He flew at the female jinzouningen, his heart full of rage and fire, his arms strong and aching to attack. When her ice blue eyes widened and she shook her pale blond hair back, that wasn’t what he saw. All he saw was Pi, standing in the air, taunting him with that evil smile and those empty black eyes. He reached her within half an instant, and whipped one of his arms around to slam it into her stomach, so hard that her eyes bulged and blood came out of her mouth. He brought his other fist around to nail her in the side of the head and she flew spiraling dizzily through the air. When she righted herself and turned around to face him again, he felt the anger rise up again, nearly consuming him. It was a fury so strong and mean that it could quite possibly kill him. It bubbled up in his stomach, burning like flames as it leapt through his heart. There was no way to rid himself of it, no way to make it stop. His only release was to hurt, to punish, to kill.

Vejiita rushed at her, flipped around in the air, kicked her so viciously that for a moment he thought his leg might go all the way through. When she floundered, he grabbed her arm, wrenched it around, and placed it over his knee. He rose the arm up, then brought it down hard against the muscles in his leg, rejoiced in the chilling snap of bone. She cried out, but her cry was silenced when he drew his arm up and elbowed her sharply in the face. Her nose began to bleed, and she reached up to touch it, staring at the blood in her hands with wide eyes. Just looking at her surprised face made his blood fire up in his veins again.

Letting out another angry snarl, he lunged at his enemy again, managed to grab her around the neck. He squeezed his hands together tight, glaring wildly into her eyes --- eyes that were truly ice blue, but instead just saw bottomless, unending black. She killed Bulma. The bitch had stalked them through the snowy fields, hiding with her sword and creeping behind them like a shadow. Then she had appeared out of nowhere, as if she had come along with the blizzard that swirled around them. And she had killed Bulma. She had rammed that sharp, ancient sword straight through his mate’s stomach, impaling her. It had meant nothing to her. She had laughed. Mocked him. Mocked her. She had just done it to be cruel, just killed his mate because of a thirst for blood and a bruised ego.

Infuriated, Vejiita screamed and squeezed harder and harder around his enemy’s neck, his fingers aching to pierce through the skin, to rip, to destroy. He squeezed until her head fell back and her arms went limp, falling loosely to her sides. She was unconscious, completely knocked out from the lack of oxygen and the pressure on her neck. He snarled at her, hating her for her weakness; hating her for not being awake, to be able to watch him kill her. She had taken the joy out of it, taken the revenge away from him. Killing her while she was sleeping was murder, but killing her while she was awake and watching was justice. With another shout, he flung her down, throwing her through the dim cloud of smoke, down towards the battered city streets.

When he saw her body slam into a pile of burnt sheet metal and concrete, her smirked in satisfaction. Seeing the blood, the broken limbs, and the way that her head hung so limply was almost as good as getting his justice. It was satisfying to know that he would kill her, to know that it would all be over with. He would never see her in his dreams again, would never have to live that gut wrenching instant in the snowy fields again. She wouldn’t be able to materialize and haunt him anymore. He would end her life again now, for a final time. And she would never have power over him again. This grief that he swam in, this sadness that was beginning to rise above his head would end. The pain would leak away and into the darkness of the smoke and fire. And everything would be right again.

He flew down, touched his feet on the pavement. His enemy was lying, unconscious and broken the pile of rubble, her arms and legs spread out in an unnatural fashion. Vejiita stared at her, glared at her, wanted to smash her and destroy her until there was absolutely nothing left. No more nightmares, no more sadness, no more fear.

When two dark shadows fell across the pavement in front of him, he didn’t even bother to look up. He already knew who they were, and their appearance darkened his soul even further. Mirai Trunks --- the boy from the future. And Kakarroto. They had come to stop him, but he refused to be stopped. This was his revenge, his justice, his kill. He would not let them take this away from him. He didn’t want to live with the nightmares anymore, didn’t want to carry the grief around like a heavy weight on his shoulders. He wanted it to be over and over now. But he sensed that the dark shadows behind him would not allow him to do this. He spun around, faced the two of them with an unwavering glare. He stepped in front of his fallen enemy, as if he were protecting a kill, and crossed his arms tightly across his chest.

“This is none of your damn business.” He told them coolly. “Now get the hell out of here before I kill the two of you, as well."

He had seen the look of murder quite clearly in Vejiita’s eyes. That look worried him. He had seen it before, and each and every time he had seen that particular, murderous glint, someone had ended up dying. Gokuu knew that Vejiita was an intelligent warrior, a fighter than thought things through before he acted. He knew that Vejiita was aware of the consequences of killing the jinzouningen --- the rift it would cause in Kuririn’s family. But he also knew that somehow that Vejiita wasn’t just fighting Juuhachi-gou, wasn’t just trying to contain the female jinzouningen; there was something else going on, something deeper moving through the Saiya-jin no Ouji’s heart. He wasn’t fighting Juuhachi-gou any longer; he was fighting the ghosts of his past, fighting the guilt and the grief. And he was fighting them viciously, aiming to kill.

Next to him, Mirai Trunks was unflinching. Gokuu knew that both of the warriors were against him. If Vejiita tried to kill Juuhachi-gou, he had a feeling that Mirai Trunks would not object. The future warrior had already expressed his feelings about the jinzouningen. Gokuu could understand his point of view, but he also didn’t think it was a good idea for the boy to act on the grief and anger that was still in his heart. He had come out of nowhere, seeming to materialize in front of him like a wraith from out of the smoke. The sword was clenched in his hands, and his expression was calm and deadly. They had talked, but Gokuu still didn’t know what was going on behind those quiet blue eyes. Mirai Trunks had a lot of stocked up anger, the boy also had a good heart. He also trusted him, and knew that he would make the right decision if it really came to that.

Juuhachi-gou was down now, lying in a pile of ashes in debris, her head lolled back; she was obviously unconscious, obviously no longer a threat. Her pale blond hair was filled dirt and encrusted with blood on the left side, her hands were burnt and lifeless as they played out across the pile. Vejiita had won --- but he wasn’t finished. Gokuu watched with wide eyes as the Saiya-jin prince ripped a steel beam away from a pile of wreckage, wielding it in his hands like a baseball bat. He stomped over the pavement of the street, his dark eyes full of rage and delirium, the line of his mouth firm and twitching. Gokuu watched in horror as Vejiita stood over Juuhachi-gou, lifted the steel beam up above his head, and prepared to strike.

“Vejiita!” The yell ripped out of Gokuu’s throat, slicing through the haze of smoke and the crackling of the fire behind them. He flew forward, standing closer to them, his hands outstretched. No matter how sturdy Juuhachi-gou’s jinzouningen body was, it would not be able to take that hit; it would shatter into a million pieces, be swept away with the ash and dust of the city. Part of him didn’t want to believe that Vejiita would do something like that, kill someone in that way. But grief made people do strange things sometimes, and grief was something that Vejiita had been suffering from for months now.

“Go away, Kakarroto. I told you this was none of your damn business.”

Vejiita barely even glanced at him, just raised the steel beam higher, his eyes still filled with the ghosts and the anger and the intent to kill. Then he slammed it down, and Gokuu heard the echo of it slicing through the wind in his ears. Inches away from Juuhachi-gou’s vulnerable head, Gokuu managed to stop it, grasping the other end with strong hands. The Saiya-jin no Ouji howled and struggled to gain control of the beam again, struggled to bring it down on the jinzouningen’s head. But Gokuu held fast and steady, his arms nearly shaking from the strain. For a moment, the two of them battled with the beam, each pouring as much strength as they could into their actions. Gokuu could feel his fingertips, wet with sweat, beginning to slide along the cool metal of the beam.

In what Gokuu felt was the most surprising and wonderful event of the day, Mirai Trunks suddenly sheathed his sword, stepped forward and lifted his hands up, gripping onto the beam as well. The future warrior turned to him with sad sky blue eyes and a firm expression. “I can’t keep comparing your world to mine. The jinzouningen here are different. I don’t want to believe it or accept it, but I will. I trust you --- I trust all of you. And I know that killing her probably isn’t the right thing to do.”

In response to the boy’s actions, Vejiita tried even harder to send the beam crashing down, shooting Mirai Trunks a deadly glare and baring his teeth in an angry snarl. Normally it wouldn’t have been much of a battle, but the fact that Vejiita was completely furious and had adrenaline pumping through his Saiya-jin veins, made the fight over Juuhachi-gou’s life just a little more difficult.

“Vejiita, stop!” Gokuu yelled again. He and Trunks gripped harder onto the beam, managed to push it up a little more. This was beginning to get tiresome. He didn’t know what had gotten into Vejiita. The normally rational Saiya-jin prince was acting as if his brain had simply taken vacation. There was no understanding in those cold, jade eyes, nothing but hate and calculation. This was not the Vejiita that Gokuu knew, not the Vejiita that he had grown to count on. This was a stranger, a killer, someone who was so drenched with grief that he could no longer control his actions. Gokuu clenched his teeth together tightly, lifted the steel beam even higher. His dark eyes turned and demanded attention, commanded it. He nodded towards Juuhachi-gou’s fallen body. “You can’t kill her.”

“What do you mean I can’t kill her?! She fucking killed my wife!” Vejiita roared, bringing the beam down as hard as he could. His jade eyes sparkled with hate and frustration, his entire body shaking. He bared his teeth, glaring at Gokuu as if he could slice through his body, merely by glaring. “She killed Bulma! I can do whatever the hell I want with her!”

Gokuu didn’t know what cut through him the hardest: the insanity of what Vejiita was saying, or the edge of desperation in his deep voice. All at once he understood what was happening, why Vejiita was acting this way. It was only natural of course. It was his first real fight since returning from Sukuashi, the first enemy he had to face after fighting the young Saiya-jin girl that had killed Bulma. He also imagined that the earlier incident involving Bulma and the Capsule Car had something to do with it as well. Vejiita was fighting Juuhachi-gou, but his mind was telling him that it was Pi. Bulma’s death was too fresh, too vivid in Vejiita’s mind. And as soon as he had started fighting the female jinzouningen, something must have triggered his memories of that horrible moment in the snowy fields. He and Trunks shared a long, silence look. This was what it was all about. This was why Vejiita had been fighting so viciously.

He knew that if the same thing had happened with ChiChi --- if they had arrived on Sukuashi and found her dead, it would have haunted him too. He might not be able to fight with a level head for awhile, might forget what was real and what was still living on in his mind. It would be an easy thing to do; if Vejiita was still drowning in his grief over Bulma’s death, then nothing was going to seem real anymore. Until his heart healed, the entire world was going to seem plastic and transparent. The only thing would seem real was the grief, and it would consume his mind. That was exactly what had happened to Vejiita, exactly what was going on behind those deep, dark eyes.

He was careful to keep his voice calm, to keep the sympathy out of his eyes. Vejiita didn’t want something, would be angered by it. All the Saiya-jin prince needed now was understanding and direction. He needed to be pulled back into the real world and out of the torture chamber that his mind had been trapped in. Gokuu looked at him with dark eyes, no longer glaring or challenging, just understanding. “Vejiita….Juuhachi-gou didn’t do anything to Bulma. Pi killed Bulma. On Sukuashi. But you killed Pi, remember? You already had your revenge. She’s gone. This isn’t Pi. This is Juuhachi-gou. Jinzouningen.”

His heart ached to see the sudden confusion on Vejiita’s face, to feel the sudden decrease of pressure on the beam. The Saiya-jin prince looked down at the unconscious jinzouningen, shook his head, blinked his eyes. Gokuu could practically see the image of Pi leave his mind, replaced with the true image of Juuhachi-gou before him. Vejiita backed away, released the steel beam; it came crashing down to the ground with a loud clang, vibrating the earth beneath their feet. “Juuhachi-gou….”

“Hai, Otousan. Jinzouningen Juuhachi-gou.” Mirai Trunks added gently.

Realization finally swept back into Vejiita’s eyes and he shook his head roughly, turning to them with a sharp, angry glare. He didn’t even have to say anything for Gokuu to understand. The unspoken threat was all but shoved down Gokuu’s throat: if you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you. Next to him, Mirai Trunks rose his eyebrows in understanding. He knew Vejiita well enough to know what that look meant, too. Though he was certain Vejiita meant it, he was also pretty sure that it would never happen. Vejiita had threatened them many times over the years, and Gokuu had learned to take those threats in stride. Besides, Gokuu wasn’t planning on telling anyone anyway. More than likely, he’d forget about the whole thing in about an hour. He smiled.

“It’s okay, Vejiita.” He told him, his voice firm but a bit playful. He and Vejiita had an understanding, a bond. He wasn’t about to break that, and Vejiita knew it. He dropped his own end of the steel beam, twisting it around so that it was no where near Juuhachi-gou’s head. He straightened, then crossed his arms casually, conversationally. “Listen, Mirai Bulma is going to help us find a way to change the jinzouningen back to the way that they were before. She’s already on her way to Capsule Corporation. Why don’t you sling Juuhachi-gou over your shoulders and we’ll all fly there together now?”

The Saiya-jin prince gave him a dirty look, but silently picked the female jinzouningen up and slung her limp, unconscious body around his shoulders. Vejiita didn’t like to be ordered around, but Gokuu hadn’t meant it to be an order. It was merely a suggestion. Vejiita knew him well enough by now to know that there was no malice in his words, nothing more behind them that what was plainly spoken. Gokuu imagined if it had been anyone else, Vejiita probably would have sneered and never even attempted to lift Juuhachi-gou out of the rubble. He smiled at that, glad to know that Vejiita really did trust him, in his own twisted sort of way.

Mirai Trunks flicked his sky blue eyes back up at Vejiita and frowned deeply, his hand unconsciously drifted back to the hilt of his sword again. “Juunana-gou escaped. He is heading towards East Capitol City.”

The look of immediate alarm did not come; Vejiita was well trained and well disciplined. He would never let himself show any kind of fear. But because Gokuu knew him so well, he caught just a flicker of anxiety in his fathomless, dark eyes. It was impossible not to be alarmed. They had all just seen the horrifying destruction of Satan City --- Juuhachi-gou had leveled everything in sight, hadn’t spared one single life. Her twin was now headed into East Capitol City to do the same thing. And Vejiita’s home was in East Capitol city. Vejiita reached his arms up and adjusted Juuhachi-gou around his shoulders, silently waiting for them to tell him the rest.

“Don’t worry; Trunks flew by me in a flash, ready to protect the city and Bra.” Gokuu comforted, casually gesturing towards the other city. “Piccolo and Koronu went after him as well.”

Gokuu paused then, gave Vejiita a sideways look. He probably wouldn’t want to hear this, but it needed to be said anyway. Besides, it was the truth. It was something that Vejiita should hear --- whether he wanted to or not. Gokuu nodded once, his eyes never leaving Vejiita’s as he spoke: “Trunks is very brave. You should be proud of him. He took good care of the company, just like his mother would have wanted him to do. And he took good care of Bra, too. He handled the situation very well, was so calm and practical about it.”

Thought it seemed hesitant, Mirai Trunks nodded in agreement.

Vejiita narrowed his eyes and sniffed once, angrily. “Well then, I guess there’s no use in hanging around. It sounds like Trunks has it all covered.”

It was a typical reaction, something that Gokuu had expected from him. Vejiita was prideful, almost too prideful. He never liked to hear that someone was doing a better job at something than him. And Trunks was no exception. Gokuu had no doubt that Vejiita was proud of his son, but there was also a hidden layer of jealousy there, one that Vejiita kept locked away in the depths of his soul. Trunks would grow to be stronger and better and smarter than Vejiita ever was. He would achieve things that Vejiita had never been able to achieve and reach power levels that Vejiita could only dream about. It made the father part of Vejiita so proud that he was probably fighting off a grin at the moment, but it made the Saiya-jin warrior part of Vejiita bitter and mean. And because Vejiita wasn’t used to sharing the father part of himself yet, the Saiya-jin warrior was the only thing that showed through.