The Light to my Darkness

Chapter 34: Startling reunion

After finishing the gravitron, Bulma informed her parents and Chi-Chi that Vegeta fought alongside them on Namek, but died on his journey back to Earth and said that they needed to revive him. Mrs. Brief smiled, seeing right through Bulma. She'd fallen for that charming young man, just as she'd anticipated! Her eyes easily gave away that much! Air-headed as she could be, the flaxen-haired woman knew love when she saw it!

"Bulma, are you insane?!" Chi-Chi excoriated. "Why on Earth would you ever want to revive that evil creep?!"

"Don't talk about him like that!" The heiress yelled. "If it weren't for him, we'd all have been dead, ten times over!"

"So what?!" The raven-haired woman shrilled. "He was seconds away from murdering my son and my husband, just in case you forgot! And how can you defend him, after he kidnapped you and laughed, as poor Yamcha got killed?!"

"Because I know more about him than any of you!" Bulma countered vehemently. "He's not the same person anymore! He's changed!"

"You're crazy!"

"Everyone knows you're the crazy one!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"ENOUGH!" Piccolo roared over the quarrelling females. "You two are driving me crazy!" The Namekian began making his exit, not knowing why that blue-haired vixen had summoned him to this damned room, in the first place.

"Piccolo, hold up!" His protege called after him.

"You can stay if you want Gohan, but I'm out of here!"

"Wait a minute!" The demi-Saiyan entreated. "I have an idea."

Piccolo swivelled around, frowning at the boy.

"How about we put it to a vote?" The child suggested. "All those in favor of wishing Vegeta back, say aye."

"Aye." Bulma quickly assented.

"Well, it's one, against four." Chi-Chi smirked, as a few quiet seconds ran by. "Guess it's safe to say that you-"

"Aye." Gohan cut his mother off. The Ox Princess gaped at her son in disbelief, before gritting her teeth furiously.

"Are you crazy?! What in the world is wrong with-"

"Aye." Mrs. Brief interposed.

"Mom?" Bulma gawped at her mother, eyes as wide as an open foyer.

"What?" The bubbly blonde shrugged her shoulders, beaming at the heiress. "I liked that boy. He was the sweetest, most handsome little-"

"HE KIDNAPPED YOUR DAUGHTER!" Chi-Chi shrieked, in anger, disbelief and frustration. She was convinced that that heinous Saiyan scum was some sort of magician and had successfully duped these braindead morons! There was no other plausible explanation for their irrational endeavors!

"Dear, you're not being serious, are you?" Dr. Brief asked his wife, after a tense moment of silence.

"I am." She bobbed her head emphatically, before looking towards her daughter. "You have my full support, sweetie."

"Thanks mom!" Bulma smiled beatifically. It seemed that being an ditz had its pros, in some situations. "I suppose that settles it. We're going to revive-"

"Not so fast!" Chi-Chi interjected, then glared at her child. "Gohan's under eighteen, so he doesn't get a vote!"

"That's not fair!" The boy argued, scrunching his dark brows, in demurral. "I'm the one who came up with the idea, in the first place."

"Yeah!" Bulma concurred.

"Are you questioning me, young man?!" Chi-Chi's black eyes burned with blazing, onyx flames that immediately incinerated any remonstrations on her son's part.

"N-N-No mom." The young half-Saiyan mumbled timidly.

"That's what I thought." She smirked, arms akimbo. "It seems we're at a stalemate then." Turning her face Bulma's way, she continued. "That can only mean one thing. We'll have to settle this with a good old-fashioned arm wrestle."

"I'm sorry, but that's not exactly fair!" Bulma exclaimed, mirroring the other woman's posture. "You could crush my arm in less than a second!"

"Chicken?"

"No, I just value my anatomy!" The heiress snarled, clutching her arm protectively, as if to demonstrate her point. "And if you're so adamant about it, why not compete against Gohan instead?!"

"Leave him out of this!"

"Why?! Scared of a five-year old?!"

"Why don't we ask Piccolo?" The child proposed placidly and turned towards his mentor. "What do you say, Piccolo? Aye or nay?"

"It's none of my concern!" The Namek seethed. "I don't even know what I'm doing here!"

"Come on Piccolo!" The demi-Saiyan spurred. "The sooner you cast your vote, the sooner we can get out of here!"

"Aye, okay?! Aye!" Piccolo snarled. "I'm off!" He promptly walked out the door and cursed himself for having partaken in something so frivolous! Stupid Gohan! He'd gotten much too soft around that puny little twerp!

While Mrs. Brief, Bulma and Gohan bounced around in celebration of their democratic triumph, Chi-Chi grew increasingly exasperated, refusing to cave in! This would not do!

"Hold your horses, this isn't over yet!" She obdurately objected, garnering the opposing squad's attention. "We still haven't asked my dad! Or Master Roshi and the others, for that matter! Oh and Piccolo's vote doesn't count either, since he's not even an Earthing!"

"So what if he's not an Earthling?!" Bulma countered ardently. "These dragon balls aren't even from Earth! They're from Namek, so if anything, a Namekian's vote should be worth five, at the very least!"

Chi-Chi could only sputter garbled words. Her fiery hostess had her cornered and she knew it. Wait a minute, no she didn't!

"Hold up!" The Ox Princess smirked, folding her arms pompously. "Technically speaking, Piccolo's only nine years old, so he's underage as well."

"What?! You cannot be serious!" The heiress smoldered. "Does he looks nine to you?! He has the same memories as his father, who was alive centuries ago! Piccolo's older than all of us put together!"

"Wrong!" Chi-Chi fired back. "Bottom line is that he was hatched nine years ago, so that's how old he is, wherefore he doesn't get to vote, end of story!"

"You have got to be the most annoying, obstinate, infuriating control-freak I've ever met!"

"Shut up! I'm right and you know it!"

"You're a stubborn idiot, that's what you are!"

"You're the idiot who wants to revive a genocidal maniac!"

The heiress turned towards the half-Saiyan boy, azure eyes flaring with a magnificent, ultramarine inferno.

"Gohan, I swear I'm gonna kill your mother, if she doesn't shut that darn trap of hers!"

"You can try, but it won't end well for you!" Chi-Chi rolled up her sleeves, more than ready for a battle.

"Whoa, whoa, let's keep our heads together, now." Dr. Brief tactfully positioned himself between the explosive female duo, only to be shoved aside callously by the both of them.

"I've got it!" Gohan grinned, hammering a fist against his palm. "The Dragon Balls belong to the Namekians, just like Bulma said, so we'll let them decide!"

And so, a good while later, the crew stood before the recently appointed Grand Elder, Tsuno, discussing the situation at length.

"So you wish to revive the Super Saiyan who defeated Frieza?"

"That's right." Bulma nodded. "Can we, please? I know he did a lot of bad, but-"

"He did spare our village." Tsuno informed, cutting off his hostess. "Nonetheless, countless souls have suffered, by his hand. The moment he descended upon us, I could sense a great and horrifying evil within him, the likes of which I have never felt from any living mortal, other than Frieza himself."

"I agree!" Chi-Chi folded her arms, in front of her chest. "He's obviously bad news!"

"Who asked you, loudmouth?!" Bulma seethed. The Ox-Princess petulantly stuck her tongue out at her, however, she ignored the childish gesture and turned back the elder's way, a grave look, etched upon her bright features. "Look, I get what you're saying, but you need to understand that he's been a victim of Frieza his whole life. He was the one who made Vegeta do all those horrible things, after destroying his people."

Dr. Brief and Chi-Chi frowned curiously, as they registered that piece of information. So that's why Bulma was convinced that Vegeta wasn't all that bad. What she said made sense, but it still didn't change things! Bringing him to Earth was a terrible move that entailed far too much risk! What if he decided to finish what he started?! Who then, could stop him?! Goku, perhaps, but there was no guarantee and even if he did win, there would surely be a monumental level of collateral. Then again, any damage could easily be repaired with the dragon balls, but that was assuming Goku won. No, they were better off playing it safe! Even if that nasty Saiyan had changed, there was no telling whether or not he'd revert to the cruel ways of his past.

"Yeah!" Gohan nodded in agreement. "Vegeta's not a villain anymore! He saved us so many times! We all owe him our lives!"

"Hmmm." The Grand Elder contemplated a while, before frowning at the heiress. "Are you certain this is what you desire?"

"It is!" Bulma replied, in conviction. "He won't commit anymore evil! You have my word! And Gohan's too!"

"For the record, I think this is the worst idea ever!" Chi-Chi made sure to put in her piece.

"No one cares what you think, missy!" Bulma hissed.

"Don't you dare call me that, you spoiled brat!"

"And just why not?!" The heiress smiled condescendingly, arms akimbo. "Don't forget that you're still younger than I am, though you certainly don't look it!"

"Why, you dirty little-"

At least five people, including Gohan, had to restrain the raven-haired female from tearing Bulma limb from limb, as she snapped and frenziedly articulated every foul profanity she ever knew, her mountainous ire causing her to overlook the presence of her five-year old son. With strenuous effort, Chi-Chi was moved a safe distance away, kicking and screaming, while the heiress continued pressing her case to the Namekians.

"You feel deeply for the Saiyan." Tsuno asserted, rather than asked.

"I- I do." Bulma mumbled, with a light blush.

"Very well." The Grand Elder nodded, after mulling it over, a few moments. "You have our trust and our blessing."

"Really?!" She took ahold of the Namekian's hands. "That's great! Thank you so much!"

"Please." Tsuno smiled kindly. "It's our pleasure."

Over two months passed by and the 130-day mark had finally been reached. A magnificent, brawny apparition markedly took form, over the expansive backyard of Capsule Corporation.

"You have collected all seven dragon balls!" Porunga's heavenly voice soared aloud. "Now, as it is written, I shall grant you three wishes within my power! Choose wisely!"

And so Dende translated the wish into Namekian, asking the dragon to deliver the two missing Saiyans' souls to Earth.

"Such a wish is unacceptable, for I cannot separate a soul, from its living body!"

"Wha- What?!" Bulma exclaimed disbelievingly, staring open-mouthed at the burly dragon. "Are- are you saying that they're alive?! Both of them?! Really?!"

Porunga grunted indignantly, not accustomed to being questioned on the veracity of his pronouncements.

"Wow, Goku's alive!" Chi-Chi cheered ecstatically, tears of joy flooding out her gleaming eyes, as she knelt down and pulled her son into a tight embrace. Gohan laughed jubilantly, wrapping his arms around his mother.

Piccolo smirked to himself. He should've known those two hard-nosed fools wouldn't die so easily. No, they were much too stubborn for that!

"Uh- so what do we do guys?" The heiress looked towards her friends.

"Gee, Bulma, for someone claiming to be such a genius, you really are shallow." Krillin taunted. Bulma glowered at him. "Think about it. They're probably lost somewhere in outer-space, so we can just-"

"Bring them back here!" She completed his sentence, smiling beatifically. "Great idea!" She shifted her radiant blue eyes, Dende's way. "Ask the Dragon to teleport Goku and Vegeta, to Earth!"

"Right." The little Namek nodded, before remembering what had happened back on his late home planet, after they'd revived Piccolo. "Should I ask him to wish them to this specific spot?"

"Yeah, do that!"

And so, the prodigious child chanted away, in his native tongue, while Chi-Chi, Ox King, Master Roshi and Dr. Brief all voiced their objections amongst themselves, but decided not to interfere, since the alien visitors had agreed to grant Bulma her wish. Their hearts hammered apprehensively, as they awaited Porunga's answer.

"The one called Vegeta, has been delivered."

Everyone gasped, cringing as they saw a man garbed in royal blue uniform, lying motionless before them. He had a sickly pale-blue complexion, his hair was swept up into a flame and his emaciated figure was marred with burns, bruises and what appeared to be dried or rather, frozen blood, covering his lower right leg, all the way up to his knee. His eyes were closed and he appeared all but dead.

"VEGETA!" Bulma yelled in panic and ran over to him, kneeling down and pressing a hand on his face, only to wince and pull away. He was colder than ice. How could he possibly be alive?! What in Kami's good name had happened to him?! She turned back towards the others. "Someone, please help him!"

"I'll heal him!" Dende immediately rushed over and sat upon his knees, placing his hands over the Vegeta. The child concentrated his power and an ethereal light transferred from his little palms, onto the Saiyan.

"Wh-What're you doing?" The blue-haired female asked, in wonder, eyes widening as she witnessed Vegeta's injuries, gradually disappear and his skin return to the beautiful olive tone, she loved so dearly. His work done, the small Namekian opened his eyes and looked on in alarm, as the Saiyan remained motionless.

"I- I don't understand!" He continued staring disbelievingly at the Prince's stock-still, skeletal figure. "Why hasn't he recovered fully?! My abilities have never failed me, before!"

"It's not your fault, Dende." Piccolo replied, moving forward, a few steps. "Physically, he's been healed, but his body's still starved and mentally, he's- different somehow, almost- broken. I don't know what's happened to-"

"He's not broken!" Bulma hissed icily, grievous tears streaming down her face, as she dolefully, looked upon her lover. "You have no idea how strong he is! No one does! Nothing could ever break him! Nothing!"

An echoing baritone interrupted the heartfelt moment.

"The one called Goku refuses to return." Porunga proclaimed.

"Wait- WHAT?!" Chi-Chi, all but shrieked. "What do you mean refuses?!"

"He intends to come back himself, at a later time." The dragon answered.

"I don't care what he intends!" The raven-haired woman was not having it! She scowled and pointed a threatening finger, at Porunga. "You drag his sorry little behind right here, right now, or you and I are gonna have a major problem, is that understood?!"

Completely taken aback, the hulking figure sweat-dropped, before glaring heatedly at the Ox Princess, loosening her resolve. Okay, so maybe challenging a humongous dragon wasn't the brightest idea she'd ever come up with, but still! She sighed in surrender and looked back sombrely, at Porunga.

"Look, I really miss him, so if you could bring him back here, I'd be most grateful."

"This cannot be done, since he is unwilling and his power, far exceeds my own!" The apparition was starting to grow weary.

'Dad, why?' Gohan thought, disappointedly. It didn't make any sense! Everyone he knew and loved was right here on Earth, thinking he'd perished, but he was out in space somewhere and disinclined to come back home! Why?! It was so unfair! Who knew when he'd make his return?! Everything felt out of place, without him in the picture!

Bulma looked at the dragon a moment, before her eyes returned to Vegeta. She lay her palm on his cheek.

"He's still cold!" She sniffled. "Why?! Why's he still cold?!"

"Like I said, physically, he's fine." Piccolo explained. "His mental wounds, however, are affecting his body. There's nothing we can do."

"We can ask the dragon to fix him!" The heiress looked towards the Earth-born Namek, eyes glittering with hope.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, child." The Grand Elder made his way over. "Soon after Guru passed, Mori and I decided to alter Porunga's powers. He may no longer grant any ill-ridden wishes and thus is generally forbidden from tampering with a person's mind."

"But this isn't a dishonorable wish!" Bulma insisted, in exasperation. "I just want to make him better, that's all!"

"That may be so, however, the rules are very specific." Mori spoke up. "We may change the rules temporarily, but it will take time."

"How much time?"

"One week, by my estimate and Porunga will not be around that long." He answered. "We can dismiss him for now and have him grant the two remaining wishes at a later time, however, he will require 40 days rest."

The heiress sighed wearily, overwhelmed with defeat and despair. How could this happen to someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Vegeta?!

"There's one thing we can do." Piccolo turned towards Krillin. "If you have a senzu bean, now would be a good time."

"But how will that help?" Gohan asked, dejectedly. He too, felt awful, seeing Vegeta this way, hardly even a shell of the greatest fighter he'd ever laid eyes upon.

"Senzu beans serve the dual purpose of both healing a person and satisfying their hunger." His mentor answered.

"I'm afraid I don't have any though." Krillin sighed, disheartened. "I spoke to Master Korin, a little while earlier. He said something went bad with the harvest this cycle and that he won't have any, for at least another month or so."

"Grrr… Speak your next wish!" A bellowing voice reverberated across the planes of Capsule Corporation.

"Would you give us a freaking minute?!" Bulma yelled back boldly, not intimidated in the slightest as the monstrous entity glared upon her, in a deathly manner. "Honestly, it's not like you've got anything going on!"

"Please, you must not be rude to the dragon, young one!" A panicked Tsuno exclaimed, waving his hands perturbedly. "You must understand that being summoned for prolonged periods, consumes an exhaustive amount of energy and he needs his rest! Porunga's never been kind, with those who try his patience!"

"Whatever!" The heiress snorted dismissively, her attention solely on the Prince. She looked towards Piccolo, expression grim. "Bring Vegeta over to the medical wing. I'll lead the way."

The Namekian nodded in assent, gathering the scrawny Saiyan in his arms. The two of them disappeared from the scene, while most of the others looked on in disbelief, wondering why Bulma appeared so distraught. Of course, Mrs. Brief and the Z warriors present on Namek, already knew the truth.

"So, um- what's your second wish?" Dende asked, breaking them from their respective trances.

"Hmmm." Krillin thought for a moment, placing his thumb and index finger across to his jaw, face downcast. "I guess we can revive two of our friends from Otherworld, but which ones?"

"We'll ask King Kai." Gohan beamed. "Hello, King Kai?!" He echoed, facing the sky.

"Who is this?! Gohan?!" A voice replied.

"Yeah!" The boy affirmed cheerily and explained the situation.

XXXX

On his home world, King Kai brought his pupils forward and let them talk amongst one-another. Since Tien and Chiaotzu refused to be separated, it was decided that Yamcha would return. After all, it wasn't right to leave him here all alone, when he had a beautiful woman to return to- or so they thought. And thus, the second wish had come to pass and the scar-faced warrior's halo disappeared.

"I'll never forget you, King Kai." He bowed respectfully before his fifth and greatest mentor. "I'm truly thankful for everything that you've taught me."

"You're most welcome, my friend." The deity replied, in a sombre tone. "You have done exceptionally well. Your power is even greater than Goku's was, when he first left my planet. I couldn't be prouder, to call you my student. Goodbye, Yamcha."

"Goodbye, master." He smiled and turned towards his two goofy assistants. "Goodbye, Bubbles, Gregory."

"So long." The grasshopper nodded, while the monkey made a few whooping noises, eliciting a laugh from Yamcha. The former desert-bandit then faced his colleagues.

"Tien, Chiaotzu, I'll see you both again, real soon, okay?"

"Of course." Chiaotzu beamed.

"Go on now, Yamcha." Tien grinned. "Don't keep Bulma waiting too long or you just might lose her hahaha."

"As if." The scarred warrior chuckled and waved towards the lot one last time, before flaring his Ki and taking off, hurriedly flying along Snake Way towards the Check-In Station, aching to be reunited with his dearly beloved! For so long, he'd hankered for another chance with Bulma, so he could treasure her like the divine jewel that she was! Now that he finally got it, he refused to botch it up! No more fights, arguments or break-ups! He would marry the woman he loved, she would give him beautiful children and they would be one soul, bound together until the end of time! With that thrilling prospect embedded into his mind, he upped his pace.

"Wait a minute." Chiaotzu frowned, back on King Kai's planet. "Doesn't Namek's dragon grant three wishes?"

"Yes, of course." The god affirmed. "How could you forget something like that?"

"But then, couldn't they just wish us all back?" Tien asked, raising an eyebrow, in confusion.

"Hmmm." King Kai frowned, tuning his senses back towards Earth. "It appears that they already used one wish, before reviving Yamcha."

"Oh, I see." The three-eyed warrior nodded. "They were wishing Goku back to life or something, right?"

The deity shook his head and relayed the facts to his star, Earthling pupil.

"They delivered Vegeta to Earth?!" He yelled in complete shock, alarm and fury. "What the hell is wrong with them?! Do they have some sort of death wish?!"

"Calm down!" The god chastised, before sighing and continuing. "Vegeta's badly wounded. He can't even lift a finger, right now. I can barely feel his energy signal, but that's besides the point. Point is, he's our ally now and you don't turn your back on your allies, no matter what!"

"No, he separated us from our true allies!" Tien clenched his fists, feeling utterly betrayed, though assuaged that that barbaric Saiyan was no longer a threat. But what if he recovered?! Damn them! They could've used those wishes to restore life to Chiaotzu and himself, but instead they brought that monster to Earth! How could they?! "I can't believe you're okay with this!"

He huffed and whirled around, returning to the hut he'd emerged from, to brood to himself.

"Sorry." Chiaotzu mumbled apologetically, before joining his best friend. Tien had a right to be angry, but it was unfair of him to lash out at their master. After all, he wasn't the one who made the wish.

XXXX

"Tell me your third wish, now!" The dragon demanded.

"Tien and Chiaotzu don't wanna be revived, so what do we wish for guys?" Krillin asked.

"I've got it!" Everyone turned towards the good doctor, who hadn't said a word, thus far. "Let's erase all the memories of Vegeta and his former minions, from the minds of all those on Earth, except for the people residing in Capsule Corporation."

"What?! Why?!" Chi-Chi seethed. "You're really gonna just whitewash his crimes, like they never even happened?! Wishing him here was bad enough, but this is-"

"It's not that, my dear." Dr. Brief placidly interjected. "It's just that if he's going to stay here and people recognize him, that would mean a whole lot of trouble for us."

"Hold on, did you forget?" Tsuno intervened. "Porunga cannot tamper with a person's mind. While your intentions are noble, your wish remains in violation of the rules. We may alter them for the time-being, in which case we must dismiss Porunga for now and summon him again in 40 days."

The Earthlings mulled it over for a while.

"Guess there's no other choice." Krillin shrugged his shoulders. "I can't think of anything else to wish for."

And so it was done! Porunga vanished from the sky and the seven mystical orbs scattered across the Earth! Meanwhile in CC's medical wing, with help from a grudging Piccolo, Bulma relieved an unconscious Vegeta, from his derelict armor. He looked horrible! His bones were protruding in such sickly fashion, covered with naught but skin and spandex! But she couldn't give up on him! There was still hope!

"We need to take his shirt off, as well." Bulma stated.

"Then do it!" The Namekian groaned. "Why do you need me for?!"

"It's practically stuck on his skin." She argued. "I can't get it off, by myself."

"Do I look like a damn nurse to you?!"

"This isn't a time for jokes!" The heiress yelled, in his face. "If he doesn't get some nutrition fast, he could die!"

Piccolo let out a few stifled curses in his native tongue and considered vaporizing this obnoxious female, but instead did as asked, gently peeling off the lycra from the Saiyan's upper body, taking great care not to damage his skin.

"Thank you." She smiled in appreciation.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'm leaving now!" The Namekian growled, after he was finished, immediately leaving the premises and lifting off towards the skies, deciding to take a few quite days, for himself. If Gohan tried to pester him, he'd tell him to bug off and go bother someone else- like Vegeta- or perhaps Goku, if that moron wasn't out gallivanting across the heavens. As much as he cared for his foster son, he needed some seclusion, for just a little while.

Bulma readied a nasogastric tube for Vegeta, along with all the ancillary equipment. Just as she was dipping the end of the tube into a measuring cylinder comprising of water soluble lubricant, she heard a nigh inaudible rumble reverberate, beside her.

She gasped, chest tightening and eyes tearing up, as an all-too-familiar pair of ajar, half-lidded ebony orbs looked right back at her.

"Vegeta?"