In Your Dreams: Chapter 3

"H...How is this possible?" Vegeta stuttered, wanting to kick himself for not being able to form any other words.

Bulma smiled gently as she unlocked the cuffs from Goku's wrists with the key she'd fished off of the unconscious Dr. Villa. "I'll explain everything to you, but right now I think Goku could use some rest. He's been through a lot."

The woman led the younger Saiyajin a few steps down the hall before she paused and looked at the bodies on the floor. "Vegeta, I can't let these men go free. Take them down to the holding cells for now, will you? We'll deal with them later."

Usually the prince would have shouted at the woman to do her own dirty work, but this time he felt it would be best if he just did as she asked. Besides, she looked like she was going to drop at any moment.

----------------------------------------------------------

Several hours later...

"So then those weren't just dreams? They were telepathic messages Kakarotto sent me?"

"That seems to be the case. I'm not sure if he was doing it consciously or not, but what you described from your dreams is exactly the same as what I saw in that lab." Bulma sighed as she took a sip of her coffee. She'd given Goku a room to stay in hours before and the Saiyajin had immediately fallen asleep. Since then she'd been filling Vegeta in about all she'd learned up to that point in time. It was exhausting.

"I can't believe he has no power at all! To give up so much for that harpy of his! What a baka!"

"Vegeta! He did it for all of us! If he had stayed with the dragon for one hundred years, everyone he'd ever known and loved would have been dead when he returned! I couldn't imagine never seeing Goku again. And did you think that maybe his loved ones were more important to him than his power?"

The prince growled and looked away. He understood why the baka did it, but he was still so pissed off. Not at Kakarotto, but at the raw deal the younger Saiyajin was always dealt. He was constantly sacrificing himself for these humans and all he ever got in return was grief. It was incredibly unfair.

He spoke again, this time in a lower voice. "Can his vocal cords be repaired?

Bulma ran her finger around the rim of her cup as she thought. "I'm not sure yet. I wanted him to rest before I examined him. I'm not even sure a senzu bean would repair the damage at this point. The injury is years old."

The blue-haired woman glanced up at the prince just in time to see his frown deepen. She grinned at him. "Why? I thought you'd be happy that he was a mute. You always yelled about how annoying he was when he talked."

Vegeta growled when he felt a blush creeping across his face. "Shut up, woman! I was only curious! I don't give a fuck if the baka never speaks again!"

"Uh..."

The prince's eyes widened as Bulma focused on someone behind him and he spun in his chair. Goku stood in the doorway, one hand resting on the wall beside him. He'd changed into what appeared to be one of Vegeta's muscle shirts and a pair of sweatpants. They seemed to fit him perfectly, though the shirt was a little loose. That was very strange to the older man.

The younger Saiyajin seemed to have frozen in place upon hearing the prince's words, and his slightly wide eyes were staring back at him in what looked to be disbelief; but that expression soon melted into something unreadable.

Bulma quickly stood. "Goku, are you hungry?" The younger man shook his head once. "Did you sleep well?" A shrug. "Do you feel up to a little check-up then? I promise there will be no needles."

Goku shivered at the word, but he then nodded the affirmative and turned, disappearing from the room.

The blue-haired woman moved to follow him, giving Vegeta's arm a good pinch as she passed him.

"What the fuck?!"

"You owe him an apology! He's been through enough and he doesn't need your insults right now. I don't know what his emotional status is at the moment, and until I do, I'm considering him unstable. Don't push him over the edge."

The prince rubbed his arm as the woman left the room, even though the pinch really hadn't hurt him. The look Kakarotto had thrown him right before he left had hurt him though.. in some strange way. Curious... He'd never cared about whether or not his words hurt someone before, so why now?

------------------------------------------------------

"Well, here are your X-rays. Let's see what we've got." Bulma smiled as she walked past Goku, who was still sitting on her exam table, and clipped the black plastic sheets to the wall. She then flipped the switch in order to activate the light that would make the pictures visible.

The woman stepped back and scanned the images. She frowned at what she saw. Breaks in the Saiyajin's bones were to be expected considering his past, but it was possible to separate the older breaks from the new ones. Freshly healed bone showed up brighter than the rest, and there were several bright spots on these X-rays.

Bulma looked back at Goku. "These bright spots here are newer bits of bone." She pointed to a spot on the left thigh bone, the right wrist, and a couple ribs. "Did those men cause these breaks?"

The Saiyajin looked at the X-rays for a moment before nodding. He scribbled a quick note on the paper Bulma had left beside him. The older woman read it and wasn't surprised.

"Ah, they wanted to know if you healed faster than we do." Bulma turned and flipped the light off on the wall, blackening the images in front of them again. She wasn't able to run as many tests as she wanted since she had promised Goku that she wouldn't use needles. That limited her to scans and a physical exam, though it was easy to tell that the Saiyajin was not comfortable with all the touching. Bulma had felt a little hurt when her friend had begun to squirm away from her touches and even pushed her hands away when she reached certain places, but then again, she understood.

One place that was clearly off limits was Goku's tail. The Saiyajin was extremely protective of the sensitive appendage. It was clear that it'd been used to hurt him; but even without touching it, Bulma could see that it seemed to be alright for the most part. The X-rays hadn't revealed any breaks in the fragile vertebrae, so it wasn't necessary for her to physically handle the tail.

Another place that was off limits wasn't so surprising; his privates. Bulma assumed this was only due to modesty, though the younger man had never cared before about nudity. Again, she wasn't going to push this issue. Hopefully in time Goku would tell her if anything like 'that' had occurred while he was in the hands of the scientists. Still, Bulma couldn't help but laugh when the Saiyajin had swatted her hands away when she got too close to the waistband of his pants. A low grunt from the man had made her look up, and when she did, Goku was shaking his finger at her and giving her the 'no, no' look.

It wasn't like she was some perverted fangirl who wanted a peek.... not at the moment anyway.

The last, and most curious, place Goku wouldn't let her examine was his throat. He wouldn't open his mouth so she could look inside and he wouldn't let her hands actually come into contact with his neck. Bulma quickly became frustrated with the lack of cooperation. The damaged vocal cords were what she had really wanted to check out and try to repair, but the man just refused to let her help.

After several failed attempts that resulted in Goku turning his head away from her or leaning away from her touch, Bulma had finally reached the limit to her patience.

"Damn it, Goku! I'm not going to do anything, I just want to look! Stop being so stubborn!"

Bulma huffed and read along as the Saiyajin wrote something out.

**We're done.**

"No, we are NOT done! You're not going anywhere until you let me look at your throat!"

Goku glared at the woman and lashed his tail around behind him. He was tired of being prodded and scanned. He'd been subjected to this for the past six years and all he wanted was a little peace. The Saiyajin had been patient for the first two hours, knowing that his friend was just worried about his current health, but enough was enough! Now he just wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. That was a luxury he hadn't had in ages.

Goku again pointed to the two words he'd written before he threw the pad of paper on the floor and hopped off the table. He'd only managed to take a couple of steps before his wrist was caught and he was pulled back. The Saiyajin's eyes widened just a fraction. Bulma had never been able to stop him before, not even when he was a kid. He usually had always ended up dragging the yelling woman around without even noticing that she was hanging onto him. But now she was able to jerk him to a stop easily. He didn't like that.

Goku grit his teeth and whirled around to face Bulma again. He wrenched his wrist out of her grasp and he couldn't stop the growl that rumbled in his throat. He didn't think he'd mind the lack of strength when he'd transferred it all to the dragon, but then again, he'd expected to go home right away and slowly begin to rebuild what he'd lost. It would be another challenge for him. Instead, here it was six years later and he was still as weak as ever.

Bulma frowned when the younger man jerked away from her and began to growl. Her own frustration at not being able to help her friend finally boiled over and she spit out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Goku, stop growling like an animal and start acting like you have some sense!"

An instant after the words left her mouth silence settled over the room. Bulma had stopped breathing and Goku had stopped growling. The Saiyajin looked at the woman with wide eyes, and she could only stare back in shock. Those scientists had spent all their time treating Goku like an animal, and she'd just called him one. It seemed she was the one in need of some sense.

"I...I'm sorry.. I just got so frustrated...I..."

Bulma didn't have time to finish before Goku snorted and spun away from her. She could only watch as he kicked open the door and disappeared into the hallway.

--------------------------------------

Vegeta was training inside his gravity chamber, as usual, when he saw a shadow pass by the small circular window. He instantly recognized his fellow Saiyajin, and he walked over to turn off the control panel before grabbing a towel and walking outside.

The prince looked around the yard in search of the other man, and just when he thought he might have already gone, he spotted him sitting behind a tree not far from the chamber. Vegeta casually walked toward Goku, being sure to take his time getting there to avoid looking like he was anxious to speak with the other man. He wasn't...really.

Vegeta rubbed the sweat off his neck with his towel when he finally reached the other Saiyajin's side. He looked down at him. Goku had yet to acknowledge him, though he knew he was there. The younger man merely sat there, arms folded across his chest, back against the tree, and knees bent just slightly. He stared straight ahead with a frown on his face.

Curious.

"Kakarotto, what's your problem?"

The prince nearly jumped when the other whipped his head around to glare up at him. He'd never seen THAT look before. It almost made him shiver.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow when Goku pointed to his throat and then tapped his own forehead. It took him a moment to understand what that meant, but he flushed with anger when he caught on.

"I know you can't speak, you baka!"

The even stare the other fixed on him pretty much meant he was caught. He'd forgotten.

With a huff Vegeta crossed his arms and turned away just slightly. "Call it a force of habit then! Don't give me that look!"

There was a moment of tense silence before the prince spoke again.

"I assume you and the woman had a fight."

A slight nod confirmed his suspicions.

"Hn. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. What's it been? A little over two hours? Impressive."

Vegeta looked back down at the other man when he heard a few raspy breaths escape his lips. It seemed Kakarotto was laughing at that. The prince couldn't help but smirk. The moment didn't last long though, and soon Goku was silent again. The younger Saiyajin looked up at Vegeta to make sure he had his attention before pointing up to the sky.

The prince raised an eyebrow. "What?"

With a grunt of annoyance Goku jabbed his finger again toward the sky to emphasize what he wanted. Vegeta looked at what he was pointing to this time. "Clouds?"

The younger man smiled and nodded.

"......What about them?"

Goku sighed and thumped his head back against the tree he sat against before he hopped up and ran in a circle around the older man. He flapped his arms as if they were wings in the hopes the prince would understand what he wanted.

Unfortunately, he did not. "Have you lost your mind, Kakarotto? What is it th---WAH!"

Vegeta cried out as Goku suddenly shoved him, and since he wasn't expecting it, he tumbled to the ground. "WHAT THE FU---- Oh." He paused as he looked up at the clouds above him, and a second later Kakarotto's annoyed face popped into his line of sight as well. "You want me to call that cloud of yours, don't you? The one I always fall through?"

Goku smiled and clapped, and for some reason his reaction made Vegeta feel proud of himself. He was not some slow-witted child!

The older man quickly picked himself up and brushed the grass off his pants. "Fine. I'm not going to tell you you can't leave. What's that thing called again?" He was really asking himself the question because obviously Kakarotto couldn't help him, or so he thought.

He looked up at the younger man when he heard a low 'Nnnn' noise. Ah, that's right!

"NIMBUS!"

The two Saiyajins waited for several minutes, but the cloud never came. Vegeta shrugged. "Well what do you expect? I can't ride the stupid thing, so why would it answer my call?"

Goku thought for a moment before he pointed to himself and motioned for the prince to call again. The older man rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath before he once again shoved his dignity aside and shouted at the sky like a loon.

"NIMBUS, YOUR PRECIOUS GOKU NEEDS YOU! COME GIVE HIM THE RIDE OF HIS LIFE!"

He thought that was pretty funny, but apparently Goku didn't because he cuffed the older man upside the head a moment later.

"What the fuck, Kakarotto?! Is that how you repay me?!" The strike hadn't really hurt, but he still felt some sense of annoyance that yet another person just didn't 'get' his humor.

Strangely enough though, his call was answered and they watched as the large yellow cloud flew into view and dove down to the ground. It stopped right in front of Goku and seemed to do a little dance. Apparently it was happy to see its' old owner again. The younger Saiyajin smiled and hopped up on the cloud, quickly settling down until he was comfortable.

"You're WELCOME, Kakarotto." Vegeta said sarcastically. Honestly, you do something nice and you don't even get a thank you.

Goku looked at the prince, and out of nowhere he held up his middle finger and then pointed at him. A second later both the nimbus and its' rider where specks in the distance.

Vegeta stood there, mouth hanging open. "Fuck ME? ME?! The hell?! That damn cloud gave Kakarotto a freebie! He should have been dropped on his ass for that one! FUCK!"

----------------------------------

Once the city was far behind him Goku shut his eyes and just enjoyed the feel of the cool fresh air as it swept over his skin and ruffled his hair. He hadn't felt this good in years. He'd almost forgotten what the Earth smelt like, having been around chemicals and other man-made scents for so many years.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. A small smile formed on his lips as he leaned forward a bit and looked at the landscape below. It seemed like the Nimbus knew exactly where he wanted to go, even without a verbal command. It was taking him home.

Several minutes later there was a break in the thick forest below, and soon the terrain became more wide open and hilly. When his house came into view, Goku couldn't help but feel both excited and nervous about seeing ChiChi again. Would she be angry that he was so much younger than her? Probably, but maybe she'd overlook that when she discovered he was just like any other human now.. except with a tail. He wouldn't cut off his tail for her. And how would she react about his inability to talk? The Saiyajin had no idea how his wife would feel about that.

As he got closer to the house, he could begin to see some details of the structure. It looked like an addition had been added while he was away. That seemed a little strange to him. Last he knew, both Gohan and Goten had moved into the city; so why would ChiChi need more room if it was just her?

Goku tapped his hand against the Nimbus when something else caught his eye. The cloud stopped high above the house, but he was close enough to see that ChiChi WASN'T alone. The Saiyajin watched, wide-eyed as his wife exited the house with another man. She had her arm looped with his and they were both laughing about something. Goku was too far away to hear what they were saying to each other, but it was clear that they were more than just friends. To confirm his suspicions, the couple below him kissed each other before they laughed again and climbed into their waiting hover car.

The Saiyajin watched them until the vehicle was out of sight before he was able to move again. He quickly pointed down to the ground, and the cloud he sat on slowly lowered him until he could safely jump off. Goku held up his finger, indicating that he wanted the Nimbus to stay there until he returned. He then made the short trip to the front door and tried the knob. As usual, it was unlocked. When you lived this far away from the rest of the population, security wasn't really an issue.

Goku took a few cautious steps inside and quietly closed the door behind him. He looked around as he slowly began making his way through the unfamiliar home. Everything was different. He didn't recognize any of the decor, and if he hadn't just seen ChiChi leave, he would have doubted the woman even lived here anymore.

The furniture and accessories looked more expensive; a far cry from the modest decorating he'd grown accustomed to when he lived here. But what really threw him for a loop was the lack of pictures. The Saiyajin didn't see ANY of the framed family photos ChiChi used to have displayed throughout the house. Why was that?

Soon Goku found himself in his old bedroom. His nose wrinkled at the heavy smell of sex that hung in the air. It was official; that man he'd seen with his wife was definitely more than just a friend. But then again, he supposed this meant ChiChi was no longer HIS wife. She'd moved on.

A wave of despair washed over Goku as his eyes fell upon a picture sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. He slowly moved forward and picked it up, struggling to see it clearly through the unshed tears that were clouding his vision. It was a photo of ChiChi and her new.. lover. The obviously human man had his arm wrapped around his ex-wife's shoulders, and from what he could tell, ChiChi seemed thrilled. Her eyes were bright and her smile was beaming. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her look so happy and carefree.

Goku inhaled a shuddering breath as he gently set the framed picture back down in its' original spot. His fingers clenched into fists as his dark eyes took one last look at the room he'd spent so much time in before he turned and walked out. He quickly moved down the stairs and out the front door.

He wasn't sure what to do with himself at this point or where to go, but he did know he wanted to be alone. His head was full of jumbled thoughts and he needed time to sort all of this out; so when he raised his eyes in search of the Nimbus, he wasn't pleased to find someone else waiting for him.

"Kakarotto."

----------------------------------------------------

Bulma nervously paced back and forth as she punched a series of numbers into her phone and then raised the receiver to her ear. After Goku had stormed away from her and she'd had time to cool down herself, she'd realized why the Saiyajin had become so irritated with her. The blue-haired woman hadn't realized how long she'd kept him in her lab. Time seemed to fly when she was in 'doctor mode', but when the clock showed that two hours had passed she'd nearly kicked herself.

The man had spent the last six years of his life in a lab and once he's free, he's dragged right back into one. She could be such an idiot sometimes.

After that Bulma had gone to find her old friend, but her search came up empty. She'd finally resorted to interrupting Vegeta during his training in the hopes he might have seen the other man. Needless to say, he hadn't been happy.

*****

"What?!"

Bulma frowned and took a small step back from the angry Saiyajin after he'd swung open his chamber door. "Geez, SOMEONE'S in a pissy mood! What's got you all worked up?!"

The prince growled at her, baring his teeth. "I repeat, woman; WHAT?!"

"Fine! Have you seen Goku? I need to apologize to him."

"That baka took off on his stupid cloud nearly an hour ago! Can you believe that even after I went out of my way to call that Nimbus of his, making myself look like a total NUTECASE by the way, that clown had the NERVE to flip me off?! ME!! VEGETA!!"

Bulma's eyes widened as the older man continued to rant and rave about the disrespectful behavior of the younger Saiyajin. Goku had left? Where else would he go except for....

"Vegeta, do you know where he was going?"

The prince snorted, annoyed that his rant was cut short. "No, he wasn't feeling all that chatty."

"Well shit!" The blue-haired woman turned and ran back inside, leaving a rather baffled Saiyajin behind.

******

Now Bulma was trying to contact ChiChi on her cell phone. She hadn't even thought to tell Goku that his wife... well, ex-wife, had remarried; but then again, she hadn't expected him to leave Capsule Corp so soon. The last thing he needed was to walk in on those two...

"Hello?"

"ChiChi! Where are you?"

"Bulma? I'm in the car with Victor. We're going out for a night on the town tonight! I'm wearing my ne---"

"Sorry to cut you off, but before you left, did anyone stop by your house?"

".....Hm? No. Why? Should I have been expecting someone?"

Bulma sighed in relief. So she hadn't seen Goku. "Oh, it's nothing. You enjoy your night."

She didn't even wait for ChiChi to respond before she hung up the phone and walked back outside. "VEGETA! I NEED YOU TO GO GET GOKU!"

The Saiyajin had disappeared back into his gravity chamber, but Bulma could still hear the muffled 'fuck', through the steel door.

-------------------------------------

Vegeta grumbled to himself as he shot through the air. His ki flared around him, clearly displaying his foul mood. First the baka had insulted him and now he was being sent to retrieve him? Why did that woman think Kakarotto would come back with him? Obviously the younger man wasn't happy with either of them at the moment.

The prince frowned and lowered himself to the ground when Goku's old house came into view. There was no car in the driveway, but that yellow cloud was hovering just outside the door. He folded his arms and sighed as he stood in the front yard. The harpy and her new mate weren't home, but Kakarotto had still gone inside. Surely he had figured it out by now...

A moment later the front door opened and the younger Saiyajin slowly walked outside. His eyes were downcast and his shoulders were slumped. Even his aura projected a sad and heavy energy.

The prince felt his anger toward Goku melt away as those black eyes, full of unshed tears, rose to meet his own.

"Kakarotto."

The younger Saiyajin froze when he saw him and his expression quickly turned to that of annoyance. He waved his hand at the older man in the classic 'shoo, shoo' motion.

Vegeta held his ground. "No, I won't leave. The woman wants you to come back to Capsule Corp."

A frustrated 'nnn' noise left Goku's throat, and the prince assumed that was as close as the younger man could get to saying 'no'. Vegeta blocked his way when the other Saiyajin tried to get to the Nimbus. He grabbed onto Goku's upper arm when he tried to push him aside.

"Kakarotto! You can't go wandering around in your...condition. You couldn't even fight off a rabbit if one were to attack you!"

Black eyes grew wide before turning into angry slits, and the next thing Vegeta knew, an open palm struck his cheek, snapping his head to the side. He didn't even have time to respond before Goku fisted his hand in the older man's hair and tugged; hard.

"Gah! Holy shit!" To avoid losing a chunk of his royal mane, Vegeta followed the direction of that fist and gradually sank to his knees. Then, just as he was reaching up to untangle the younger man's fingers, a booted foot made a solid connection with his chin. He landed on his back with a soft 'thud'.

For several minutes he just stared straight up at the sky, unable to believe that he had just gotten his ass kicked by a powerless Saiyajin. He might as well have taken a fall to an infant! How humiliating!

The prince growled and sat up. His mouth had already opened to shout out a serious of curses when a strange sight stopped him.

Instead of facing the angry Saiyajin who had just beaten him up, he was looking at a very amused one. Goku was shaking with silent laughter. Every now and then a small squeak escaped his lips, and tears flowed down the younger man's cheeks as he struggled to compose himself. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, and angry or not, he found it hilarious.

"Oh, I'm glad ONE of us is laughing! That was dirty fighting, Kakarotto! I'm surprised you didn't kick me in the nuts!"

Goku wiped his tears away and looked at Vegeta, then snapped his fingers and looked as if he hadn't even thought of that. This brought on another wave of snickers.

"Hmph." The older man picked himself up and dusted the dirt and grass from his clothes. He reached up and rubbed his tender scalp, wincing at the throbbing pain. Ki or not, Kakarotto was still dangerous. Lesson learned.

"Alright, that's enough. Bulma will not subject you to anymore tests if you return. There is no place for you out here." Vegeta was careful to put that last part as gently as possible. He wasn't trying to hurt the other man.

All traces of humor left Goku's face anyway, and his expression quickly fell. He sighed as he looked back at his old home. His black tail slowly moved back and forth behind him as he struggled to accept the loss of his wife. He couldn't blame ChiChi. She had no way of knowing if he'd ever return in her lifetime, and he'd left her alone so many times she obviously just couldn't wait anymore. She deserved some happiness, and though he was hoping he would be the one to provide it for her, it was clear someone else had beaten him to it.

Goku turned back to Vegeta, who was waiting quietly and patiently for him to make his decision. He hadn't really been fair to the older man. After all, the prince had saved him from those men and had even come for him after he'd flipped him off earlier. The Earth-raised Saiyajin blushed at the memory and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He'd just been so... frustrated with everything.

Goku dropped his hand back to his side and slowly walked up to Vegeta. He could visibly see the older man tense up, and he couldn't help but smile at that. The prince raised his hands when the younger man reached toward him, preparing to defend himself if need be, but this time Goku only flicked a stray blade of grass out of his hair. After that he gave Vegeta a lopsided smile and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hn. Is that your way of apologizing?"

Goku nodded, still sporting that sheepish smile.

Though Vegeta felt he had the right to bitch a little more about how he had been treated, he only shrugged and stood aside, allowing the younger Saiyajin access to the Nimbus.

"Will you come quietly or do you want to go another round? Fair warning, I will not go easy on you this time."

Goku scoffed at the older man as he strolled past him and jumped up onto the waiting cloud, which immediately took off back toward Capsule Corp.

Vegeta straightened his stance, only then realizing he was still crouched down defensively. "Yeah. You better run."

To be continue...