The Bond

"It's brute strength that determines the outcome of battle, not goodness!"

"You're too soft with him. When it's just him and me, we make better progress."

"… Kakarot, your low class brother…"

"My 'darkness' is getting to you."

Vegeta's voice bounced around Katima's head as she drifted in blackness. She hovered there, her head pounding even in slumber. She could feel the rage, the sheer darkness from him… All this time, and they were back to square one.

It only seemed fitting that she was dragged into Vegeta's mind when the battle began. Just like then he and her brother first fought, she got to see it through the eyes of the Saiyan Prince, feeling all his rage, and all his pain.

Vegeta rushed forward, slamming a knee into Goku's gut, sending him flying upward. Vegeta jumped up above him to thrust down his elbow to make him crash into the ground again. Goku managed to catch himself on all fours and jump out of the way as Vegeta came down, attempting to drive his foot into him while he was down.

Goku was up in the air and Vegeta bolted up with a cry to meet him, throwing up his leg for a wide kick. Goku blocked it, but it seemed obvious that he was caught off guard by Vegeta's strength.

"What's this?" Vegeta demanded, smirking, "I thought we were skipping the warm up!"

"I guess I was wrong," Goku replied, offering him a light grin.

Even in these dire times, Katima knew her brother was relishing in this fight just as much as Vegeta. The Saiyan blood in him loved the thrill of a good battle.

Vegeta threw a punch, which Goku caught in his hand. With his free hand, Goku tried to punch ass well, however Vegeta caught that one, and they were locked arms now, pushing against each other, electricity, blue and red, flashing around them. When neither could gain leverage in the hand holds, they started kicking, trailing across the sky as they both tried to land a knee of foot on the other.

Finally, when it seemed neither of them were going to make progress, Vegeta howled in rage and slammed his head into Goku's sending him flying back. Vegeta rushed in while his guard was down, and slammed punch after punch into his gut, a dark smile on his face as he did so, a sick sort of joy beating in his heart. Goku recovered after a good few blows, and caugh Vegeta's hands in his fists again, and thrust a knee into the prince's jaw once, then again with the opposite knee, making him fall back.

Before Vegeta could fall, Goku twisted and slammed a kick into his side, sending Vegeta crashing into a nearby mountain side. He ramined pinned in the rubble for a moment, pushing the pain aside, and then screaming, powering up so harshly that instead of merely breaking out of the rubble, the mountain disintergrated behind him, leaving a crater where he had been.

"That's more like it," he growled, smirking and wiping his mouth.

Goku was grinning back at him. They both howled, powering up for a split second before rushing at eachother, fighting viciously again. They were terribly evenly matched, both blocking and landing blows equally. Vegeta roared when he finally got the upper hand, thrust his knee into Goku's gut once more, twisted to land a kick on his back and then his elbow against the back of his neck. Goku twisted as he fell to block Vegeta's unrelenting onslaught, throwing up a kick that landed in Vegeta's stomach.

The Saiyan Prince buckled with the blow, the air leaving his body in one swift swoop. But he looked up, seeing Goku's punch coming at him. He moved, so fast that Goku never even saw him vanish and appear behind him until it was too late. Gasping, Goku whirled to see him. Vegeta let out a chuckled and then pressed his hands to Goku's gut, a blast forming in his hands.

With a yowl, he let the blast go, sending Goku sailing down and into a mountain side. Vegeta remined on guard as his blast faded, looking into the massive crater that he had sent Goku into. He gapsed sharply as he felt the spark of energy, and a blast came out to meet him. Vegeta quickly shot off another of his own, and it met Goku's in the middle. Now it was war between who had the strongest energy. Vegeta felt Goku coming out of the crater, pushing his blast up with him. Vegeta eventually had to use both hands to sustain his end of the blast as Goku pushed closer. Katima was amazed at the raw energy there, as it grew and grew, and instead of one of them overcoming the other, it all just exploded, sending both parties flying.

Katima felt the pain, the rage, and the fierce joy Vegeta was getting. How long would this fight go on?

*scene change*

Goku clung to the edge of the cliff, blood running down his face. He dangled there, catching his breath, hanging by one hand. His body throbbed, his clothes in tatters, blood and bruises covered his limbs.

"I don't know why I'm surprised," he muttered, "He has been training the last seven years… all to beat me."

Goku yelped when he felt a hand close around his wrist and pull him up. Vegeta smirked at him, holding him high enough for them to be face to face.

"Vegeta-" Goku began.

Vegeta merely laughed and twisted, throwing Goku back and into the side of a cliff face. Goku wailed as he crashed into it, pinned in a Goku-shaped dent in the rock. His head hung for a moment as he tried to catch his breath, getting ready to continue the fight, but to his dismay, energy bands came flying toward him, going around his wrists, ankles, and neck, and tightened, pinning him effectively to the rock.

He coughed as the one around his neck threatened his airway. Vegeta appeared in front of him, smirking.

"What's the matter?" he asked, "Not winning as easily as you thought?"

"I never said it would be easy!" Goku rasped, straining against the binds.

"Ha!" Vegeta scoffed, "You won't be winning at all!" he slapped Goku, open handed and all, twice, with the front and back of his hand.

Goku grit his teeth in anger, growling.

"What, clown?" snapped Vegeta, his smirk fading and his face falling into a dark rage, "Are you feeling angry, humiliated, is that it?" he slammed a knee into Goku's stomach, making him yelp in pain, "FOOL!" Vegeta began punching in across the face, in the gut, everwhere he could reach, "YOU. DON'T. KNOW. WHAT. HUMILIATION. IS!" he landed a hit with each word, leaving Goku wailing in pain, straining, unable to defend himself.

Finally, he stopped, glaring at Goku as he spat up a mouthful of blood. Goku managed to open one eye to look at him. There was such loathing in his eyes, and Goku couldn't help but wonder how badly his actions must have gotten to Vegeta.

"Don't worry," he snarled, "I will teach you the full meaning of the word, just as YOU taught me! ME! A warrior ELITE! Me, with royal blood running in my veins, me who had the power to destroy worlds at my finger tips! I had the glory of an antient extinct warrior race on my shoulders, one of the last of my kind, entire civilizations would TREMBLE at the mere mention of my name!"

He spat on the ground, "But you didn't, did you, Kakarot?" he hissed the name with such distain, "By you and your COMMON hands, my honor and my pride, the foundations on which I had always stood, began to crumble at my feet… It was by your hands I suffered my first great humiliation, toppled by low level TRASH. Imagine my added distain when it was YOU not me, who were the one to avenge our race by defeating Frieza, you who were the first Saiyan in a thousand years to take a seat among the pinacel of our entire race as a legendary Super Saiyan, a trait that should have been my royal birthright!

"And IMAGINE my shame when all the strength I had worked so hard to aquire my entire life was surpassed by a CHILD in the fight against Cell. Your half-breed son had succeeded where I had failed… This ends today! I will take back what is mine, and I will no longer live as your second! Every breath you take is an insult to my honor. I will cut you down, inch by inch, just as you have cut down my PRIDE!"

Goku looked at him, and pity bloomed inside him. Didn't Vegeta understand that that wasn't what he had been trying to do? Goku never meant to insult Vegeta's blood, or make him feel like this. Why couldn't he just see that? But he knew the Vegeta in front of him would not listen to reason. He knew he had to end this.

Goku clenched his fists, and with a cry of power and effort, used all his strength to break apart the stone he was pinned to. Now, with two giant boulders attatched to his hands, he rushed at Vegeta, who was in too much shock to properly react. He slammed both boulders so hard against Vegeta, they crumbled on impact and sent him sailing into another mountain side far off, leaving behind a hole. Goku sensed that the mountain was hollow, and Vegeta must have landed inside some sort of cave. He pursued, flying through the hole and landing in the dark cave. Vegeta was no where to be seen.

Calming himself, Goku cast out his senses. He was beaten and bloody, his energy waning. He would have to end this fast, who knew how much of their collected energy had gone to Majin Buu. But Vegeta was strong, shockingly so. He wasn't sure if he COULD end this quickly.

There!

Goku twisted just in time to block an energy attack, rebounding it away and through the hole he had came through. But then, too late he sensed Vegeta behind him.

Arms laced under his own, pinning in him in a wrestler's hold. Vegeta laughed and began to fly them up. Goku looked up and yelped. He was heading right for one of the stalactites! He was going to try and impale him! Goku quickly gathered energy and pushed back against Vegeta, stopping their progress just short of the sharp stone hanging from the ceiling.

With a yowl, Goku pushed out energy around him, pushing Vegeta back toward the ground. Goku swiftly whirled around, holding his hands out.

"Kaaameeehaaameeee-!" he began crying.

Vegeta swiftly reacted, holding out his own hands, "Final-"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"FLLAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"

The blasts met in the middle, and there was no battle of pushing this time. The raw energy there just exploded upon impact, shattering the entire mountain they were in. As the rubble fell around them, Goku, who had managed to shield himself from most of the blast, hung there and, not to his surprise, saw Vegeta still flying as well, facing him as the rock fell around them.

"You won't win this time, Kakarot," Vegeta growled.

Goku narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't help wonder if Vegeta was right.

*scene change*

Katima blinked, her eyes opening. Her body was still in pain, and her head throbbed, but it appeared that the assault on her mind was discontinued for the time being. She guessed that Gohan and Shin were distracting Bobbity enough to keep him from concentrating on the spell to control her mind. Shakily, Katima sat up, grunting in pain. She definitely had some broken ribs, and she clutched her center as she staggered to her feet. She looked around, desperation flooding her.

Vegeta.

Goku.

Where were they?

There was destruction everywhere, littered across the landscape were the remains of where mountains had towered, craters, the tattered bits of clothing that had been ripped away from blasts of energy. And then, Katima saw it, the dueling pair in the far, far distance. Both of them were fighting in the form exceeding that of a Super Saiyan, the second stage of transformation. Katima began limping toward them, trying to block out the darkness seeping to her from the Bond, as it was hindering her as much as the broken ribs.

She had to stop them- she had to! If she didn't Buu would be revived, and the entire universe would be in danger if anything Shin had told them was true. She wouldn't let that happen! She thought about powering, up, but if Vegeta saw her coming, he would have his guard up. She had to catch him by surprise, to break this stupid spell the only way she could think of.

So Katima made her way across the landscape, keeping her energy pressed low, clutching her ribcage that screamed at her for each step she took and each breath she inhaled. She pressed herself off, closer and closer to her husband and brother, resisting all the dark feeling pushing on her, all the violence that threatened her mind.

She saw the two of them land not far from her and she quickly hid behind a spire, determined not to be seen yet. She could hear their conversation.

"I have to say, Vegeta," Goku rasped, he looked terrible, blood running down his face, his clothing in tatters, "You must have been training really hard these past seven years…"

Vegeta chuckled darkly, "I have, but I knew no amount of training could help me. You were born with a natural talent I was not, Kakarot, and there was nothing I could do to catch up. I knew this was true when I saw you fight with Bobbity's monster. It was when I made up my mind…"

Both Katima and Goku froze in shock.

No…

"Vegeta…" Goku gasped, "You didn't!"

"I did," said Vegeta, laughing lightly, "I knew it was the only way, Kakarot. We both saw his henchmen at the tournament. All of the people there couldn't understand how they had gained so much power, but we know now, don't we? It was Bobbity's magic that turned their darkness into power! So I did it, I let Bobbity see the evil in my own heart, and I let him take control. I allowed him inside so that he could infuse me with enough power to forever close the gap between us!"

"Vegeta, I don't understand!" Goku cried, staring at him in horror, "You've never allowed anyone to help you before, why now? Why Bobbity?"

Vegeta clutched his fists, staring at the ground, "Because I wanted Bobbity to reawaken the darkness in my heart, Kakarot," he growled, "I wanted to feel it again, to return to the way I was before!" he shouted, powering up, his golden aura flickering with red lightning, "I used to be the perfect weapon! Cold and ruthless, nothing held me back before I began to succumb to these petty emotions! Can you imagine after all these years I found myself settling down with a family… I had even grown quite fond of them. Would you even believe that I began to think the Earth was a nice place to live…?"

Vegeta howled, his power making the ground shake beneath him, "Ever since your stupid sister planted that bond on me, I've been held back, held back from my TRUE potential! I started giving in to those foolish emotions, started thinking that love was the only thing that mattered, started completely running my life around her and that child of hers! I needed Bobbity to set my mind free! To return me to the cold killing machine I used to be!"

Katima fell to one knee, her mind shattering. He let him, Vegeta LET Bobbity in to bring back his darkness, he did it all to push Katima and Makoto from his mind, all for power, and the opportunity to beat her brother. How… how could he? After everything they had gone through, after all the time they had spent together, after his confessions of love to her, and the feeling that the bond gave to both of them from the other, how could he?

They had a son! And he was just throwing it all away for power!

Katima clutched her middle, tears flowing down her face, pain wreathing her heart. She clamped her eyes shut, clenching her teeth and fists. The pain was slowly giving way to rage. Anger, pure and strong at Vegeta. After all this time he hadn't even changed. How could he just toss aside everything that happened? What kind of monster was he?

"Vegeta…" she heard Goku speak, "You can't really mean that, can you?"

And Katima felt a small flicker of doubt from Vegeta. And that small flicker of doubt was all she needed to get a small flicker of hope.

*scene change*

Makoto came to a hault, looking around, frowning lightly. The others paused too, looking back at him.

"What is it, Makoto?" Trunks asked.

"I'm feeling a really weird energy over there," he pointed, "It just sorta popped up. Can't you guys feel it?"

"Yeah," Goten frowned.

"But there's a fight coming from ahead of us too," said Trunks, "Which way is right?"

Then, a huge flock of birds began flying toward them from where Makoto felt the strange energy.

"Birdies!" Goten squealed.

Makoto narrowed his eyes. The energy over there… it wasn't like anything he had ever felt before. It was strong, but there was a sort of void about it, like there was no real substance to it.

"They seem scared," said Trunks, "I bet you that something big just went down over there!"

"Then that's the way we go!" said Makoto, blasting toward the odd power signature.

He just wondered where his parents were.

*scene change*

Gohan stared in horror as the orb that Majin Buu was in cracked open. After infiltrating the ship, Bobbity had sent them, all of them, himself and the Buu egg included, to outside of the ship, to the enterance that they had first gone in, with the stone forms of Piccolo and Rilan on the ledge far above them. Gohan had tried his best to destroy the orb before it hatched, as the battle between his father and Vegeta had been far more than enough to fuel Majin Buu to full power.

But all his attacks had been for naught, and above them, the pink cloud that had erupted from the egg formed into a massive pudgy creature, pink in color with a large tentical on his head, large circular holes for ears on the sides of his face, poofy white pants, a large purple billowing cape, yellow gloves and boots, but no shirt, but a short vest, revealing a very tubby belly protruding over his belt where a large M was on the buckle.

"Is… is that it…?" Gohan asked, completely shocked at the creature as it smiled happily and began to toddle around like an excited infant.

"Yes, that's it," Shin was shaking, from both rage and fear, as he gazed upon the creature, "I can't stand to look at his face, we need to retreat, NOW Gohan, if we have any hope for beating him!"

"No," said Gohan harshly, facing the creature, "This thing is supposed to kill thousands of people, I can't sit back and let that happen."

"Gohan!" Shin cried, "Now is the time for strategy, not foolish blind heroics! We need you ALIVE!"

"There're people I care about!" Gohan yelled, powering up, "He may be strong, but he's not unbeatable!"

*scene change*

Bulma sat in the near empty bleachers, looking at her knees with sad eyes. It had been lucky that none of them had been sitting where Vegeta and Katima had destroyed the arena. What had happened? Katima would never kill innocent people, and she thought Vegeta had changed. She knew it had to be something else, something that made them act like that. She remembered seeing Katima on the ground at one point, as if struggling.

But what worried her more was that Rilan had not been with them, and Trunks and the other boys were missing too. How could all this happen? What was going on?

The ground shook suddenly, and Bulma yelped, grabbing onto Chichi. Yamcha stood, looking around, Roshi looked in the same direction as him.

"There's an awful power over there," Roshi said gravely, "And the others are near it."

"Oh damn it," hissed Chichi, "I just know that those boys are mixed in with this! And Goten is no where to be found! I swear if Goku and Gohan let him go with them they are going to be in SO much trouble!"

"I doubt that they would let the boys go along," said Yamcha, "I'm sure they're fine."

Bulma sighed and looked at her feet. She just knew something terrible was happening, she just knew it!

*scene change*

The fighting continued, and Goku fought with new anger. How could Vegeta have done this? Sold his soul over to Bobbity just so that they could fight, just so that he could win, so that he could forget his emotional ties to this planet. He finally managed to get Vegeta back, but, before the prince could rush him again, Goku felt something terrible.

It was like a well of energy, a bottomless pit of it, being reached into, and forced out. But it was so terribly empty… a void, darkness and nothing else. And it blasted out. Goku raised his hand, "Wait!"

To his surprise, Vegeta stopped. He looked over to where Goku was.

"Did you feel that?" he asked quietly.

Vegeta landed, frowning.

"It's Buu," said Goku, looking at him, "It has to be. He's free."

Vegeta slowly smirked, and he began to laugh. Goku stared at him, shocked.

"I knew it," Vegeta scoffed, "This entire thing was blown out of proportion, Kakarot, this Majin Buu has proved to be a weakling."

"What?" Goku hissed, completely caught off guard.

"Can you feel that?" asked Vegeta, smirking at him, "He's nothing, especially compared to the bar we have just raised here. Think of it, Kakarot, how many years has it been since that thing was last awake? And how much have we grown in power over the last decade? On the ship, the Supreme Kai was amazed at our strength, and how we tore through people who were supposed to be the strongest in the entire universe without even breaking a sweat! It's obvious that the Saiyan Race has exceeded that of even the universe's overseer could not see!"

"You're wrong!" Goku yelled, staring in horror toward where he felt it, "There's something far deeper, I know you felt it too!"

"Enough!" Vegeta shouted, "You're just stalling because you know I'm going to beat you!"

He rushed again, and Goku blocked him, catching his fists in his hands, "Vegeta no! That isn't it! It's because of us that that thing is alive! He's going to kill everyone, Vegeta, Everyone! He'll kill Katima and Makoto!"

Vegeta hissed in annoyance, "I told you, you fool, I sold my soul to Bobbity, I am a Saiyan warrior elite, my only concern is power and strength, NOTHING ELSE!"

Goku glared at him, "Liar!" he shouted.

Vegeta's face fell in shock at the accusation.

"I don't BUY IT!" Goku slammed his head into Vegeta's, making the prince stagger back. Goku clenched his fists, glaring, "You can talk all you want, Vegeta," he spat, "But you better convince yourself first!"

Vegeta slowly wiped his mouth. His eyes flicked back to Goku, "Fine."

Goku blinked, "Really?" Wow that was easier than he thought.

"Our fight will be postponed," said Vegeta, "I want to fight you at your best and you obviously won't be if your distracted by this stupid Buu. Get your sensu beans, we need to be at our fullest to fight him."

Goku beamed. He meant it! This was great! Goku turned, untying the pouch from his belt to get out the last two sensu beans.

"If we all work together, we're sure to beat him," Goku said, "We can go get Katima, we'll cut the bean in half and give her some so she can-"

Something hard slammed into the back of his head.

Goku yelped in pain as he fell, darkness consuming him before he even hit the ground.