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Rage.
Vegeta thought he understood its complexities. As a Saiyan, that emotion, among others, had driven his extraordinary abilities to broader heights. Yet he learned to contain its excesses, to jettison its cruelest and most deleterious effects. Doing that saved the near-ineluctable route to his ruin and, ultimately, eternal dishonor and erasure. Privately he reflected on this, recommitting himself to walking and fighting in the blaze of redemption instead of resentful malice. To whom did he credit this emotional transformation?
This can't be happening. My wife. Our... children. Kakarot, where the hell are you?!
Vegeta wasn’t seeking to be rescued. He wanted Goku there to combat this sinister force alongside him, using whatever exceptional means at their disposal. Their relationship spanned decades, at times turbulent ones, engendering an unbreakable respect. To say they had each other’s backs would belittle their friendship's endurance. They would always be rivals, too, but that helped them grow.
But his friend wasn't there.
Goku had allies in high places. Vegeta did too now, but he couldn’t call on anyone else to help without sacrificing more of his energy. He had to dedicate every grain of his strength to purge this malicious invader’s attempt to enslave his intelligence, power and body.
What if it learned his secrets?
“You can’t control me! I won’t let you! Get out…out… of my head!!!”
At his core, the Saiyan prince knew this ghastly assault was taking him down, step-by-step, in a spectacular fashion. Not only was the onslaught biological but also mechanistic, altering him into some kind of alien cybernetic mutant. The sentient attacker’s smug self-assurance while this occurred quadrupled Vegeta's outrage.
If he broke free, there would be hell to pay for suffering this vile ambush. The depth of the invader’s furor simmered inside its host’s fading consciousness. It wanted Vegeta to know why he had been targeted for domination. It detailed how it was created and who did it, broadcasting gory scenes from a bygone war and its victors into Vegeta's mind. It ranted about avenging the deaths of Tuffles at the hands of Saiyans on their once-shared home planet. But for Vegeta, according to what he was told as a child, the origins of that war weren't clear-cut. The Tuffles were no saints, he thought, and this scheme proved it. The Saiyans deservedly got pilloried for their terrible decisions in later years, but this creature wanted a new empire in its own image. It wouldn't stop with Earth.
Until then, Vegeta believed he understood more than most about rage and retribution, but there was no compare.
Briny, bitter perspiration slithered down his shoulders and spine as the infection excruciatingly penetrated each cell and nerve ending, accelerating like a malignant cancer. Spittle and mucus frothed from his lungs and mouth, strangling his protests. He couldn't stop his body from trembling.
“You... you monster. I’ll…I’ll show you what a Saiyan can do.” His speech barely measured above a murmur, but those surrounding him, anticipating the conquest, heard him clearly.
“Go ahead, Vegeta,” said his son’s closest friend, another victim. “Show us.”
Ropelike veins bulged on Vegeta’s forearms and shoulders as he collapsed onto his knees, nails digging furiously into the ashy soil. The Tuffle parasite, calling itself "Baby," now sensed abject fear and desperation, feasting on it. Feverish spasms pulverized Vegeta's colossal physique, forcing his teeth to grind violently like a rabid animal. Synaptic connections in his brain fired like tactical missiles as the mutant exerted further control, pushing Vegeta to the outer reaches of his prideful defiance. Even the vengeful invader grudgingly respected his newfound host’s tenacity. Indeed, the prince was truly a magnificent prize.
Bulma... Bulla...Trunks...I'm sorry.
He couldn't even say that he loved them.
Threadlike red striations joined at the center of Vegeta’s pupils as his head ferociously jerked. Denser crimson lines stretched down from his temples, while his hair shone stark white. The fiery energy from his power sprung from his palms.
The eerie smirk on his face, however, now belonged to another.
The invader forced his host’s remaining consciousness aside into a desolate place. Before that fateful event, the mutant tortured Vegeta with a final terrifying image – that of his wife’s infection. Baby especially made that one hurt until Bulma - horrified but just as willful as her mate - screamed for Vegeta’s help. Crippled by convulsive seizures, she cried out in despair only because the parasite allowed her to do so. Her profuse shrieks were met with unapologetic laughter.
The invader wanted Bulma’s agony to be the one of the last things her husband – whom the parasite vowed to murder later – would ever see.
One abrasion that didn’t heal quickly enough. That’s all it took to construct an insane asylum inside of Vegeta's body. Maintaining his power-up long enough to repel the parasite might have saved him. He carried that thought with him. His children, his friends, his friends’ children and his beloved wife had become the mutant's minions, along with himself, with Baby as the grandiloquent puppet master.
Kakarot was the last powerful person standing after the few fighters left uninfected, including his granddaughter Pan, couldn't overcome Baby's offensive. And the Saiyan warrior was angry. Very angry.
When Son Goku defeated their foe by the skin of his teeth, driving Baby from Vegeta’s body and slaughtering the mutant in a savage eruption of energy, he wondered how his friend’s memory and mental stability would fare after such extensive trauma. Vegeta's mind had taken the brunt of Baby’s debilitating infection, along with the ensuing physical damage from the parasite’s declared war on Goku's existence.
The odds had been heavily stacked against Goku when everyone he cherished and all other mortals were under the mutant's command. Somber silence after Baby's destruction sealed Goku and Vegeta’s unstated pact not to discuss it then. Whether it could happen again was uncertain. Other dormant Tuffle parasites could still be in space, primed for an opening to wage another ruthless crusade.
In the aftermath, Vegeta focused on his family, particularly Bulma. Unfortunately, he remembered everything that happened, along with Trunks – Baby’s cruel “parting gift” to them. Trunks had the psychological constitution of a titan, standing bravely against trials that would crush others. But seeing his father already engulfed by Baby after arriving from outer space devastated him. Trunks’ last vision before being overtaken himself was that of a sneering, silver-haired beast, not the proud, steely man he revered. Their family regrouped in their residential chambers beneath Capsule Corporation, choosing to stay there before facing their next challenge. Earth wasn’t safe yet, but they vowed that their planet would be for as long as it took.
A few years later the planet was mostly restored, due in large part to Bulma’s careful collection of the necessities to rebuild and reestablish social and environmental order. Her father founded Capsule Corporation not just to generate wealth, but to stockpile the essentials over decades –- if not centuries -- to give Earth a fighting chance for long-term survival after destructive attacks. There were no more Dragon Balls to rely upon either. Everyone had to learn to live without them, as well as without Goku. He dwelled in another spiritual realm now with the eternal dragon Shenron, a gift for having fought valiantly until the end. To his friends and family, it felt like a death, a final ending, though they knew it wasn't.
After the Tuffle mutant's war against mankind and other events that followed, Earth's citizens were faced with sketchy recollections of what had happened. Once again, Mr. Satan stepped up to calm the masses better than any normal political leader could. The amusing “fighter emeritus,” as he called himself, had witnessed the horror entirely as one of the few who didn't get infected. He also recounted Goku and Vegeta’s epic battles with the Shadow Dragons following Baby's reign of terror, but this time he told the unvarnished truth about the brave, kindhearted man who fought so hard to keep them alive when others had fallen.
Vegeta took Goku’s absence hard, but true to his personality, he used that sorrow to fuel how he intended to live without his friend. Patience took on an even more significant role. He hoped his wife could share in that mindfulness to bring them closer. Bulma spoke fondly of Goku anytime their memories of him surfaced during a shared meal or funny joke, but she shut down whenever Vegeta gently tried to help her confront her feelings about Baby's brutal violation of her.
Vegeta tolerated the occasional cigarette or two that Bulma smoked weekly since the rebuild, but he couldn’t watch her sink into an emotional cavern. As much as they loved her, their children hadn’t realized how close their mother was to a breaking point. With firm support from his father, Trunks had grappled with his anger and shame over being unable to protect his parents and sister. Despite witnessing what Baby could do after encountering the mutant in space, maybe he had underestimated how determined it was to wreak havoc. Vegeta understood his son’s reasoning but advised Trunks against blaming himself.
Sunrise was Bulma favorite part of the day. Usually, it took about an hour for her analytical brain to settle into work mode. Sex didn’t disappoint in the mornings either, though she and Vegeta weren’t having as much. He never appeared to be bothered by it. Cuddling and kissing seemed to satisfy his need for a physical connection with her. Bulma knew Vegeta's position about anyone expressing guilt over what they couldn’t do for him, yet she still felt guilty.
She took great pains not to awaken him, welcoming the times he slumbered longer to compensate for stubborn bouts of insomnia. Serving in Freiza’s army taught Vegeta to delay sleep over long periods to stay alive in dangerous settings. As he aged, however, his body clock finally said “fuck all this nonsense.” But other memories contributed to those sleepless nights too.
Bulma made a pot of ginger tea, hoping to relieve congestion from a lingering cold she picked up from a research assistant. Both should have known better than to work together without proper protection, especially with Bulma feeling run down already. Now that did annoy Vegeta, who gave the young aide a pass only because of her boundless eagerness to impress his wife.
Bulma came prepared for the nippy dawn air, dressed in a thick long-sleeve robe and thermal slippers. She could have fired up the torch lamps on the veranda to generate more heat around her. For whatever reason, she hadn’t by the time Vegeta met her outside a half hour later.
He brought out a covered bowl of hot cereal, placing it on a tabletop warmer. “Have some.”
“I will, honey. I’m not hungry right now.”
“You’re still not feeling well,” he said, kissing her forehead. Bulma remained quite congested, which kept dark, puffy circles around her eyes. “You didn’t eat much last night, so do this for me.”
She couldn’t help but smile a little. Vegeta fussed over her like she was queen of the universe. So, so much had changed about him. But this nurturing side had always been there, she believed. The preceding years’ events, including losing Goku, solidified it.
After eating enough to relieve her husband’s concern, they moved to a settee next to a now-lit torch lamp. Vegeta stretched out, holding Bulma within his arms. Appreciating nature had taken on greater meaning for them.
“I… think I understand now,” she said softly.
Vegeta’s chin nuzzled into her hair. “Hm. What do you understand?”
“Never mind." Hesitating, Bulma played around with his fingers. "I’m… I’m sorry. You’re enjoying yourself.”
He looked over her shoulder. “Talk with me. I want to listen.”
Using his solid yet composed voice as a guide, Bulma’s emotional dam ruptured. Relieved, Vegeta sensed the breach as his wife gathered the strength to continue. His deepest wishes for her were granted. Had he been that type of person, he would have cried.
“Like you and Trunks, Baby left me with every memory – how it hurt me and how I betrayed Goku, the people on Earth and you. That bastard hedged its bets in case someone defeated him.”
Vegeta fought the urge to disagree, but it was damned hard not to. “And what do you understand?”
“The desperation from being tortured – and the pure fury you’re left with afterward. I mean, I’ve been injured before. I’ve painfully and angrily watched you and Goku suffer during and after fights. And…and you and I have been by each other’s side through our worst nightmares.”
“We certainly have,” Vegeta said.
Bulma’s grip on his hand hardened. “But that thing made me wail, mocking me as it revealed its plans to capture you. It said I would ‘blissfully’ do its bidding and ‘have a better life.’ Worst of all, it knew my capabilities as a scientist and used them against us. Baby learned everything about me from Goku's boys.”
Vegeta inhaled, steeling himself for what he expected to hear next.
Stiff, restless breaths hissed from Bulma’s lungs. "It said that once you were infected, it would ‘consummate our new relationship.’ There I was, writhing on the floor in pain, while that monster all but confirmed its intent to rape me.”
Vegeta touched her head, suggesting a telepathic connection. “Let me see it.”
Astonished, she faced him. “Why do that to yourself, Vegeta? I can't do that.”
“It’s not for me, Bulma,” he replied lovingly. “It is for you.”
“No, honey, I can’t,” she pleaded, curling into a fetal position. “I’ll be OK.”
“Yes, you can,” he said, parting her hair. “I believe in you – in us.”
“What…what do you plan to do?”
Vegeta’s fingers rested on her temples. “Walk with you through your rage, because I understand. Now close your eyes and focus on my voice. I won't leave you.” He guided her through each traumatic pressure point during her ordeal, instructing her to move her eyes from left-to-right all throughout.
Later, he carried his sobbing wife back to their bedroom, staying by her side for hours. Bulma slept undisturbed until the following morning. Vegeta had asked their children to stay with Goku's family a few more days to keep the focus on their mother's healing. He trusted that she would be feeling better.
“Hungry?”
Bulma smiled. “Spoken like a Saiyan. Breakfast in bed. I guess food is the ultimate way to show true love. Thank you.”
“How do you feel?” Vegeta asked, setting the tray across her lap. “You sound less congested.”
“Less restrained. I don’t feel like I’m swimming through quicksand.”
“Good.”
“What you did wasn’t just telepathy,” Bulma said, holding out her teacup. “That was therapy.”
“That’s one way of describing it, I suppose," her husband said. "We can discuss it later.”
“No, Vegeta. We’ll do it now.”
“Ahh, you are feeling much better. Excellent. Eat up!”
“Vegeta!!!”
What a pleasant screech. Oh did he laugh. “All right, all right. I found my own way to cope with what happened to us, and I sought help from someone willing to provide it.”
Bulma thought about her husband's travels. “Old Kai?”
“Yes.”
“But what about the insomnia? Will it help you with that?”
“The process is imperfect, Bulma, but he said it was the right time to let go of everything that’s held me back, going back years. He had been waiting for me to come since… Kakarot left us, really. I’m not as young as I once was, but as you found out, I have ample power – lethal power – left in me. I have much learning to do, which that old rogue expects me to share with others.”
Bulma chomped on a boiled egg. “At least you won’t be dropping dead anytime soon.”
“I certainly have no plans to,” Vegeta replied, stealing food from her tray. She slapped his hands as they laughed. “I’m keeping my promise to our friend to protect our home – and you.”
“I love you, honey.”
“And I love you.”
For the rest of his life, no day would pass without him telling her that.
Notes: Slogging through 64 episodes of DBGT isn't for the weak-spirited (can't say I recommend this), but I found the Baby Saga just as disturbing and entertaining as Goku Black/Zamasu in DBS. If you're curious and haven't seen it, skip to this part. Also watch the Shadow Dragon Saga. Ignore the canon/non-canon debates. Seeing Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan IV forms near the end is a great bonus. 😄 Hope you enjoyed reading this. Let me know what you think.