Second Chances: Full Moon Fever

Months had past since the resurrection of brothers Ryo and Shin, and the discovery of Vegeta's new power. The boys were now a whole year old and prospering quite nicely. It was almost unbelievable in some ways. It seemed as if they were just born yesterday. In the time since they came back to life, their parents, now clearly aware that their children were being haunted by the calculating Chi-Chi, watched over them like two keen hawks, though, not to the point of annoyance. While they did start to watch Ryo and Shin closer now than ever before, they still allowed them to do all the things little boys did. Play fighting with each other, and their parents, and getting dirty were among their favorites, resulting in many baths a day. But boys will be boys.


It was also during this time that Vegeta made amends with Bulma.


They talked in private that night, while Goku was out with the children. There, Vegeta came clean and told her everything. Told her he did, at one point, love her, if only he knew how to express it. He thanked her for all she did for him, for Goku, for their kids. He also told her he was sorry. For being so callous towards her, for never thanking her when she did something for him, for never being there for her like she was for him. He was a changed man of sorts now, no longer needing to always show off that tough-as-nails attitude of his. Though he never did hesitate to remind her how proud he was of who and what he was, he was now able to be open with himself.


Bulma accepted his apologies that night, without hesitation, noting that it was what he was that attracted her to him in the first place, and to always keep that strong and gruff mind set in times of despair. Then, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek in thanks. And afterwards, for the first time since he was born, Vegeta took the opportunity to hold his first son Trunks. But underneath that smile of his was an anger, at himself, for being so stupid and heartless. He didn't care when Trunks was first born...at least that's what he wanted people to think. He buried what attachment he had towards the child. But there was no denying it now, or running rom it. One glance at Trunks' chubby smiling face and Vegeta could see it all. The little boy had the soft, caring eyes of his mother, and the strength of his father, still to be uncovered. But, as time went on, Vegeta knew that Trunks would make him proud someday.


***************


Kami's Lookout provided an awe-inspiring view of the planet for as far as the naked eye could see. It had been home to the first Guardian of the Earth and Piccolo's good half, Kami, until he and Piccolo fused to become one. The Lookout's new guardian, Dende, was summoned to take Kami's place. However, the name was kept in honor of Kami. Now home to Dende and Mr. Popo, Kami's Lookout was also home to the sacred Room of Spirit and Time where, once inside, a day's worth of training was the equivalent of one year's training. Goku and Vegeta came to the Lookout for that reason. They also came here to show Ryo and Shin , who up until that point, only heard about it in stories their parents would tell them.


They would be put in the care of Mr. Popo, who was more than overjoyed at Goku and Vegeta's new additions and offered to babysit them for as long as they wanted him to. They had work to do; and for once, Vegeta would be the one showing Goku some new tricks. At the present time, they both stood before the vast nothingness that went on for an eternity, their bodies gently weighed down by the gravity in the chamber. The hourglasses on either side were ever-draining of time left. The room grew hot, the ground beginning to boil beneath their feet, eyes were stinging with sweat. Goku tried to focus again after he adjusted his orange training gi, and brushed the sweat from his eyes.


"Transform, Kakarot. Show me your true power. I don't want you to hold back on me, understand? Let's begin. Haaaa!!!"


Both warriors transformed into Super Saiyans. Goku lunged forward, a burst of yellow energy swirling around him as he rushed forward to strike Vegeta directly in the face. The smaller Saiyan grinned as he went to wipe the rivulet of blood from the corner of his mouth, and countered with a violent punch to Goku's stomach. Goku gasped and doubled over, barely able to catch Vegeta flying away from him at breakneck speed. Goku smiled. This was going to be fun. He quickly followed suit. But when he finally caught up to Vegeta, the prince had taken it up a notch. Now Super Saiyan 3, it was no wonder how the ground, or the world around him managed to stay so perfectly intact beneath him.


"Kakarot! Don't hold back!" screamed the Saiyan over the sound of power swirling around him.

"But Vegeta, wait! I can't! The chamber can't take it!" protested Goku as he kept his distance but continued to drift in the air.


"Yes you can Kakarot! The chamber can take it, trust me! Show me your true power!!!"


I can do this...I know I can. But...do I want to take that risk? Of course I do...I'm a Saiyan. We take risks!


With legs spread and arms tucked with growing power at his side, Goku hunched into a state of charging up. The aura around him grew with his power. Deeper and deeper he went into the very depths of his core, digging and plunging into the power that was yet to awaken. Vegeta's encouragement only increased Goku's determination to show the prince his true power. With a blinding flash of light and scream, Goku was covered with a long, thick mane of golden yellow hair. His eyebrows had burned up in the transformation, a lone lock of hair hung in front of one eye. His muscles bulged with immense power. Both warriors floated there soundly, admiring each other in silence.


I knew you could do it, Kakarot...Because you are my equal.


"V-Vegeta...this power...it's overwhelming! I...feel like I'm going to...to collapse..."


"Your body will get used to it as time goes on. Likewise, Super Saiyan 3 will be easier to enter as well. Pretty soon it should be as easy as breathing..."


"Or, doing this..." murmured Goku with a sly smirk on his face. Before Vegeta could blink, Goku was floating there in front of him with his arms wide open. Vegeta allowed himself to be pulled into his lover's arms and just drifted there aimlessly. "Hey, Vegeta..." whispered the bigger Saiyan, attracting his lover's attention. In an instant, the prince's mouth filled with Goku's tongue caressing the smooth, warm sides of his mouth and tangling with his own tongue. The kiss was long and somewhat arousing, and seeming to last forever, or...at least until they both landed safely on the ground. Goku and Vegeta broke away then, powering down in the process. "C'mon Kakarot. Let's go home."



But, once outside and noticing that it was night, and the fact that the kids were no where to be found and Mr. Popo was frantically searching and calling for them, their hearts both seemed to drop in unison. What happened to Ryo and his brother? Where were they and were they alright? Vegeta grabbed at either side of Mr. Popo's vest, furious. "Bastard! What happened to my kids?!" he shouted, tightening his grip on the piece of clothing. "Don't hurt me, please! I was watching them one minute, and watering the plants, but the next time I turned to look at them they were gone, and so was the Flying Nimbus!" Mr. Popo, confessed trembling with fear. Vegeta let go of the frightened servant and approached Goku and Dende.


A sudden loud roar of some sort shattered what silence there was. A dinosaur? No. It sounded much meaner than that. Vegeta and Goku both looked at each other...when Goku's eyes suddenly bulged after catching a glimpse of it, the silvery terror in the clear night's sky. "Uh oh! This could be bad Vegeta. It's a full moon! Quick, we have to hurry before they transform!"


Making touchdown sometime later, the boys' path of destruction was made perfectly clear. What used to be lush, green forests were now nothing but flat ground. Large chunks of mountains and boulders were everywhere and broken into a million pieces. Fires burned in the distance. Roaring could be heard...coming from the west. "Oh no! Now this could get really bad! Not only have they transformed, but it sounds like they're heading towards West City! Millions of people could get hurt; we've got to hurry. We'll use my Instant Transmission." "And then what?" asked Vegeta, lacing his arms around Goku. "Um...let's just say we play it by ear." Vegeta swallowed hard before fading into oblivion.


Within seconds, Goku and Vegeta stood at ground zero of the city, and had to fight their way past the endless flood of frightened and frantic civilians. Running, for their lives, and screaming in terror at the two gigantic beasts picking up cars and buildings as if they were mere toys. Out of nowhere, a hysterical young lady jumped into Vegeta's unsuspecting arms, crying in terror and looking for a protector. "Mister! I'm scared mister! Please, help me! Save me!" cried the young teenager, frantically pointing up at the two furry ape-like beasts. Vegeta set the girl on her feet. "Don't be afraid. Just focus on finding shelter right now! Go, run!" Goku lightly tapped on Vegeta's shoulder as he watched the young girl running away from him, hopefully having taken heed of his words. "Don't look now Vegeta but... I think they've found new toys to play with – US!" shouted Goku in alarm, a huge hairy hand lunging towards them both, ready to pick them up and crush them. In the end, they were both snatched up by one of the hands, and then encased inside of the other so that both began to crush them.


"Hey...Vegeta...have you ever wondered how sardines feel as they're packed into a can?"


"This is no time to be thinking with your stomach Kakarot!"


"I wasn't. But, now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry."


"Ah just zip it will you? If we don't think of something quick, we're screwed! Any ideas in that pea brain of yours?"


"We could...try and talk to them telepathically; let me try." suggested Goku, coming to close his eyes.


Ryo...Shin...if either of you can hear me boys, it's daddy. Please...listen to me. Your about to crush me and your father...I want you – Ryo or Shin – to gently put us down on the ground ok? If you do that, we'll be able to reverse the transformation. Please boys, put your parents down...


Both Goku and Vegeta suddenly met eye-to-eye with the gargantuan ape, its mouth wide open with sharp teeth bared and red eyes aglow. A low growl churned in its throat, with nostrils flaring. Goku and Vegeta dropped to the ground on top of one another, feeling as though every bone in their body was broken. But at least they were free. "I...take it you got through...eh Kakarot? Ungh...my body...hurts – couldn't you have told them to put us down easily?" groaned the prince, too beaten and broken to get up under his own power. Naturally, Goku had managed to have a little gas in his tank, enough to get up under his own power and pick Vegeta up and into his arms. "I've got you Vegeta. Hang...on to me. Ung...we've got no choice – the moon has to be destroyed. It's either the moon or civilization!"


With a quick transformation into Super Saiyan 3 and an outstretched arm and palm, Goku fired the strongest one-handed blast he could directly at the moon. The blast pierced the core, and the moon soon exploded over the horizon. And with no moon to fuel their metamorphosis, both Ryo and his brother quickly regressed into their harmless, human selves. There, on the ground, they lay sprawled out and naked, and asleep, and completely unaware of what they once had been, and the damage and fear they caused just moments prior. After creating a temporary and artificial moon, Goku, with Vegeta in tow, descended upon their sleeping children.


"Vegeta...can you walk?"


"I think so. But even if I can't, I'll make myself. Kakarot, you grab Shin. I'll grab Ryo. Is there anything we can use to cover them up?"


"Not exactly; but, we can use my uniform. It's not much but, it'll do. Here, take my undershirt."


After bundling Ryo and Shin in the blue undershirt and orange overshirt respectively,, the two Saiyans gave their surroundings – or lack thereof – one last look before departing. In time, the city would come to rise out of the ashes of this tragedy, stronger and better than ever. People would pick up the pieces of their past and rebuild their lives. Wounds would come to heal through time, and life would go on. Stronger.


***************


"Daddy? My head hurts; what happened to me?"


Vegeta was making his way out of Ryo and Shin's room when he heard his son's soft and harmless voice, confused. He turned around, eyes gazing at the mirror image of himself as a child, and approached little Ryo's crib where he then played around with the mobile hanging from it. Ryo's big eyes looked up at his father wearily, questioningly, and growing heavier with much needed sleep. How could Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans, explain such a horrible thing like that to his own son? He could only wonder; he had no recollection of the first time he turned into an Oozaru – no Saiyan did. But, Vegeta did have his memories. Like his very first time on Earth fighting Goku.; Goku gained the upper hand in their viciouc battle, forcing Vegeta to play his trump mcard and transform into an Oozaru, in which his strength increased ten fold. With Goku in his crushing hands, Vegeta believed himself to be the winner...until his tail was sliced off by a lazy friend of Goku's. That much he could remember. Either way, there was not going to be an easy way for him to explain such a complicated issue to his son. But, he had to try.


The prince picked his little boy up and into his arms, walking back and forth across the darkened room, and gently bounced the tired boy in his embrace. "I'm here son. You see, Ryo, what happened to you happens to all Saiyans at some point in their lives. The transformation into an ape-like creature upon seeing the light of a full moon. It happened to me, and it more than likely happened to Kakarot when he was just a boy. And only with training or removal of the Saiyan's tail will the transformation become controlled. I don't want you to be afraid of who you are son. You are a Saiyan. Be proud, like me and your father."


Ryo smiled wide at his father, though still not completely understanding what his father was talking bout. But, he had an idea of it. Mostly the monkey part, in which he giggled at. "Big monkey! Big monkey!" giggled the child, laughing and bouncing in his father's arms. He clung to his father then, and snuggled against his muscled shoulder. "Daddy? Whose Kakawot?" Ryo asked. Vegeta smiled, laughing in his throat. Close enough. Just hearing him say that name made the Saiyan Prince proud. "Kakarot is your father Goku's Saiyan name. Can you say Kakarot?" Vegeta nuzzled his nose against Ryo's tiny bulb of a nose and kissed his forehead. "Kakawot! Kakawot! Kakawot!" Ryo cheered, rudely awakening his brother.


And Goku, alarmed from the sudden crying and rumbling of the infant's voice, was in the room in a minute with his eyes wide. "What's wrong little buddy? Vegeta, why is Shin crying, and why do I keep thinking I kept hearing my name?" he asked while trying to soothe Shin's frightened nerves. He gave him a soft colored donut to chew on. "That's because you were hearing your name. Ryo said Kakawo – ahem, I mean, Kakarot. I think he got a little too excited and ended up waking his brother."


"Vegeta...you didn't. Did you? Did you make him say that?" asked Goku, still rocking Shin in his arms.


"Absolutely not. I said the name, and he asked who Kakarot was. I simply told him. Do you not want our children to know your Saiyan name?"


"No, I do want them to know. I do want them to learn about who and what they are – but not at the cost of their identity."


"Are you accusing me of brainwashing Ryo?"


"I...I don't know. I don't know what the hell I'm saying. Vegeta – wait. Please, don't look away from me..."


Goku was handed Ryo by a clearly hurt and disgruntled Vegeta, who stomped from the room soon after and blazed a trail outside where he sat against a large tree amongst the calmness of the night. He needed his space, his time to breathe, Goku figured, and left his prince alone to sort out whatever it was troubling him, while he simply continued to ease Shin and Ryo until they were fast asleep. And Goku, opting to still give Vegeta his space, went back to the large and vacant bed he and his lover shared, with the one hope that the cool space next to him would not remain vacant forever.