Quest: Explanations

Chapter 10 - Explanations

Chichi knocked at the door, almost nervous. She knew she was early, but she was hoping for a chance to talk to Goku in private. She had been worried about him ever since she saw him last having never seen Goku that upset before.

When Piccolo showed up at her doorstep, asking her to 'attend a meeting with Vegeta' her blood turned to ice. This was so unlike the prince - she knew something was seriously wrong. She told Rezu her concerns and arranged for her to spend the day with the boys. Somehow she knew she and Bulma wouldn't want any distractions.

Then... she waited... and cooked... and worried. She hadn't realized just how worried she was until she stopped and looked around the kitchen - every available surface was covered. Shaking her head in disbelief, she had packed up the extra for Goku and Vegeta.

"Hi Chi - I wasn't expecting you yet," Goku said, smiling at her.

"Yeah - well I farmed the boys out to Rezu. They are spending the day at the fair with some other firefighters and their kids," she said.

"Oh - sorry you are missing that."

She laughed. "I'm not. Can you just picture them all hyped up on cotton candy and junk food? They've been getting on my nerves the past few days. Still too much to do for the wedding and they keep getting underfoot."

Goku followed her to the kitchen, grinning when she started unloading capsules of food.

"You've been busy," he said.

"You know me. Cooking is therapy."

She handed him a few of his favorite cookies before putting the rest away. He popped them in his mouth, grinning.

She finished and turned to look at him, noticing how he squirmed, and then blushed under her intense gaze.

"Honey...are you okay?" she asked.

He scratched the back of his head, obviously embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm doing better now. Sorry I was such a big baby."

"You weren't a baby - you were upset," she said, resting her hand on his arm. "Goku...Piccolo was more serious than usual when he said Vegeta wanted to see Bulma and me. Is this about the other day?"

Goku looked worried for a moment before making a tiny smile. "Kind of. But Vegeta wants to be the one to tell you."

He suddenly caught her up in a hug, and she eeped in surprise. "Did I ever tell you I love you?" he asked.

Goku was always affectionate in his own way, but this insecure desperation was not like him. Everything he said and did just made her more and more nervous. "Yes honey...many times. I love you too."

His response was to hold her tighter. "And did I ever tell you that you don't know your own strength?" she gasped.

"Oh - I'm sorry," he said sheepishly, carefully releasing her. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine." She tugged him down to her height by pulling on his shirt and kissed him on the forehead. "Relax. You're too tense."

He looked at her seriously. "Chi - no matter what, you've got to remember it wasn't his fault, okay? Promise me you'll listen and give him - us - a chance before you get mad," he pleaded.

"Of course I will." He expected her to get angry? She wanted to shake him - or Vegeta - and demand they knock off the drama and just tell her what in the hell was going on. She might have done that to Goku in the past, but if she tried it with Vegeta, he'd just subject her to his death-stare. It was pretty obvious something major had happened and knowing Goku he had already forgiven him. "Vegeta can be an egotistical, arrogant twerp when he wants to be, but I like him. And I want you to be happy."

"Thanks Chi," he said, relaxing only slightly. He was still more uptight than she had ever seen him. "Bulma's here. Could you let her in? I'll go get Vegeta - he's still meditating in the bedroom," he said just before the bell rang; Chichi was sure he had sensed her ki.

As she headed for the door, she pondered what Goku had said. Vegeta meditating now? And Goku not sure she knew he loved her? What was wrong? She shook her head, trying to clear away her dark thoughts - she always said it was a woman's job to cope - but sometimes it was tough.

"Hi Bulma. Are you ready for this?" she asked as the other woman entered the house. They were friends again, especially since they were swapping Goten and Trunks around so much she wasn't sure who they lived with any more - the kids were having a blast.

"I doubt it. 'Prince Vegeta respectfully requests your presence,'" she grumbled.

Chichi chuckled. "Piccolo said that?"

"No - it just sounded that way." She sighed. "Do you know what this is about?"

"Not really - but I have a really bad feeling about it. I've never seen Goku so uptight."

"I'm still pissed at Vegeta. Hell, he's quit taking my calls - the only one I ever talk to anymore is Goku - and now I find out he is actually hiding from Trunks. The poor kid was crying his eyes out the other day. What in the hell is wrong with him? And you should have seen the condition of the latest house he sent back - the fucking roof was gone!"

Chichi shrugged. She'd heard it all before. This was Bulma's latest rant, and while she was inclined to agree with her about Trunks, she didn't think Vegeta would be that cruel to his son on purpose.

They entered the living room together to see Vegeta sitting in a chair and Chichi got the momentary impression of royalty on a throne. As she expected, Bulma stopped and stood in front of him, totally annoyed, her glower fueled by her tirade. She didn't really mean it - she was just letting the prince know she couldn't be pushed around. Chichi was used to Bulma and Vegeta's displays and just sat down silently, studying him.

"This better be good," Bulma said angrily. "Because this little 'summons' of yours is a pain in the ass."

"Be quiet and sit down," Goku commanded her, tail snapping.

She hid a grin behind her hand when Bulma's mouth snapped shut and she sat down and glared at Goku. Chichi noticed her ex's quick flush of embarrassment before he returned to tense watchfulness. He had apparently assigned himself the task of bodyguard, choosing to stand at Vegeta's side.

"Thank you for coming when I called," Vegeta began formally. "I know you are both very busy." Chichi nearly nodded to herself. While there was tightness to his voice she could hear 'His Royal Highness' - he should be wearing a crown.

"Damn straight," Bulma muttered. "Repairing shit you keep destroying."

"Shh," hissed Chichi. She wondered if she imagined hearing Goku's growl. Bulma was immune to 'The Prince' after years of practice, but Vegeta ignored her and continued.

"Things have happened which you both need to be aware of. And hopefully you will be able to help with a solution to an on-going problem," Vegeta went on as if there had been no interruption.

And then he started talking - cold, emotionless, matter-of-fact, trying to hide how much it pained him. She knew Goku was close to tearing up, probably holding back because if he started, Vegeta would start. His tail had a mind of its own, though, and was coiled around the prince's arm.

She had never heard Vegeta talk so much before. Based on Goku's reaction, Chichi was positive he was leaving out some details, but she didn't think she wanted to know. This was bad enough.

Frieza - that horrible monster that Goku had left earth to fight - had used some implant thing to attack and control Vegeta's mind. And poor Vegeta didn't know about it. He had been free of his control for so long - and then he had died fighting Buu. Chichi hadn't even thought of Vegeta going to hell - it hardly seemed right anymore - and Frieza had gotten to him.

She looked at Goku, noticing how distressed he was, and knew the prince wasn't telling them everything. Vegeta was still speaking calmly, as if he was reading from a script.

As he continued she tried to keep from crying, squeezing her hands together until her fingers hurt. No wonder Vegeta had started acting so strangely - Frieza was attacking his mind constantly, making him hear voices, causing him to doubt his sanity. He didn't even know the reason he kept blacking out was because Frieza had taken over his body to recover the dragonballs, using them to wish himself back to life.

She looked over at Bulma. She was silent, no longer angry, doing that stone-faced thing she did when something hurt but she didn't want anyone to know.

"That day - when you both got burned so badly and almost died..." Chichi began hesitantly. Bulma turned and stared at her - hadn't Vegeta told her? "...you were shouting at someone. Was that...?"

Vegeta nodded. "Frieza was attacking me - I could hear him - but I didn't know it was him then. I thought it was just a nightmare. He was hurting... someone... and I was trying to make him stop."

"Who?" Chichi asked but Vegeta just shook his head.

"Wait a minute," Bulma interrupted, curiosity getting the better of her. "You said the control chip was permanent, right? But I'm assuming that is the one you had me test. It was fried. So what happened?"

"I was nearly dead. Frieza was going to kill me," Goku put in. "Vegeta resisted his control in order to protect me and the chip burned out."

Chichi paled at that. She knew there was a battle against the ship and Goku got hurt - but she hadn't known how close he had been to dying.

"I want you to come back for another scan then, Vegeta," Bulma said, pulling a hand-held computer from her purse to enter notes and diagrams. "I wish you had told me what was going on then. I would have known what to look for."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, confused.

Chichi was pleased - Bulma had finally decided to deal with all of this. She had her science, so when the emotional stuff got too much she fell back on technology. It didn't mean she didn't care, but at the moment this was how she coped. It was better than her shouting at Vegeta for something she had no control over.

"For starters, I want to make sure the chip is really dead. And maybe it can be removed after all."

Vegeta nodded.

Chichi felt relieved - this wasn't as bad as she had expected - until she saw Goku look at Vegeta with concern. Her stomach lurched - nothing had been said about Goku getting hurt - they hadn't gotten to the bad part yet. Goku gently squeezed his shoulder and she could see them steeling themselves for something difficult.

"I have another, more dangerous problem," Vegeta finally said, "And frankly, I don't know if there is a solution."

Chichi gave up trying not to cry as Vegeta began telling them about being brainwashed. That must have been so frightening. How could Frieza come up with something so sick and twisted? Why would he want to make Vegeta kill whomever he loved? Vegeta and Radditz? Goku's brother?!

"How do you even know this?" Bulma finally asked. "I mean - if you were...brainwashed...the way you said, you shouldn't even know." She had sat silently through most of the explanation, continuing to make notes, shaking her head as information scrolled across the screen. Chichi envied her calm. Bulma had slipped into CEO mode - it was easier for her when she could be logical.

"Because I realized I love Kakorr," Vegeta answered.

"Kakorr?" Bulma asked.

"Goku," Chichi whispered.

"Oh. But he's alive," she said, stubbornly.

"Vegeta resisted and got control at the last instant - another second and I would have been dead," Goku said. Chichi noticed Vegeta's tail had curled around Goku's wrist still resting on his shoulder.

"So you resisted it, and broke his control. The brainwashing is finished. Why do you think there is still a problem?" Bulma asked.

"Because Kakorr is the only one who is safe - because I thought I had killed him," Vegeta answered.

"Look Vegeta, I'm sure you and Goku believe this..." she said.

Goku looked annoyed - Chichi wasn't surprised. No sane person would make this up. Hadn't Bulma learned by now logic didn't mean much in their lives? Hell - they had all been dead! She knew Bulma didn't mean to sound cold, but every word out of her mouth gave the mistaken impression she didn't care about Vegeta.

"But do you realize how difficult it is? And expensive? You've always said Frieza was in the business of buying and selling planets. What you are talking about is financially prohibitive. It's bad business." Chichi shook her head - maybe money didn't matter to a homicidal madman.

"I never said he was sane," Vegeta snapped.

"But why, Vegeta? Why would he do something like that?" Bulma protested, trying to understand, her ability to cope being stretched to its limits.

"Why do you buy other companies, woman? They have something you need, don't they? Yes, the lizard bastard hated me, but he needed me. I know you find it hard to believe, but I was a valuable asset. He hated not being able to control me. That was why he tried to break me - so he could have full dominance over my power." Chichi could tell Vegeta was angry, but struggling to restrain himself. His tail was bristling and the tip was flicking back and forth.

"There had to have been other, more cost-effective things he could have tried," she insisted stubbornly.

"Maybe you should go discuss the best methods to torture Vegeta with the lizard bastard. Show him the error of his ways," Goku growled.

"I'm just-" Bulma protested.

"Stop it, Bulma," Chichi whispered, taking her hand. "I know you don't mean to, but you're just making it worse."

Bulma remained silent as Vegeta told them more about the brainwashing. His voice began to falter as he told them what had happened that day in the Gravity Room.

"That's not possible," Bulma whispered in disbelief. Chichi agreed with her - she didn't doubt Vegeta, but how could something so terrible happen? And her poor Goku - no wonder he was so upset.

The prince's voice went cold. "That recording you watched - the one no one was ever meant to see. It is possible - it happened. It was real, woman. That is what the brainwashing made me do. I had resisted for years, not understanding why. Kakorr is the first person I ever admitted to myself that I cared for. And because of that I tortured Kakorr - I raped him - nearly killing him as a result."

Bulma finally realized the full extent of the tragedy and was struggling to keep from weeping. Chichi sobbed openly, and even her normally dry-eyed Goku was blinking back tears. Vegeta was the only one not crying - instead he had fallen silent and was just staring at Bulma.

"Vegeta..." Chichi said softly. He looked at her in surprise and she was suddenly sure she knew why he had said the problem was dangerous. "What happened to Goku...could that happen to someone else?"

He didn't answer, just gazed at her with a blank expression. She saw the alarm on Goku's face and the muscles in his arm tightening, putting pressure on Vegeta's shoulder. The prince finally blinked and answered in an equally soft voice.

"Yes...to anyone I care about."

"I guess I should be glad that you never loved Trunks or me, then," Bulma said bitterly.

"Don't be stupid woman," Vegeta snapped. "I-" He faltered and stared, wide-eyed.

"Vegeta! No!" Goku shouted, horrified.

TBC