The Power Of Love

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragonball Z and am in no way connected to them. I only wish I was, than I'd have at least SOME $$$. I also do not own and am in no way related to the creators or producers or anything of the song Power of Love by Celine Dion. Please don't sue me. Seeing as how I am broke, sueing me would do you no good. =Þ

AUTHOR: Hidden Angel

Last time on Death of an Enemy:

Vegeta sighed in relief. The friendship he shared with Kakkarot was too strong and too important to him. He was not willing to lose a friend simply because of one woman. Especially for a slutty woman who was ready to jump into any guy's arms and...

"Where's Lumo?" Toruo's question broke the friendly silence that hung in the air.

Both Kakkarot and Vegeta looked around and expanded their ki trying to find their target. No. He was not in the nearby vicinty. Lumo had disappeared.

*****

Vegeta's anger began to reignite again. He wasn't sure who he was more upset with, himself for letting Lumo disappear like that, or Lumo for disappearing at all. Now, he would make sure the traitor died a painful death. He would slowly break one limb at a time and make Lumo beg for death. Shaking with digust, Vegeta took to the air followed by an equally enraged Kakkarot.

Toruo remained where he was, still holding Fate in his arms. He was afraid that if he let go, she would slip away from him forever and for some reason, he didn't like that thought. It was selfish of him, but he didn't care. Now that he had met her, he coulnd't imagine life without her.

Knowing that he had a duty to fulfil, he pulled slowly away from her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Her smile melted all his fears and his soul. "Yeah. I think so. Thanks."

He smiled back but felt his sub-consciousness tug at his mind. What was he suppose to do now? His duty was to protect the Prince and that meant he should be wherever Vegeta was. On the other hand, he wanted to make sure Fate got home safely. He could take her with him, but that would be putting her into needless danger. As he was about to voice his question, she anwered it for him.

"I'm not scared."

His eyebrows raised in wonder. "Not scared of what?"

"I know what you're thinking. It's obvious in your eyes." A blank look from Toruo told her that he was indeed confused. She smiled at his confusion. She loved doing this to him. He had killed thousands and still he was able to remain innocent. How did he do it? "I'll be alright. You have a duty to fulfill. Go on."

He scruntched up his face making her smile even more. "Are you sure? I can take you home first."

She shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'll be alright."

Reluctantly he put her down. He nodded and smiled at her. As he turned around, he felt a hand softly brush against his shoulders. Turning around to face Fate again, her lips brushed gently against his cheeks. "Take care Toruo."

Before he could do or say anything else, she was already walking away from him. Sighing in resolution, he took one last glance backwards and then took to the air. Following Vegeta's fading ki, he hoped with all his heart that she would be okay.

*****

A thundering crash in the main entrance of the castle caused the Z team to jump out of their seats. A few seconds later, Vegeta's enraged voice echoed around the hallways. His anger and frustration were obvious as he began a rampage, tearing the castle apart from the inside out.

Bulma shivered involuntarily, feeling so many emotions that weren't her's. Anger, fear, frustration, pride, pain and...confusion. What was this? What exactly was she experiencing? She shuddered in fear, afraid of what the answer may be. Wrapping her arms around herself, silent tears began to make their way down her soft cheeks. She was alone. The only man she had ever trully loved no longer cared for her. All alone.

Meanwhile, Vegeta's rampage through the castle took a slight pause as a feeling of sadness began to overwhelm him. What was going on? Sadness? He had no reason to be sad. Suddenly, the answer came to him, hitting him harder than a Kamehameha from Kakkarot. The overwhelming sadness was not his own emotion. It was that woman's emotion. In the heat of everything that had happened, the Saiyan warrior had forgotten all about his bond to her. And now, he had let down his guard giving her the opportunity to experience his emotions as she shared her's with him.

Anger flaring in him once more, he rebuilt the wall of ice which he had so effectively kept up for so long. He would not let her in again. No cheating slut would get the best of the Saiyan prince. A hint of regret entered his mind and was quickly shoved aside as he remembered that he was no longer the Saiyan prince.

Remembering that Lumo was still in the castle somewhere, Vegeta snapped out of his thoughts. He could deal with everything later but right now, Lumo had to learn a very important lesson. A smirk flickered over his face as he concentrated all his energy into tracking down the little traitor. He had to make sure that everyone understand that no one could betray him like this.

Moving at full speed again, Vegeta could sense Kakkarot and Toruo following close behind. Down one hallway after another, he kept his senses sharp. He knew where Lumo would have wanted to go, the question was, had he gone there already? Had he gone and managed to flee so quickly? Perhaps, but that was yet to be known. Even if he had, he could not hide forever. Sensing triump, Vegeta let out a maniacal laugh of pure joy.

Kakkarot raised his eyebrows in both fear and wonder. So Vegeta found this amusing? He certainly didn't. His friend was so distracted by his need to kill that he was not himself anymore. This could not be good. In fact, if Vegeta had been paying careful attention, he would have realized that there was a much shorter route to get to Lumo. It was as if the poor guy had lost his mind.

Making a quick decision, Kakkarot departed from the small group at the next intersection of hallways. There was still a chance of catching Lumo. He had to try. If the baka got away, there was no telling what kind of damage he could cause.

He muscled every ounce of speed he had and tore through the hallways. Doors and rooms passed by as blurs. However, dispite his speed, he was stopped dead in his tracks as he passed an opened room. Turning his head towards the muffled sobs, what greeted his eyes tore apart his heart and his soul.

Sitting on the floor with her head resting on her bed, was a sobbing Chi Chi. Unsure of what to do, Kakkarot silently leaned against the wall where he would be out of sight. Closing his eyes he tried to regain control of his thoughts and emotions. His heart felt like it was crumbling apart into a million pieces never to be put together again. Losing all his strength, the mighty warrior slouched to the floor.

Oh how he wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to reassure her and try to make her feel better. He wanted to see her smile, to hear her laugh. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He didn't know what to do. She didn't seem to want to see him. He had to talk to her though, needed to talk to her.

Getting up, he strode boldly into the room. He didn't care if she would hate him forever, but he needed to understand why she was mad at him. He hadn't done anything wrong had he? If he had, he would beg her to forgive him. He could not stand to be away from her any longer. Without her in his arms, life felt incomplete. If she wouldn't take him back, well, he didn't even want to think about it.

One step at a time, closer with every second. Three feet away, two, one. He stood behind her, now unsure of what to do or say. Her broken sobs did little to calm his aching heart. Soundlessly, he kneeled down beside her. More muffled sobs and more destruction to his soul. Unable to take it anymore, he moved his hand and placed it gently on Chi Chi's shoulder.

He jumped back to his feet as she also jumped. Surprise and confusion were obvious in her eyes as she stared at Kakkarot. She blinked furiously a few times and then continued to stare at him. Words appeared to be lost to her usually sharp mind.

She finally managed to stutter out a comprehendable sentence. "What...what...what are you doing in here?" Chi Chi tried to sound angry, but for some reason, being so close to him...she just didn't have the strength to act cruel. How could she when she loved him and missed him so much? She didn't care if he didn't love her, didn't care if he didn't need her. She just wanted to hear him say that he was sorry. She wanted him back so bad that it hurt worse than anything else she had ever felt before. And now, with him just a few feet away from her, she felt as if she was going to go insane.

Kakkarot took a deep breath and gulped. Could he do this? Did he have the strength to do this? What if she no longer wanted him? What if she told him to go away forever and leave her alone? Taking another deep breath, he summoned up his courage.

"I heard you sobbing and I wanted to know what was wrong."

Her once tear stained face turned to one of pain and anger. "Since when did you care? It's not like you love me." Years later she would constantly ask herself how she had managed to say that line without breaking down completely.

A look of sadness clouded over Kakkarot's face. "I care. I have always cared. Haven't I told you that?"

Chi Chi turned away from him as she felt a tear begin to make it's way down her smooth cheeks. Her response was so cold it would have frozen the entire ocean. "Liar."

That single word crushed him worse than any physical attack ever could. Why did she doubt him? What had he done to upset her so? Fighting back the urge to give up all hope, he took another deep breath and stepped closer to her.

"Chi Chi, I have said this before and I will say it again. I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose."

She shook her head and turned around to face him again, tears now cascading down her face like a waterfall.

"I wish I could believe you Kakkarot, but I can't. I just can't."

Refusing to give up, he kept at it. He had come this far and was not about to give in just yet.

"Why? Why can't you trust me? What did I do to hurt you?"

She shook her head again, no words flowing from her lips as she found it impossible to speak through the tears.

Kakkarot stood dumbfounded. Once again, he found himself unsure of what to do. Looking at her tear stained face, the answer became obvious. He took a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her gently against himself. At first, she didn't react, almost as if she was unsure of what to do. Then, she too gave into the moment and rested her head on his well built chest.

It felt so good to be back in his arms again even if it was just for a short while. Allowing herself to let out all her pain, she cried silently against him. She felt him drawing little circles on her back with the palm of his hand, trying to comfort her. Surprisingly, it made her feel a bit better.

A few minutes later, she was okay again. She loved the feel of his arms. She loved the way they made her feel safe and protected from the horrors of the world. If only they could stay like this forever. But how could they when he didn't love her? She did not want to be selfish.

"Why Chi Chi? Why won't you trust me?"

Kakkarot's question snapped her out of her train of wishful thinking. She sighed and forced herself away from him. She had to be strong. She could not give in so easily. She already had done that once and was not about to do it again.

"It's okay Kakkarot. I don't want to hold you back. I know you love Bulma."

Kakkarot blinked in confusion. Bulma? He loved Bulma?

"What? Since when did I love Bulma?"

"But...I saw you hugging her."

He immediately understood what she was talking about. So that was what this was about? Sighing again, he took her small hands into his much larger ones.

"Chi Chi, you are the only girl I will ever love. You mean the world to me and I would never do anything if I thought it would hurt you."

"But..."

"Shh." He placed two fingers tenderly over her lips. "Let me finish. Please?"

She nodded.

"Thank you." He continued, glad that he wasn't losing her afterall. "What you saw wasn't what it seemed. I was only comforting Bulma because Vegeta had done something to hurt her feelings. I was sure you would not want your friend to be hurt." He took his right hand and lovingly brushed it across her cheeks, wiping the tears off as he did so. "Please believe me. I don't think I can stand having you mad at me like this. I need you. I can't live without you."

Chi Chi was confused and speechless. Was he lying? Was he telling the truth? How would she know? Did she really mean that much to him? She visually searched every inch of his face and finally found her way to his eyes. Tears began to roll down her cheeks again as she realized that he wasn't lying. How could she have been such a fool?

"I'm sorry for not having more faith in you Kakkarot. I love you so much and I was afraid that I was going to lose you. I'm so sorry."

He smiled and kissed her passionately, showing her that apologies were not needed where she was concerned. She also smiled and kissed him back, understanding that no matter what, he would always forgive her.

Vegeta's yell of fury destroyed the perfect moment.

"Oh shi..." Kakkarot nearly jumped as he remembered what he was suppose to be doing.

"What's wrong?" Chi Chi looked at him with concern.

Kakkarot stood up and grabbed her hand. "Come on." Without another word, the two were off in the direction of Vegeta's voice.

Arriving at their destination, Kakkarot stood in front of Chi Chi, protecting her from the danger of any flying objects. Vegeta was in a rage and was throwing different objects around the room. Toruo, not wishing to die young, stood near the door and out of harms way.

"What's going on Toruo?"

Toruo ducked as a monitor came flying towards him.

"We arrived here and found no one. All we found was the screen saying, 'Transmission Complete'."

"What about Lumo?"

Toruo fidgeted on the spot, obviously nervous. "He's nowhere to be found and his ki is nowhere within this castle."

"Is that why Vegeta is so upset?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. He just snapped and since then, he doesn't seem to care what I say." Toruo paused and then leaned over to whisper quietly in Kakkarot's ear. "I think he's gone crazy with anger."

Kakkarot shook his head. Was it possible? Had Vegeta finally lost it? Was he trully crazy?

NEXT TIME ON POWER OF LOVE: Vegeta gets saved. King Vegeta lands on Earth with another friend.

Chapter17