only looked left and right, never up. Did they think he was too weak to climb into the trees? He only wished his spandex kept out the cold now that he could not use his ki to warm himself.
His prey came closer. Vegeta tensed, readjusted his grip on the hilt. He held his breath. Chaotzu passed just under him and didn't look up.
The old habits coming back to him, Vegeta indulged himself and gave a low growl as he pounced, giving Chaotzu enough time to turn and gasp before he was thrown to the ground. Chaotzu landed on his back with Vegeta on top of him, eyes promising revenge.
The blade flashed over their heads and, shrieking, Chaotzu raised one hand to try to deflect or destroy it before it fell. Drawing the blade back from the prey's ki blast, Vegeta twisted it suddenly, hammering the steel pommel between his eyes. Chaotzu went limp and flattened in the snow, blood dripping from the already forming broken bruise.
With a jump, Vegeta was back in the trees, giving his dropped enemy one last glance. He hadn't even left any footprints. A ghost had taken his prey down. But that shriek had called the other two and he felt them racing to the rescue. Vegeta took a deep breath and steadied himself. These two would not be so easy. He started moving again, between icicles and frozen branches, masking his sound with the wind.
*
The capsule house was dark when Trunks landed at the front, pushing the door open. "Goku? You here?"
Shaking his hair and shoulders free of snow, Goten came around him into the living room. "Dad?" He found his father on the couch, a blanket over his body, his head tilted back as he snored. He gave his shoulder a shove, but Goku only turned his head and slipped deeper into the couch. "Dad?"
After he was sure no one else was in the house, Trunks came up beside Goten. "Goku? Dinner's ready."
Goku mumbled in his sleep and turned on his side, but he didn't wake up.
"Damn, he's really out," Goten said.
"Papa probably couldn't fly too far," Trunks said, looking around the room. "He must have felt Krillin and Tien coming. I bet he went into the forest."
"To hide?"
Trunks spotted the empty stand that normally held his father's sword. "To kill."
"Huh? But he's weaker than they are now."
"He took his sword." Trunks couldn't hide his smile of pride in his father. "He could hide better without lugging that around. We'd better hurry."
"How come?" With one last look at his sleeping father, Goten followed Trunks outside and into the sky.
"If we don't find papa soon, he might kill Krillin and Tien before we get a chance at them."
*
"Chaotzu!" Tien ran to his friend's side and fell to his knees, pulling the small body upright. "Chaotzu!...he's out cold."
Krillin looked around to make sure they were alone, then down at Chaotzu. "But he's alive."
"Vegeta must not have had time to finish him off."
"I'm not so sure." Krillin studied the snow around them, looking around in a big circle. "Look, the snow's clean. I don't see any footsteps except ours."
Both of them shared a look, then glanced up into the trees. Standing and bringing Chaotzu up in his arms, Tien put his back to Krillin's as they scanned the forest, looking for any sign of the Saiyan prince, a shadow, a growl, anything. They could only make out the branches of the closest trees through the snow, so much like a lace curtain drawn across the gray background.
"This is ridiculous," Tien said. "We're stronger, so why're we scared?"
"He dropped on Chaotzu before he even knew he was there. How can he move through those trees at all? They're covered in ice."
"He's a damn monkey." Tien shifted his unconscious friend to one arm and put his hand on Krillin's shoulder. "We'd better stick together."
"Yeah. And we'll have to bring Chaotzu with us. He'd freeze to death before he wakes up."
With Krillin watching the front and Tien watching the back, they slowly made their way down the path towards Vegeta's closest ki signature. As they walked, the snow covered their footsteps almost as soon as they made them, and they had to dust the snow off their shoulders and Chaotzu's prone body before it could cover them, as if the forest was trying to swallow them whole.
*
The tall one was burdened with holding his friend's body. Vegeta held still as they moved down the path. Perfect. And they were searching the trees, even better. He was not so poor a predator as that. Even though he crouched only a few feet away, the leafless thorn bushes were still thick enough to hide him. Tien's eyes, Chaotzu's bloody face, Krillin's wary searching, all clear through the thin twigs. If they had known what was hunting them, had known how weak Saiyans brought down prey, he doubted they would move so brazenly through the woods.
But then even he didn't know exactly what he was doing. Decades had passed since he had used these skills and he let his instincts guide him, using his intelligence when needed but mostly reverting to his primal predatory impulses. In truth, they were not so buried as he'd thought. In less than a few minutes, the civilized veneer had vanished, leaving him with the part of himself that could slaughter all of a planet's intelligent life and eat his kill.
He would not eat these three, though. He held only disgust for these creatures, hypocrites to the core. He'd seen them eagerly roast whole carcasses and handle dead flesh with no mind that it had been alive only a few days earlier. They'd looked at him in a mix of horror and loathing when he'd come back from the wilderness, dragging an animal's body and splattered in its blood. He wondered if his mate had ever taken them out on a hunt and showed them what cleaning and gutting involved, let them hear the ripping sounds as the hide was skinned off the muscle.
He nearly snorted, but that would've told them where he was, so he held silent. Did they really think meat grew in neat styrafoam packets, or that the creature just fell over and died on command? They had no conception about the true nature of the hunt. At least his prey had a chance to escape, or to turn and leave their own marks on him before they died. His prey had survived the cruelties of nature until brought down by a predator from a different planet, while their prey grew in cramped boxes and choked on their own filth, maddened with pain until slaughtered by machines. Humans were no better than their prey. Despite all the hardships and pain he had suffered, he would not trade his life for theirs.
There was honor in his hunt. But them...they were only prey pretending at being something more. His mate would--
The trio passed by as he paused. For a moment he'd forgotten the reason that he was so angry. Kakarrot was still at home, helpless and unaware. He stretched his senses towards his mate, but again he hit a wall. How many miles had he gone? If he had been any other creature, he would've worried about freezing to death. As he was, the snow was more of an inconvenience than usual, but nothing life-threatening. Not nearly as harsh as some of the worlds he'd purged years ago.
"Hey," Tien said, turning towards the thorns Vegeta was behind. "You feel that?"
"What, another ki ball?" Krillin heaved a sigh but walked closer anyway. "I'll check, but man...if I'd thought he'd be strong enough to make ki balls, I'd have tried a different wish."
"Yeah," Tien said. "Who'd of thought he'd be so damn sneaky?"
As the monk bent towards the branches, Vegeta held his breath, his muscles tensing like springs. Just a little closer, just a few more inches. Krillin's hand landed on the thickest branch and pulled it aside.
With a wild cry, Vegeta leaped out from his hiding place and sliced upwards with his sword. The cut missed Krillin's throat but only because the monk stumbled backwards, startled by the Saiyan's yell. The blade's edge still sliced through his shirt and into his collar. Blood splattered on the snow in a broad arc and Krillin fell to his knees, gasping.
There was no time to press the attack, Tien was already dropping Chaotzu in the snow. Vegeta leaped past Krillin and advanced with a series of flourishes to drive Tien back and keep him from using his split form technique. One of the warrior was bad enough, but if there were four of him coming from all directions, the fight would be over fast.
The light off the sword merged with the snowfall so that Tien had to follow Vegeta's body and guess where the sword's edge was. He moved backwards through the deepening drifts, dodging each slash. A stone twisted under his foot and he stumbled, not enough to fall or even lose his balance but enough to give Vegeta an opening and swing the blade into his shoulder. Tien almost expected to hear something, like a cleaver through cabbage or some other sound effect, but there was nothing over the wind.
For awhile he didn't feel any pain, only nausea as blood bubbled up over the skin and sliced muscle. His arm went limp at his side, and he more fell than dodged Vegeta's next swipe. He landed on the ground and when he looked up, Vegeta drew his sword back, ready for the last cut.
A ki blast slammed into the prince, throwing him several feet back into a deep snow drift. As he slid to a stop, a stinging pain ran up along his side and he looked down. Where Krillin had thrown his ki, his skin burned. Proof of how weak he was, it was as if he'd taken a kamehameha full on. He stood up, and as he pulled the inflamed skin, the burn hurt even worse. He winced and stumbled back a step.
"What's the point of this shit?" he growled. "You gonna singe me to death?"
"I didn't expect you to fight us," Krillin said, holding another blast in one hand as his other hung useless at his side. "I didn't wanna fight. That's why I made that wish."
"To make me as weak as you pathetic fools? I don't care how weak you made me, I'll never be as helpless as you!" He held his sword at the ready and held still. "I won't go down without taking you with me."
"I don't wanna kill you," Krillin said. "It's not permanent, you'll be back to normal soon." Hopefully not too soon, he thought.
"You thought you could take me so quickly?" Vegeta barked a laugh. "Ask your friends if they still think that."
The monk glanced at his fallen companions. Both of them lay face down, Tien on top of Chaotzu, blood steaming on the snow around them. Tien's breath came in sharp gasps, and he grasped his shoulder with his good hand, keeping the slice from tearing open any further. Krillin couldn't see how deep it was for all the blood, but it had to have been horrendous for him to be laid out.
"I said I don't wanna fight you," Krillin said, his voice trembling. Next time he'd wish for the Saiyan prince to be half a normal human's strength, and without a sword. "I did this to get you away from Goku."
Vegeta blinked. "What the fuck are you talking about? You can't handle it--?"
"Oh please," Krillin said, "give me some credit. I don't care who he loves--"
"Unless it's me."
"You're a killer! You've killed billions of people, you don't just get better after that. I don't care how good you act, you can't wipe that blood off your hands."
Vegeta glared, but he didn't argue.
"And now you've got everyone fooled," Krillin said. "Goku's always been forgiving, but Bulma, Trunks, Goten, Gohan, hell even Piccolo can't see you clear. But I don't buy it. I don't trust you, I'll never trust you."
"Like I care what you think."
Krillin took a deep breath, never lowering the blast he had ready and trained on Vegeta. "I know. You don't care what anyone thinks. You don't care about anyone. I once thought you did. You had me fooled like everyone else, all those years you didn't destroy anything, years you spent raising Trunks. I thought you'd calmed down."
Even though he could see where this was going, Vegeta held silent.
"And then you let Babidi turn you just so you might be able to kill Goku. Nothing had changed! Nothing! A decade, and you were just as evil as always. You murdered a whole stadium of people just to make Goku angry. You threw away your family on a whim!"
"You know nothing," Vegeta said, his voice low and soft. "You don't have the darkness inside you to be manipulated like that. It took all my pride to resist him and that's exactly what he used against me."
"Quit the pride crap," Krillin said. "You wanted to kill. Nothing changed then, and nothing's changed now. I'm not gonna believe you're all better 'cause you've behaved for awhile. I know you're biding your time, waiting for the perfect opportunity, and then you're gonna hurt Goku again and he might have to kill you, and that'll hurt him even more. I can't trust you, Vegeta, and you'd better leave him alone."
"...little fool," Vegeta whispered. "I'm not like that anymore."
"Are you deaf? I said I don't believe it. Now you'd better go or else..." He hefted his ki and aimed dead at Vegeta. "Or else I'll do what I have to, to keep Goku safe."
"Go where? To a galaxy that hates me?" Vegeta lowered his head a fraction, ready to fight. "And what will you do when Goku finds me gone? Tell him I was cowed by a tiny, frightened human?"
"I mean it," Krillin said. "I'll do it."
"Sanctimonious little coward," Vegeta hissed. "You'll kill me just satisfy your paranoia?"
"At least I have a reason. You never even had that."
Vegeta shifted his stance, about to attack, and Krillin fired the largest blast he could, the energy output shoving his feet back several inches. Instead of dodging or leaping over the yellow bolt, Vegeta whirled the sword in a broad circle and stepped forward as he sliced down. Split by the blade, the ki shot in two directions, burning his arms but nothing worse.
"What? How the hell--?"
"Ignorant shrimp," the prince smirked. "Just because I'm weakened doesn't mean I can't defend myself against the likes of you."
Before Krillin could reply, the forest seemed to pulse once, blurring and coming back into focus. The snow cleared for an instant, and Krillin felt like he was sinking when he realized the wave had come from Vegeta. Apparently the hour was up.
All of his familiar power rushed back on the prince and he took a second to savor the rush. "And now you've lost your advantage. Think the dragon balls will recharge in time to bring you back?"
Instead of running, the monk stood straight and took a deep breath. "Go ahead. Then maybe Goku will realize what you really are."
Vegeta lowered his sword. "You really think I would hurt him now."
"You can't change your nature."
"No. I can't." He wished he had his sheath. There was no place to set his sword, and he didn't need it anymore. Fuck Krillin anyhow, he didn't have to stay here and listen, and he had a feeling Goku might be awake now. He was about to fly off when he felt two strong energy signatures coming towards them.
"Father!" Trunks landed next to him, looking him over as if he expected more than his burns. "You're all right?"
"Fine now. The wish has worn off. How did you find out?"
"Yamcha told us. I'm surprised he had the guts to face me after the last time we met, but..." His voice trailed off. "Looks like you didn't need us after all."
"A few more minutes and I might have," Vegeta said so that only Trunks would hear. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else, but his son had always had a fragile ego. Probably hereditary.
"So," Goten said, staring at Krillin who now faced three super Saiyans. "What do we do about him?"
Trunks turned his attention to the monk, drawing his sword as he moved. "This is the second time you've tried to kill him. I warned you once already."
"You don't understand," Krillin said, taking a step back. "He's still evil, he has to be stopped. I did it for Goku! For all of us!"
"Lying little--" Trunks raised his sword, about to close the distance between him and his enemy, when his father's hand came to rest on his shoulder. He glanced aside. "Father?"
"Let him live."
"What? After all he's done?" He lowered his sword but kept his eyes on Krillin, silently daring him to move.
"Trunks..." Vegeta shook his head. "He's right. I cannot change my nature. I'm as much a killer now as I was before."
"Father?"
"You see, he admits it!" Krillin grinned, then remembered he was weaker than that killer.
"Just because a wolf stops biting," Vegeta said, "doesn't mean the rabbit won't be afraid of it anymore. He's only a rabbit afraid of a wolf, nothing more." He shrugged and turned his sword aside. "Besides, Kakarrot would be upset if I killed him."
"Oh!" Reminded about his father, Goten tugged on Trunks' sleeve to get his attention. "I bet dad's awake now."
"Probably." Trunks looked back at his father. "You gonna be all right? Those burns--"
"Next to nothing. I should make sure Kakarrot is well." Vegeta turned to leave, but his son's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"But...father? I don't..." Trunks looked between him and Krillin, knowing the monk was still a threat and bewildered that Vegeta would simply let him go. "Why?"
For a moment, the prince didn't answer. Even after all these years of holding himself back, leaving an enemy alive felt alien. "He expects me to kill him. I won't give him that satisfaction, even if it means leaving him alive. Besides..." he shrugged, then winced as it pulled on a burn. "He wants to keep all of you safe. How can I kill him for that?"
With one last nod to his son and Goten, he quietly rose into the air and flew back to his mate. Behind him, Trunks glared at Krillin, wondering if he could kill the monk without his father or anyone else finding out. He still had his sword out, and he could probably take Krillin out fast and then dispatch of the other two, still unconscious and now half-buried. He took a step towards the monk. After all, he had warned him before.
Krillin backed up, not looking where he was going, and stumbled into the snow. He scooted backwards over the ground, staring at Trunks' cold eyes. He'd forgotten just how much like Vegeta Trunks could be. Even if Vegeta had forgiven him, apparently Trunks hadn't. Part of his mind wondered why the boy would bother using a sword, but most of him was certain that Trunks was going to eat him.
"Trunks..." Goten stepped closer to his mate and put his hand on his arm, pushing it down. "It's cold, and it's getting dark again."
"Just a moment, chibi," Trunks said, not looking away from Krillin. "I'll be done in a minute."
"Too long. I wanna go home now." Goten glanced at Krillin, then back at his mate. He pressed himself even closer around him, leaning his head on his shoulder and letting Trunks' hair sweep over his face. "The sunroom's still warm, I bet. We could go lay on the couch, watch the snow come down. Just the two of us."
"Goten..."
"Please, Trunks. Please." He looked up into his mate's eyes, blinking as the snowflakes caught on his lashes. "We can go home right now, and everything'll be okay. Please?"
For a moment, none of them moved, Goten wondering if he would agree, Trunks slowly considering, and Krillin trying to blend into the stones. When Trunks didn't move for several seconds, Goten gently pushed his sword down and guided it into its sheath. Trunks let out a ragged breath and turned his face towards Goten's hair, burying himself in his mate.
Trunks spared a glance back at Krillin. "You're damn lucky each Vegeta gets a Son."
"Come on," Goten said, "let's go home. Hey, nimbus!" As the cloud appeared, he plopped down and pulled Trunks onto his lap. They both went into the air, moving through the falling snow. Trunks put his hand on the cloud's surface and winced when he felt it go through.
"How do you put up with me, chibi?" he whispered. In his mind he imagined trying to explain killing baldy to his mother, his grandparents, Gohan and Goku and Piccolo and Vegeta. Well, maybe not Piccolo or his father. Or his mother. Heck, even Yamcha might not have minded.
Goten smiled and held him closer. "No man is so good as to be free from all evil, nor so bad as to be worth nothing."
"Where'd you hear that?" Trunks mentally checked off his philosophy books and drew a blank. "Kant? Confucius? No way it was Hobbes..."
"The Big Bedtime Book of Fairy Tales," Goten said, laughing when his mate face faulted. "I'll read it to you when we're in the sunroom."
"...do we even have a bedtime book of fairy tales?"
*
In the forest, Krillin went about waking Tien up and feeding him his only senzu, and then let the taller fighter take him and Chaotzu towards the nearest hospital. If Tien or Chaotzu felt the three Saiyans flying away from them, they didn't mention it. None of them said anything on the way, although each of them had the look teenagers get when they pull a stunt that nearly kills them and realize they nearly killed themselves, and that only by some kind of grace are they still breathing.
*
Landing quietly on his doorstep, Vegeta took a moment to brush the snow from his hair before going in. He sighed as he closed the door behind himself. Either he or the brats had left it open and snow had blown in on the floor. Ignoring it for now, he set his sword on the mantle and settled on the couch beside his sleeping mate. His arms still stung with fresh burns, but those were healing at last. His shivering hurt worse actually, as now that the house was warming up, he felt the difference in temperature and felt all of his muscles tense up. He put his arms around himself and leaned forward, trying to force himself to stop.
A thick blanket fell over his shoulders. He looked up and found Goku staring at him, a strange look on his face.
"Your arms..." Goku touched his shoulder and his jaw dropped. "'Geta, you're soaked through. What happened?"
"Just a small run-in with your friends." He half-smiled. "You should be proud of me. I didn't kill anyone."
"'Kill'?" Seeing that his mate was not in a talkative mood, Goku got up and went to the bathroom, pulling out bandages and burn ointments. When he came back, Vegeta hadn't moved. Goku sat back down and gently tugged off what remained of the tattered blue tank top and pants, covering his waist with the blanket while he tended to the red and black burns.
Inch by inch, he wrapped white gauze around Vegeta's arms, starting with his hands and working his way up. For his part, Vegeta merely held his hand out and stared at the floor.
"If there was trouble," Goku started, "why didn't you wake me up?"
"They made a wish that you wouldn't."
"They?"
"Your three hairless friends. Baldy nearly killed me."
"What?" Halfway through the other arm, Goku stopped. "That's impossible, you're--"
"--weaker than they were, for an hour."
Slowly Goku finished wrapping the bandages, tucking the end in when he was done. "The dragon balls?"
Vegeta nodded.
Goku sat back and considered for several seconds, unconsciously running his thumb over the back of Vegeta's hand. The prince watched it move, following it back and forth.
"It's not right," Goku said. He drew himself up as if he'd come to a decision. "They should never have done this to you. I have to make them realize--"
"Already did it," Vegeta said. "Broke the clown's head, nearly took off triclops' arm and...well, I guess I didn't do anything to baldy. I can fix that later, when I feel up to it."
"But I can't let them attack you just because they don't like us--"
"They didn't. Well, maybe triclops and the clown did, but baldy was afraid I was going to hurt you." He took a deep breath and gave Goku a brief synopsis of what had been said. Towards the end, Goku raised his hand to interrupt.
"Wait a second. You had the chance to kill him and you didn't?"
Vegeta shook his head.
"Why?"
"To prove that I could control myself."
"To him?"
"To me."
"Huh?"
The floor became fascinating again, and Vegeta followed the patterns in the tile as he spoke. "He was right about me. I do get the urge to kill now and then. I can see it in my mind, blasting someone's head off, tearing out their throat. Ripping off their arms and beating them with 'em." He smirked and a laugh slipped out. "I can just imagine the Namek on the ground trying to grow new limbs while I'm smacking him with the ones I've torn off."
"Vegeta..." Goku whispered.
"I know, bad thoughts. Sometimes I wish I didn't have them but..."
"You lived a violent life before now," Goku said. "You can't expect it all to go away."
Vegeta half-shrugged. That meant that the prince wasn't going to say anything else for the rest of the day. Goku gave up the argument for the time being and instead dragged his mate onto his lap. There was no resistance as Vegeta used his chest for a pillow. His shivering slowed and stopped as his breathing turned soft.
Must've been exhausted, Goku thought, being alert and tense for a whole hour.
He sat still in the dark, letting Vegeta's heartbeat and sleepy murmurs lull him into dreams of holding his mate in bed, deep under thick blankets while ice and frost gathered on the windowsill. Outside, the blizzard finally came to an end.
