Royal Blood: Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

 

 

Goku stumbled out of the gravity room sporting some deep cuts and bruises. Vegeta never went easy on anyone whilst sparring, especially Goku. They had been sparring for over 5 hours and Goku had never felt more worked to the bone. Sweat dripped from his nose as he tried to catch his breath and noticed Vegeta walk straight past him towards the kitchen. He quickly wiped a towel over his face and ran to catch up to him.

 

“Vegeta, wait!”

 

Vegeta turned slightly to glower at Goku from over his shoulder.

 

“I just wanted to say…thank you, it’s been a long while since I had a good sparring match!” Goku smiled casually as he draped his towel around his thick-corded neck.

 

Vegeta just grunted and carried on walking, he never was one to accept a thank you from anyone. Goku noticed with sly satisfaction that Vegeta was slightly limping as he walked. So he had injured the proud Prince after all. Vegeta had put up a façade in front of Goku. He would never admit that his fellow saiyan had gotten a good shot in and had actually injured him. Goku smiled to himself and followed Vegeta into the building.

 

 

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Bulma sat up with a jolt as she heard Vegeta push open the kitchen door with force. She had cooked supper over 2 hours ago and had fallen asleep at the table waiting for them to join her before she served the food. Bulma felt her blood boil as she looked at the clock.

 

“Nine forty-five!!”

 

Vegeta stood and stared at Bulma in slight confusion as Goku walked in and recognised the expression on her face in an instant. She was angry, very angry.

 

“ W-what’s up Bulma?” Goku said almost flinching at knowing what was coming next.

 

“WHAT’S UP? What’s up? You too bone heads where supposed to be having supper with me over two hours ago! Don’t you two ever think of anything other than fighting or training? You think I have nothing better to do than stand here cooking all day for you two greedy fatheads!!” Bulma’s face was slowly changing from a shade of pink to an angry shade of red quickly.

 

Vegeta smiled as he watched her let out her rage. He loved it when she lost her cool. It seemed almost saiyan to him. She may not have a high power level but she could certainly strike fear into any man with just a look or a sharp word from her mouth. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he noticed that she had the grain pattern from the wooden table imprinted onto her cheek. Bulma heard him and turned to face him, ready to attack.

 

Vegeta raised a palm up to her, “Woman, please! Every time you open that mouth of yours you make my ears cringe! Give it a rest already!”

 

Bulma’s mouth hung open in sheer disbelief for a moment and then proceeded to hurl insults at him, insults that would turn any warriors face a deep crimson colour. Goku cringed inwardly as he tried to block out the profanities that were being flung from Bulma’s mouth at the Prince. He looked up and felt surprised to find Vegeta wasn’t even batting an eyelid. He didn’t even look angry. Goku couldn’t believe that this guy, standing there, and taking such verbal abuse used to be the same alien that had come to Earth to destroy everyone and everything on it. He didn’t care that this Blue haired angry woman was poking him in the chest as she screamed bloody murder at him. Perhaps Vegeta had changed more than he had thought. Goku looked at Vegeta again and noticed something else. Vegeta was…smiling? Not an angry pissed off smirk, no. A real amused smile, like he was enjoying every minuet of Bulma’s wrath. Goku shook his head slowly in disbelief. ‘Now I can see why these two go so well together!’ He thought to himself as he saw them look at each other with fire in their eyes.

 

Bulma let out a sharp sigh as she gave up on the smirking Saiyan before her. She walked over to the table again and picked up the plates of cold food. Vegeta looked a bit disappointed that her little tirade hadn’t lasted longer, but even more disappointed as he saw plate after plate of food being thrown in the trashcan. Bulma finished angrily scraping cold food into the garbage and turned to see Goku looking horrified at what she had just done.

 

“ Don’t look at me like that Goku! You could have eaten that if you had been here at seven like I told you to! But I guess training is more important huh?” Bulma said before storming out of the room with her nose in the air leaving two silently stunned Saiyans behind her.

 

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Trunks awoke quickly and snapped open his eyes in shock. Pain was rolling over his body in waves and it made him cry out. But instead of a scream a horse yell came out. He wanted to clutch at his chest to try and ease the pain but he couldn’t as he was still shackled at the wrists. He struggled against his restraints as the pain increased ten-fold. He wanted to call out for his father but as he strained to call out, his voice came out as a raspy whisper. His eyes began to water as the pain began to be too much to bear. He felt like his whole body was being ripped apart. Trunks grit his teeth as a harsh buzzing noise filled his head.

What was happening to him? ‘It must be the Nanites that mother was talking about! Oh Kami, I feel…like I’m…dying!” Trunks felt his limbs go numb and could see his vision was fading. He struggled to gain control over his body; he could feel his every sense being taken over by something un-natural. ‘No I won’t let them win, I need to stay focused, I won’t hurt them again! I won’t!’ Trunks thought as he heard the buzzing in his head get louder. He squeezed his eyelids shut as he tried to block out the unrelenting pain, he could feel himself coming out in a cold sweat as he tried to push it away from his mind. He began to take in big gulps of oxygen; it felt as if he were being suffocated in his own body and it made him panic. Trunks suddenly arched his back into the air as the pain increased even more not giving in, making sure that he completed the mission that was set out for him by Cooler.

 

“NOOooo, FATHER!!” Trunks screamed suddenly finding his voice.

 

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Vegeta looked up instantly and found that Goku had heard then same blood-curdling scream from his son. He didn’t even hesitate to respond and ran out of the kitchen with Goku following right behind. Vegeta felt his heart quicken as he ran down the corridors towards Bulma’s lab. He couldn’t imagine what would cause his son to cry out in such a way. As if something truly horrifying was attacking him. Vegeta cringed as he felt a trickle of fear drip down his spine as he reached the door. He made a grab for the handle and pushed open the door so hard it almost fell off its hinges.

 

“Trunks!” He ran over to the bed and almost choked on a gasp at the state he had found his son in.

Trunks slowly opened his eyes as his body convulsed slightly and turned his head to look up at his father, almost silently pleading for Vegeta to help him.

 

“F-father, make it stop, please! It hurts!” Trunks lifted his head up slightly as he pleaded with his father.

 

“What hurts? Trunks? Tell me? What is happening, tell me!?” Vegeta’s eyes fluttered across Trunks’s body in a panic trying to find the source of his son’s pain. Suddenly he didn’t care if anyone saw how alarmed he was over his son’s health.

 

“It’s the Nanites, t-they are trying to take over me, I c-can’t stop it!”

 

Vegeta’s eyes widened in fear, as he saw his son’s eyes begin to change into an eerie red colour.

 

“NO, TRUNKS! Stay with me boy, you have to fight this, don’t let them win!” Vegeta pulled Trunks’s face toward him but Trunks closed his eyes so he couldn’t see the horror on his fathers face. It took a lot to alarm Vegeta and just the sight of his panic-stricken face made Trunks fear that this might be the end for him.

 

“Look at me! Trunks! You have to fight it! You can’t give up! You are stronger than this, Look at me!” Trunks slowly opened his eyes again to look at his father, he wanted to say so much to his father in his last moments but he could only find the strength to muster up a few words.

 

“Forgive me…father, please don’t let me hurt my mother again! P-promise me that you’ll kill me if I try to?”

 

 

 

 

“What?” Vegeta felt his throat tighten as grief for his tortured son began to rise up through his body. He couldn’t face loosing his son like this. Trunks didn’t deserve to die like this, if anyone in this room did then it would be himself, he had the blood of billions of innocent souls on his hands, worlds had been destroyed at just a flick of his wrist.

 

“I-I’m, s-sorry father.” He looked up at his father with the same admiration as his younger self but his vision blurred slowly and the last image he saw was of his father standing over him with undeniable grief, and then everything faded to empty darkness.

 

Vegeta struggled to keep control as he looked into his son’s eyes that were now glazing over. “NOOO, TAKE ME!! IT’S ME YOU WANT!” Utter rage consumed Vegeta as he bellowed through the lab. Goku stood speechless as he saw the Prince fall to his knees in defeat. He began to walk over to him but he wasn’t sure what to do, he couldn’t comfort Vegeta, as that would just make him even angrier. Goku quickly looked up to see Trunks still lying motionless on the bed, his eyes staring out into nothingness. He swallowed hard as his own sorrow for the fallen boy began to engulf him. He walked slowly up to Trunks and calmly placed a hand over his eyes to close them.

 

“Rest in peace my friend, you fought bravely and you will never be forgotten for your heroism. You were an impressive warrior and a great person Trunks; I just can’t believe you’re gone.” Goku’s voice had so much anguish in it that anyone would have thought that Trunks was his own son, in some ways Goku did see him as a second son. He began to feel anger well up inside of him as he looked down at Trunks’s body. ‘I should have done something; I shouldn’t have let them take you! You didn’t deserve this torment and pain! I will avenge your death my friend, I swear it!’

 

“Kakarot!” Vegeta’s voice snapped Goku out of his thoughts in an instant. For some reason it didn’t sound like Vegeta’s voice at all, it was full of agony and sadness. He never showed any emotion, so this felt almost alien to Goku. Like it wasn’t actually Vegeta talking to him, but someone else. He turned slowly to find Vegeta standing there; his arms were down by his side as if utterly broken.

 

“Yes Vegeta?”

 

“Go and get Bulma, she…needs to know.” Vegeta glanced over to Trunks and then down at the floor. Inside he could feel pure hatred for the beast that had done this to his son, his own flesh and blood. But also he could feel his cold heart breaking in his chest at the sight of his son’s body lying motionless with the pain he had just suffered still lingering on his cold face.

 

Goku looked down and nodded before exiting the room. He wanted to ask Vegeta if he was ok, but he knew that it would just infuriate the prince so he carried on walking and didn’t look back as he heard Vegeta smashing up various pieces furniture in a blind fury behind him.

 

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Bulma rushed to the lab like a mad woman, she ran knocking things over as she went until she reached the door. As she opened the door she realised in an instant that her once pristine lab was now utterly trashed. The lights were all off except for one over the bed where Trunks’s lifeless body lay. She stopped breathing at the sight and began to walk over slowly as if in a daze. Goku had followed her and stood at the doorway looking around at the devastation Vegeta’s rage had caused. Boy was he mad; he had literally destroyed everything in the room. Even the light on the ceiling, which was swinging, violently back and fourth, had not escaped being smashed up. Suddenly his attentions where bought back to Bulma as he heard her quietly whimpering over Trunks. She was running her fingers over his face so carefully, as if he were made of ash and a slight touch might cause him to disappear. “Bulma, I’m so sorry.” Goku said and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

 

“No, it wasn’t supposed to end this way! I was going to save him! I was so close Goku! So close to figuring out the Nanites! He can’t die, he just can’t!!” Bulma said almost hysterical. She turned back to Trunks and for a reason she can’t quite understand she began to check for a pulse.

 

“Bulma, he’s gone, we saw him pass away, I’m sorry, please don’t do this to yourself!” Goku said trying to pull her away from her son’s body. Goku thought all this craziness was suddenly taking its toll on her, pure desperation flashed in her eyes as she tried to cling on to Trunks for dear life. “NO! Goku! He could still be alive! I know it! Just let me check, I have to see for myself!” Goku refused to let go, she needed to rest, and he thought she was finally loosing it. Couldn’t she see he was dead? He was as cold as ice and wasn’t breathing. Suddenly a voice from the darkness around the bed caused them both to jump in fright.

 

“Let go of her Kakarot.”

 

“Vegeta?”

 

Bulma squinted trying to see into the darkness of the lab and she began to make out a silhouette of the Prince standing perfectly still. His voice was extremely calm, a little too calm. It sounded almost deadly which made Bulma back away from Trunks and into Goku in fear.

 

“Vegeta, what are you still doing here?” Goku said calmly, confused at why Vegeta would completely trash the lab in a blind rage and then stay to witness Bulma see her son like this.

 

“It is time Kakarot.”

 

“W-what?

 

“It is time I paid the Ice-Jin overlord a little visit, it is time he met his maker!” Vegeta said as he stepped into the light. His face displayed no emotion what so ever. He had the same mask like expression he always wore as he walked towards Goku. “I need you to take me there, my onslaught on that coward will not be a weak faltering affair, I will crush him into dust for what he has done to my family! I’m going make the bastard wished he had never heard the name Vegeta, for Cooler I am the God of death, and I will make sure his demise is not an easy one!” He raised his fist and clenched it so hard you could hear the glove crinkle under the strain.

 

“But Vegeta, you can’t take him on by yourself, I think you are under estimating his abilities! It would be suicide to go on your own!” Goku pleaded with Vegeta but knew his words were falling on deaf ears. Revenge was painted all too clearly on the Prince’s face.

 

“Hn! I wouldn’t worry about it Kakarot, I am good at fighting loosing battles remember?” Vegeta smirked slightly and crossed his arms.

 

“We’ll I’m going with you, It makes no sense to go on by yourself, I can help! I want to help!” Goku said knowing that Vegeta would suffer a fate worse than death if Cooler got his hands on him.

 

“ When nothing makes sense Kakarot I will remember only this, that lizard and his family bought down my entire race, his family murdered my father and took the very life from me without ending it completely, and now, they have destroyed my son! I am Prince Vegeta and I will not run or hide until there is no more Ice-Jin’s left to fight! I will end this today! If it’s me he wants, then it’s me he is going to get!” Vegeta said with anger in every word he spoke.

 

“Vegeta.” Bulma called out to her broken Prince and began to walk slowly over to him. She could see the pain etched onto his face. Something only she could see. Bulma had been with Vegeta long enough to know what he was feeling inside even when his face told a different story. “Please let Goku go with you?”

 

“Woman I…”

 

“Please Vegeta! I can’t loose you as well! Please?” A tear escaped her big blue eye and trickled slowly down her pale face.

Vegeta’s eyebrow twitched as he watched her tear fall from her chin. He couldn’t let anything happen to her as well. He had already failed her by loosing their son to that beast. If taking Kakarot along for the suicide mission would make her happy, then so be it.

 

“Fine, he can go with me, but this is my battle, go it?” Vegeta said turning to face Goku.

 

Goku nodded, “I swore that I would be back for Cooler Vegeta, whether I take his life or you do. It makes no difference. But I won’t allow evil like that to hurt anyone ever again!” Goku said with a deadly tone that was so unlike him.

 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Goku’s words and after a few moments turned back to Bulma. Suddenly to her surprise he cupped her jaw in his hand gently and smiled softly, “Trunks’s death will not be in vain Bulma, I will make Cooler pay for what he has done to our son and…to you.” For a split second Bulma thought Vegeta would kiss her she even closed her eyes for a moment subconsciously pouted her lips ready. But felt his body pull away and she opened her eyes again to see Vegeta walking out of the lab. She looked down at her feet contemplating what to do next. Her son was gone and Vegeta had revenge and death written all over his face almost to the point of insanity. She glanced over to Goku and smiled at her lifelong friend. “Goku, promise me, you’ll bring him back safe?” Goku slightly frowned, how could he promise such a thing. Who knew what Cooler had instore for them on that hellhole he used as a ship. “I’ll try Bulma, I can promise that.”

 

Bulma looked down again, swallowing the lump in her throat. She felt as if her whole world had crashed down around her. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. Goku walked up to her and lifted up her chin to face him. “Don’t worry Bulma, Vegeta is strong! He won’t give up without a fight! Now go and get some rest, I’ll make sure Vegeta doesn’t leave without getting some rest first, ok.” Bulma nodded and sighed as she watched Goku walk out of her ruined lab.

 

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